Why Patton Sacrificed 314 Men for His Own Family скачать в хорошем качестве

Why Patton Sacrificed 314 Men for His Own Family

March 26th, 1945. Captain Abraham Baum—a 23-year-old from the Bronx—receives orders that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Take 314 men. Drive 50 miles behind German lines. Rescue American prisoners. What he doesn't know: General George Patton's son-in-law is in that camp. What he'll soon discover: he and his men are expendable. Task Force Baum was one of the most controversial missions of World War 2. 314 American soldiers were sent racing through German-occupied territory with not enough fuel to return, not enough vehicles to carry the prisoners they were supposed to save, and not enough information about what they were driving into. Every senior officer who reviewed the plan called it suicide. General Omar Bradley explicitly objected. Patton went ahead anyway. The results were catastrophic. 32 men killed in action. 247 wounded, captured, or missing. All 57 vehicles—tanks, half-tracks, jeeps—destroyed or abandoned. It was the single worst loss the 4th Armored Division suffered during the entire European campaign. And the man they were sent to rescue? Lieutenant Colonel John Knight Waters—Patton's son-in-law—was shot during a surrender attempt and couldn't be evacuated anyway. Nine days later, the camp was liberated by a different unit. If Patton had simply waited, Waters would have been freed without a single additional American casualty. The letters Patton wrote to his wife prove he knew exactly who was in that camp. "We are headed right for John's place," he wrote on March 23rd. "Hope to send an expedition tomorrow to get John," he wrote on March 25th. Those letters remained hidden for decades. This is the full story of what happened—and why. 📍 TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 — Patton's Secret Letters 1:04 — "This Is Task Force Baum" 2:04 — March 1945: Patton at the Peak of His Power 3:30 — MacArthur's Glory: The Raids That Made Patton Jealous 4:45 — Lt. Col. John Waters: The Son-in-Law Behind Enemy Lines 6:12 — Captain Abe Baum: The Man Chosen to Lead 7:18 — Oflag XIII-B: Hell Behind Barbed Wire 8:35 — Every Officer Said No. Patton Did It Anyway. 10:05 — March 26th: 314 Men, 57 Vehicles, No Way Home 11:20 — "You Don't Have to Bribe Me" 12:38 — Schweinheim: The First Blood 14:12 — March 27th: Racing Toward Hammelburg 16:05 — 4 PM: Breaching the Camp 17:22 — The Bullet That Changed Everything 18:40 — 5,000 Prisoners. 20 Vehicles. Impossible Math. 19:55 — The Retreat Into Darkness 21:08 — Germans Turn American Tanks Against Them 22:18 — March 28th: Surrounded 23:25 — Only 35 Came Home 24:12 — Nine Days Later: Liberation Without the Sacrifice 25:00 — Eisenhower's Verdict: "A Wild Goose Chase" 25:48 — The Medal Patton Gave Instead of the One He Promised 26:32 — Patton's Diary: "My Only Mistake" 27:22 — December 21, 1945: The General's Last Day 28:08 — The Question That Remains 📚 KEY FIGURES: General George S. Patton Jr. — Commander, Third U.S. Army Captain Abraham Baum — Commander, Task Force Baum Lieutenant Colonel John Knight Waters — Patton's son-in-law, POW at Hammelburg Major Alexander Stiller — Patton's personal aide, sent to identify Waters General Omar Bradley — Commander, 12th Army Group General Dwight D. Eisenhower — Supreme Allied Commander Lieutenant Colonel Creighton Abrams — Commander, Combat Command B, 4th Armored Division Major General Günther von Goeckel — Commandant, Oflag XIII-B 📚 SOURCES: https://www.wearethemighty.com/articl... https://www.warhistoryonline.com/inst... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_... https://teachingamericanhistory.org/b... https://www.thehistoryreader.com/mili... https://www.latimes.com/local/obituar... https://www.historynet.com/a-fools-er... 📋 ABOUT THIS VIDEO: This documentary examines Task Force Baum, the controversial March 1945 raid on Oflag XIII-B prisoner of war camp near Hammelburg, Germany. On March 26-27, 1945, Captain Abraham Baum led 314 soldiers of the 4th Armored Division, Third U.S. Army, on a 50-mile penetration behind German lines. The force included 10 M4A3 Sherman medium tanks, 6 M5A1 Stuart light tanks, 27 M3 half-tracks, and 13 jeeps. Lieutenant Colonel John Knight Waters, captured February 6, 1943 in Tunisia and held at Oflag 64 before transfer to Hammelburg, was General George S. Patton's son-in-law. Task Force Baum suffered 32 KIA, 247 WIA/captured/MIA, losing all 57 vehicles—the worst single-day loss for 4th Armored Division in World War 2. The camp was liberated April 6, 1945 by 14th Armored Division. #WW2 #Patton #TaskForceBaum #WorldWar2 #WWII #MilitaryHistory #4thArmoredDivision #Hammelburg #POWRescue #ThirdArmy #WW2Documentary