On March 27, 1945, the American and Serbian prisoners of war at OFLAG XIIIB in Hammelburg spotted German trucks and tanks racing by the compound at full speed.

With this, they knew they were about to be rescued.
Suddenly, American tanks burst through the barbedwire fences in several places, firing their guns overhead and to each side. As shells exploded around the camp's perimeter, the prisoners were overwhelmed by a joyous feeling of liberation.

Amidst the euphoria of the apparent rescue, a figure emerged from one of the tanks Captain Abraham Baum, the young leader of the daring Task Force Baum. His eyes scanned the sea of prisoners, searching for one man in particular: Lieutenant Colonel John K. Waters.

But as the two men shook hands, a flicker of concern crossed Baum's face. The camp held far more prisoners than intelligence had suggested nearly 1,500 instead of the expected 300.

The Captain’s small task force, already battered from the relentless German resistance they had faced on their journey to Hammelburg, was illequipped to evacuate such a vast number of prisoners.

Over 50 miles into enemy territory, the daunting reality set in for the Captain: the odds of a successful extraction were dangerously low.

In fact, Task Force Baum was about to become one of the biggest disasters of the final stages of World War 2.


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