May 7, 1945 started early for General George S Patton with a 4am call from General Omar Bradley. The Germans had just surrendered.
Miles away Col. Alois Podhajsky an Austrian, was looking for a way to guarantee the safety of the riding school and the horses he supervised as the Third Reich collapsed around him.
- Several day earlier Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker’s XX Corps had captured the renowned Spanish Riding School of Vienna. It included hundreds of the finest horse bloodlines in all of Europe. Among this herd were 250 of the prized War Horses, the famous white Lipizzaner's. The only surviving stock left in Europe.
George S. Patton spent a lifetime with horses. While stationed at Fort Myer, Virginia, after his graduation from West Point, he played polo, fox-hunted, and competed in mounted steeplechases. He was a participant in the first modern pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, placing sixth out of 23 in the equestrian phase.
Alois Podhajsky, the son of a cavalry officer, was one of the youngest lieutenants in the Austro-Hungarian cavalry in World War I, and won a bronze in dressage in the 1936 Olympics.
- While Germany had surrendered the war had not ended. The temporary headquarters where Podhajsy had spirited the horses for safety in Austria was in the path of the advancing Russian army. The mares and foals were being held by the Czechs. Podhajsky feared for the safety of these rare animals. He was concerned these magnificent animals would be slaughtered and used for food by the armies.
Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker a protogee of Patton, had arranged a private showing of the Lipizzaners exclusively for the General. When Patton nonchalantly strolled onto the farm that day, Podhajsky saw the possibility of saving his school and his precious animals.
Patton was impressed by the agility and the intelligence of the Lipizzaners and the precision of the program.
- When it was over, Podhajsky halted his horse before Patton and removed his hat in a traditional salute. “In a little Austrian village in a decisive hour two men faced each other, the one as triumphant conqueror in a war waged with such bitterness, the other as a member of a defeated nation.”
Podhajsky asked Patton for protection for the centuries old riding school during the uncertain postwar period, and for help in retrieving its breeding herd from Czechoslovakia. The Germans had sent the horses to a Wehrmacht-controlled stud farm.
Standing to address the man on horseback before him, Patton replied that he was putting the Spanish Riding School under the special protection of the U.S. Army; he later told Podhajsky he would do what he could about the horses in Czechoslovakia.
A historic meeting of two Generals turned into one of the great sagas of World War II. The details that went into this rescue carry as much intrigue and planning as any battle.
The Russian army was 60 miles away to the north and advancing. Patton's army was 35 miles away to the south.
- Also heading right towards them was a German Panzer division. The news of the surrender had not reached them.
Along with hundreds of horses the farm also housed hundreds of POW's that General Walker had taken custody of. Some were Americans, British and Czechoslovakian.
- To evacuate the horses safely meant traveling through dense forests to stay off the main roads. The trip would take them behind enemy lines. They traveled by night and had to hide during the day.
Polish, Czech, and Cossack horsemen as outriders, along with a smattering of Americans saddled up to begin the 130 mile trip to safety.
The operation was dubbed Operation Cowboy.
- All but 2 of the endangered Lipizzaner's made the trip to safety under the protection of the United States Army.
The rescue came at a cost—and a simple fondness for horses can’t explain the many instances of risk, bravery, and personal sacrifice that arose during its execution. For that, it was Colonel Reed, fittingly, who provided the answer: “We were so tired of death and destruction,” he said, “we wanted to do something beautiful.”
During the occupation of Germany Patton was afforded the opportunity to ride an exquisite Lipizzaner mount who once belonged to Ferdinand of Spain.
Today only 3,000 Lipizzaner's exist. They are a rare and treasured breed. Several breeding farms exist in the United States.
Occasionally one of these incredible creatures is available for sale to private owners.
The Lipizzaner's do tour the United States. Their shows are incredible and suited for young and old. You do not have to know anything about horses to appreciate the skill and artistry of horse and rider. If you ever have the opportunity to see these highly trained and intelligent horses you will not regret it.
Thanks to Gen. George S. Patton their heritage lives on today
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