First the Americans, then the barbed wire. This is where the first Western soldier came 80 years ago

They have American Street, but also Russian Street. Hranice, a town of two thousand people in the Cheb district, simply does not side with any of the liberation armies. However, it is a historical fact that it was the first in our territory to be liberated by Western soldiers. At that time, Hranice, like other towns in the Sudetenland, was full of German residents. At first, they did not accept the American ultimatum to hoist white flags and ens…

It was Wednesday, April 18, 1945, five minutes before ten in the morning. A reconnaissance platoon of the 358th Regiment of the 90th Infantry Division of the XII Corps of the U.S. 3rd Army was at that time located in the northwestern outcrop of the Aš promontory, named Cat's Head. The place got its name due to the fact that in it the Czech border really “draws” the image of a cat's head. A border that Americans have just crossed. The liberation …