As World War II neared its final months in March 1945, General George S. Patton—the legendary, aggressive, and often controversial commander of the U.S. Third Army—ordered one of the most audacious and controversial rescue operations of the war. Known as Task Force Baum, the mission was a deep-penetration raid behind enemy lines with the goal of liberating American prisoners of war (POWs) held in Oflag XIII-B, a German POW camp near Hammelburg, Bavaria. The reasoning might have been even more sinister, considering that among the prisoners was his son-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel John K. Waters.

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