He wanted to 'liberate' the Ritz Hotel from the Germans

Ernest Hemingway was in Paris in August 1944 as a war correspondent for the American magazine Collier's. Hemingway had volunteered for US Intelligence because he wanted to be in the thick of the action. He'd spent a month hurtling between the front lines in a Jeep, making contact with local French Resistance fighters caught between advancing US forces and retreating Germans. The Ritz Hotel in Paris had captivated Hemingway since his days in the city in the 1920s. When Hemingway discovered that the Germans were staying at the opulent hotel, he used his contacts to arrange a meeting with French commander General Philippe Leclerc.

During the meeting, Hemingway asked for enough men to liberate the Ritz, and was surprised when the General dismissed his idea. Hemingway, on the other hand, persisted and arrived at the hotel on August 25, 1944, in a Jeep mounted with a machine gun, heading what he called "Irregular" Resistance fighters. The group was quickly informed that the Germans had long since left, but Hemingway made sure it wasn't for naught and quickly hit the bar. By the time he finished drinking that night, he had reportedly consumed more than 50 martinis.