On March 27, 1945, the American and Serbian prisoners of war at OFLAG XIII-B 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 barbed-wire 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 ill-equipped 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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