Task Force Baum, Germany 1945
In March 1945, General George S. Patton and Captain Abraham Baum secretly created a group named Task Force Baum for the purpose of raiding deep behind the steadily deteriorating German lines for the purpose of liberating prisoners of war held in German camps. German camp OFLAG (a portmanteau of Offizier Lager, meaning Officer Camp) XIII-B was located near Hammelburg, Germany and whether Patton ordered the raid because he had learned of the possibility of his son-in-law being held there has long been debated among historians and scholars. A letter sent to his wife includes a reference to sending a raid to where “John and some 900 prisoners are said to be”. At any rate, he did order the raid, which was entirely unsuccessful.
Of the 300 men who penetrated behind the German lines on the secret mission, 32 were killed in combat, and only 35 managed to escape German territory and return to the American lines. The rest became prisoners. All of the group’s heavy equipment, including 57 vehicles, were lost to the Germans. When Eisenhower learned of the unauthorized action he furiously reprimanded Patton, who privately remained unrepentant, blaming the mission’s failure instead on the fact that the task force should have been larger. “I know of no error I made except that of failing to send a combat command to take Hammelburg,” was Patton’s assessment of his performance during the campaign across France and Germany.