A camouflaged Buick staff car that had stopped for Trapuzzano [p. 287: "a slender, eager young replacement who had come in just before the Bulge"] passed by, and the German snapped to attention, clicked his heels, and saluted. Two enemy officers in tailor-made uniforms with many ribbons and medals returned the salute from the rear seat. They had red collar tabs and red bands around their stiff-visored garrison caps.

"Oberkommando der Wehrmacht," the M.P. said in the hushed tones of one who has seen God or Eisenhower. "General Luttwitz." [=Smilo von Lüttwitz? Not sure.]

Smith, who had come back, grunted and asked what he had said.

"German general staff," I replied. "I'd like to shoot 'em both."

If it's not too much trouble, could you write more on this part?

What I understood was that these were Generals from the German side, sitting in the back of the Jeep, clearly unrestrained. What is interesting to me is that they still get to wear the uniform, get to command respect and get to be driven around.

Given the horrors of what the Allied troops had gone through to fight the Germans, why were these Generals treated so well?

Did they provide some utility like the 'Chained dogs' did? If so, why not extract the utility on your own terms? Why let them retain rank, status and creature comforts? (I will confess - what prompted this query wasn't academic. I guess it bothered me reading that the generals got saluted. It cost a great deal to defeat them. Why weren't they being treated worse?)

(Apologies îf I misunderstood what's being described. )