In December 1944 the German Army was on the run. Allied forces had been advancing across Europe ever since the D-Day invasion in June, and now they were poised to push into Germany itself. They had not engaged Hitler’s forces in major combat for weeks.

In Belgium’s Ardennes forest, U.S. infantryman Chris Carawan and some of his buddies captured two German soldiers who seemed to be lost. One of them spoke near-perfect English.

“You guys better clear out of here,” the German warned Carawan. “We’re about to push you back to the sea.”

Carawan and company reported the warning to their superiors, but they were laughed off. Big talk from a beaten foe, the generals said. Sure, there was a lot