12. The Alsos mission identified scientists who needed to be kept from the Soviets
As the fighting increased in the Ardennes during the winter of 1944, Alsos missions withdrew from Strasbourg, destroying many of their own records in the process. A long-standing myth of World War II is that the majority of the V-2 rockets launched during 1944 were directed at Great Britain in a return of the Blitz. More V-2s targeted Belgium in late 1944 than any other European country. Late in the year, a massive explosion occurred when a V-2 fell short of its target in Antwerp. The size of the explosion and general nervousness over the German atomic weapons program led to demands Alsos investigate the site of the blast. Alsos, by then aware the Germans did not possess atomic weapons, nonetheless complied, sending an operative to confirm there had been no nuclear event.
During the lull in activity, the Alsos teams analyzed the rafts of data accumulated to that point, and prepared lists of German scientists and engineers. They prioritized the lists based on interviews already accomplished. Their new goal, to capture as many as possible before they fled deeper into Germany, necessitated a change of tactics. Alsos teams prepared to go behind the front lines, ahead of the assault troops, to prevent their quarry from escaping to the Soviets, or their capture by German partisans. When it became apparent that several of the highest priority targets were believed to be in areas designated to be occupied by French troops, Alsos planners decided to get to them first, ahead of their French allies. Examination of papers captured in Strasbourg revealed the whereabouts of several of the most senior personnel involved. Alsos planners created additional armed teams to seek them out.