A little bit more, maybe too much but its personal. We captured Schweinfurt in April 1945. I was on a task force to take over factories and get paper files. We were there when Roosevelt died and had a ceremony in the ruins. We bombed the hell out of them but they had some underground factories. I kept one of their slide rules for a war souvenir. It was a few day stay there then on to Bavaria where the Nazis were expected to make their last stand but that never materialized. Hitler killed himself when I was in Munich. We headed to Austria and the end of the European war. Almost 70 years, a long, long time ago.
Thanks for your postings. This was sort of a blackout period for me. I was undergoing infantry training then. Left for Europe that following November. Greeted by the Battle of the Bulge.
Too much personal recollection? Not hardly.
This was sort of a blackout period for me. I was undergoing infantry training then.
I'm pleased to be able to help you catch up with the news. I remember how cut off from the outside world I felt during boot camp (a mere 43 years ago).
The myth of the Nazi “Redoubt” in the Bavarian Alps was one of the greatest intelligence failures of the war. The Germans considered the idea, but never seriously. When Goebbels discovered the Western allies were obsessed by the idea he began a disinformation plan to plant information to reinforce the Allied belief the Redoubt really existed. He even had German soldiers briefed on the “plan” so they would spill it in interrogation if they were taken prisoner.