2nd Battalion, 506th PIR in Burchestgaden. Left to right: PVT William E. Patterson (HQ, 2nd BN), J. D. Henderson (E Co, 2nd BN), and CPT Lloyd J. Cox (CO, HQ, 2nd BN)
In May 1945, as the war in Europe drew to a close, two great prizes remained. The first, Berlin, was almost completely in the hands of the Soviets. The second, Berchtesgaden, home to Adolf Hitler’s famous mountain retreat, remained to be captured.
For months, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and other Allied commanders had worried about the possible existence of a ‘national redoubt’ in Bavaria and Austria. They were concerned that thousands of Nazi diehards would take to the rugged mountains, sustain themselves with copious supplies stored up over the course of many years and fight a guerrilla-style war against the Allies. Fortunately, the redoubt existed more in the minds of German propagandists and the nightmares of Allied leaders than in the Bavarian Alps. By May most Allied officers had begun to understand this. They faced a German army with very little fight left. Hordes of prisoners clogged the autobahn. The German soldiers still resisting did so primarily against the Russians and most of the others fled westward in hopes of surrendering to the British or the Americans.
The Berghof was Adolf Hitler's home in the Obersalzberg of the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, Germany. Other than the Wolfsschanze ("Wolf's Lair"), his headquarters in East Prussia for the invasion of the Soviet Union, Hitler spent more time at the Berghof than anywhere else during World War II. It was also one of the most widely known of his headquarters, which were located throughout Europe.
Rebuilt, much expanded and renamed in 1935, the Berghof was Hitler's vacation residence for ten years. In late April 1945 the house was damaged by British aerial bombs, set on fire by retreating SS troops in early May, and looted after Allied troops reached the area. The Bavarian government demolished the burnt shell in 1952.
3 guys - 7 bottles of alcohol. They know how to relax.
Joe_Magarac on September 28th, 2017 at 11:24 UTC »
2nd Battalion, 506th PIR in Burchestgaden. Left to right: PVT William E. Patterson (HQ, 2nd BN), J. D. Henderson (E Co, 2nd BN), and CPT Lloyd J. Cox (CO, HQ, 2nd BN)
marinamaral on September 28th, 2017 at 09:49 UTC »
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2nd Battalion, 506th PIR in Burchestgaden. Left to right: PVT William E. Patterson (HQ, 2nd BN), J. D. Henderson (E Co, 2nd BN), and CPT Lloyd J. Cox (CO, HQ, 2nd BN)
In May 1945, as the war in Europe drew to a close, two great prizes remained. The first, Berlin, was almost completely in the hands of the Soviets. The second, Berchtesgaden, home to Adolf Hitler’s famous mountain retreat, remained to be captured.
For months, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and other Allied commanders had worried about the possible existence of a ‘national redoubt’ in Bavaria and Austria. They were concerned that thousands of Nazi diehards would take to the rugged mountains, sustain themselves with copious supplies stored up over the course of many years and fight a guerrilla-style war against the Allies. Fortunately, the redoubt existed more in the minds of German propagandists and the nightmares of Allied leaders than in the Bavarian Alps. By May most Allied officers had begun to understand this. They faced a German army with very little fight left. Hordes of prisoners clogged the autobahn. The German soldiers still resisting did so primarily against the Russians and most of the others fled westward in hopes of surrendering to the British or the Americans.
The Berghof was Adolf Hitler's home in the Obersalzberg of the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, Germany. Other than the Wolfsschanze ("Wolf's Lair"), his headquarters in East Prussia for the invasion of the Soviet Union, Hitler spent more time at the Berghof than anywhere else during World War II. It was also one of the most widely known of his headquarters, which were located throughout Europe.
Rebuilt, much expanded and renamed in 1935, the Berghof was Hitler's vacation residence for ten years. In late April 1945 the house was damaged by British aerial bombs, set on fire by retreating SS troops in early May, and looted after Allied troops reached the area. The Bavarian government demolished the burnt shell in 1952.
Ddesh on September 28th, 2017 at 10:09 UTC »
3 guys - 7 bottles of alcohol. They know how to relax.
Joe_Magarac on September 28th, 2017 at 11:24 UTC »
2nd Battalion, 506th PIR in Burchestgaden. Left to right: PVT William E. Patterson (HQ, 2nd BN), J. D. Henderson (E Co, 2nd BN), and CPT Lloyd J. Cox (CO, HQ, 2nd BN)
Courtesy https://imgur.com/gallery/j7qkx