General George Patton is both one of the admired and most controversial generals of the Second World War. He is known for leading American forces to victory in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany but also problematic incidents such as slapping two soldiers in hospitals and launching a disastrous raid to save his son in law from a prisoner of war camp near the end of the war.

We cover how Patton worked to create an image of himself during the war that did not quite fit the reality. After his death from a car crash in December 1945, others such as his wife Beatrice, fabricated evidence, and possibly destroyed it, to maintain and even strengthen the image, Patton made for himself.

To better understand Patton, we look at his time as commander of II Corps in North Africa, leading the Seventh United States Army in Sicily, and how he led the Third Army in France, through the slog at Metz, during the advance to Bastogne during the Battle of Bulge, and the final push into Germany including the Hammelburg Raid. Finally the controversies about Patton’s death are debunked.

Patton’s image continues to be debated, scrutinized, and defended. Myth and legend are still influential on how Patton is remembered. The truth reveals a far more nuanced picture of George Patton.

Thanks to:

Kevin Hymel who is a historian at Arlington National Cemetery. He is the author of Patton’s War: An American General’s Combat Leadership, a three volume examination of Patton. He co-hosts the World War II Live podcast with John McManus. He also leads the “In Patton’s Footsteps Tour” which visits locations related to Patton’s time as commander of Third Army in Europe.

James Ellman is a historian and author of Patton Reconsidered, Hitler's Great Gamble:

A New Look at German Strategy, Operation Barbarossa and the Axis Defeat in World War II, and Seeds of Victory Defeat, Triumph, and the American Way of War.

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New episodes will be released every two weeks on Tuesday mornings. If you enjoy the episodes, please help us grow the podcast by subscribing, liking, sharing, commenting, and listening to future releases.

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In 1958, the 2nd Taiwan Strait Crisis broke out between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). Cold War tensions had increased an already tense situation between the PRC, based on the Chinese mainland, and the ROC, in Taiwan. As the Communists gained the upper hand in the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Nationalists, often called the Kuomintang, retreated to the island of Taiwan in late-1949. The so-called Two-Chinas remained in conflict for decades.

The crisis of 1958 was not the first time the two sides came into conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Beginning in September 1954, in what became known as the First Taiwan Strait Crisis, full-scale combat broke between the ROC and PRC, as Mao Zedong wanted the PRC to invade Taiwan. American intervention, and guarantees to protect the ROC moving forward, brought the crisis to an end.

After the beginning of the Great Leap Forward in the PRC, tensions flared up again in the Taiwan Strait. In August 1958, PRC artillery shelled the ROC controlled islands of Kinmen, also known as Quemoy, and the Matsu Islands. These islands are closer to the Chinese mainland coast than Taiwan. Dogfights also broke out pitting PRC MiG-15 and MiG-17s against ROC F-86 Sabres. Despite the MIG’s advantages in climbing ability and heavy cannons, the Sabres gained a new advantage in these dogfights; the AIM-9B “Sidewinder” air-to-air missile.

The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis wound down on 6 October when the PRC Mao’s government asked for a ceasefire. The crisis came to an end on 2 December 1958 after the U.S. Seventh Fleet was withdrawn and the ROC military reinforced their garrisons on the offshore islands. Yet this is not the end of the artillery bombardment as Mao orders the shelling of the islands to continue on odd-numbered days. The shelling will continue periodically for the next 21 years until the United States normalizes relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1979.

Thanks to:

Kendall Carll, the author of the article ‘Revisiting the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis: Strategic Lessons for Today’ and is a recent graduate of Harvard College.

Dr. John Franklin Copper, who is the author of Taiwan: Nation-State or Province?; China Diplomacy: The Washington-Taipei-Beijing Triangle; and Historical Dictionary of Taiwan (Republic of China);. He is the Stanley J. Buckman Distinguished Professor of International Studies (emeritus) at Rhodes College in Tennessee.

You can listen to The War Office on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or The War Office Podcast YouTube Channel.

New episodes will be released every two weeks on Tuesday mornings. If you enjoy the episodes, please help us grow the podcast by subscribing, liking, sharing, commenting, and listening to future releases.

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On 13 October 1977, Lufthansa Flight 181, heading from Majorca in Spain to Frankfurt, West Germany was hijacked by four militants from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or PFLP. In response to the hijacking, the West German government dispatched GSG-9, Grenzschutzgruppe 9 or Border Guard Group 9 in English, which was created following the tragedy at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was a Marxist organization and an offshoot of the better-known Palestinian Liberation Organization. The PFLP was also connected to the Red Army Faction, a far-left militant group which had launched kidnappings and guerilla attacks in West Germany. The hijackers of Flight 181 are led by Zohair Akache, who went by the pseudonym Captain Martyr Mahmoud. Once they take control of the aircraft, the militants demand the release of Red Army Faction members held in West Germany.

The hijacked aircraft first flew to Rome and then Larnaca Airport in Cyprus followed by a refueling stop in Bahrain. The aircraft was next flown to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on October 15. The aircraft carrying the GSG-9 team has been following along and arrives in Dubai ready to storm Flight 181 and free the hostages. Ultimately this raid is called off and Flight 181 leaves for Aden in South Yemen on October 16. It is here that Captain Jürgen Schumann is shot dead by Akache, leaving Co-Pilot Jürgen Vietor alone to fly the aircraft.

Flight 181 arrives at its final destination of Mogadishu, Somalia on October 17. It is here that the rescue mission took place. Using the cover of darkness, Operation Feuerzauber, Magic Fire in English, started at 1am local time on October 18, 1977. Thirty GSG-9 Operators, led by Ulrich Wegener, stormed the aircraft. All the passengers and crew were rescued alive by GSG-9. Akache and Wabil Harb are killed aboard the aircraft while Hind Alameh later dies of her wounds. Suhaila Sayeh is wounded but survives and later serves time in a German prison.

Unlike the events of 1972, the rescue of the Lufthansa Flight 181 hostages was a success. As a result of the rescue mission, the work of GSG-9 shaped West Germany’s counterterrorism identity for decades.

Thanks to:

Dr. Martin Rupps, author of ‘Showdown Against RAF Terror: Helmut Schmidt’s Crisis Management in the German Autumn

Chris McNab, military historian and author of Storming Flight 181: GSG 9 and the Mogadishu Hijack 1977.

You can listen to The War Office on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or The War Office Podcast YouTube Channel.

New episodes will be released every two weeks on Tuesday mornings. If you enjoy the episodes, please help us grow the podcast by subscribing, liking, sharing, commenting, and listening to future releases.

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