On April 30^th, 1945, as the Second World War in Europe was in its closing stages, a battle was fought on the outskirts of Munich.  This battle lives in historical obscurity - no movies were made of it, no books written.  The forces involved were not on such a grand scale that would make it stand out tactically or strategically.  The outcome of the war at that point was not in doubt, as defeat of the enemy was a foregone conclusion.
     At that point in the war, the pursuit of the enemy by Allied forces had to be swift to prevent a 'Nazi Redoubt' from being set up in the relative safety of the Bavarian Alps.  The fanaticism of the Nazi defenders and the sheer bravery of the men of Task Force 20 resulted in a bloody pitched battle and the awarding of a Unit Citation, the highest award a unit could receive.  This battle had all the horrors of war, but none of the notoriety of more famous actions.

     Task Force 20 was made up primarily of the 20^th Armored Division's Combat Command B, including the 20^th Tank Battalion, the 65^th Armored Infantry Battalion, the 220^th Armored Engineer Battalion, the 220^th Medical Battalion, and the 413^th Armored Field Artillery.  Other forces such as the 250^th Field Artillery Battalion (Divisional Artillery), and the 45^th Infantry Division were also involved to some extent.
     Enemy strength was determined to consist of 1,500 SS troops and training school personnel, with twelve 88 mm guns and an undetermined amount of 20-mm guns.  Also present in great quantities was the panzerfaust, a handheld and deadly shaped-charge anti-tank weapon.  All of the troops were young, and had lived a lifetime under Nazi indoctrination.  These defenders had provisions sufficient for two weeks and had pledged to die in defense of the city of Munich.  Division S-2 journal entries indicate that prisoners captured at the time belonged to various units including the 79^th and 212^th Infantry Divisions (Volkgrenadier), the SS Hohenstaufen Division, SS Hitler Jugend, and the XIII SS Corps.

     The main SS training facility north of Munich was a massive building, approximately 300 yards long and six stories tall.  It was constructed of reinforced concrete, surrounded by a 1-½ foot thick, 10-foot high concrete wall and defended by two 88 mm guns.  Before the war, crack Waffen SS units were based there and during the war, it was where mainly replacement units were trained including volunteers from other countries.  Various aspects of training took place at this facility, which included the SS artillery school.