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German Major Josef Gangl taken by an American photographer on May 4, 1945.
The following day, he was killed while shielding former French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud, fighting alongside American soldiers and French prisoners against SS forces.
On May 5, 1945, less than a week after Adolf Hitler’s suicide and just three days before Germany’s unconditional surrender, one of the strangest battles of World War II took place at Castle Itter.
The castle had been converted into a high-security SS prison for prominent French prisoners, including former prime ministers Édouard Daladier and Paul Reynaud, senior military leaders, Charles de Gaulle’s sister, and tennis champion Jean Borotra.
As Germany collapsed, the guards fled, but the surrounding Austrian countryside was filled with groups of roaming SS and soldiers looting and killing civilians. Fearing for their lives, the prisoners sent out messengers for help.
One reached the nearby town of Wörgl and connected with the Austrian resistance, who introduced him to Major Josef Gangl. A decorated soldier, ordered to fight to the last man, Gangl turned against the Nazi cause, and he and his men took up arms to protect civilians. When he heard about the prisoners, he agreed to help.
On May 4, Gangl and his men linked up with U.S. forces from the 23rd Tank Battalion. Lieutenant John C. Lee Jr. didn’t need much convincing. With a small force, just a handful of soldiers and a single tank, they headed to the castle, arriving that evening.
Hours later, a far larger SS force attacked.
What followed was an almost implausible stand: American soldiers, Wehrmacht troops, Austrian resistance fighters, and the French prisoners fighting side by side. Despite Lee's order to stay out of it, the prisoners grabbed weapons and joined the defense.
During the battle, Gangl was killed while pulling Reynaud to safety, the only defender to die. The group held out through the night, but by morning, they were low on ammunition. In a desperate move, Borotra volunteered to vault the castle walls and seek reinforcements.
He made it. Just as the SS prepared to bring anti-tank guns to bear on the castle, American reinforcements arrived, routing the attackers and capturing around 100 SS troops.
One of the two instances in the war where U.S. and German soldiers fought side by side, and one of the last battles in the European theater.
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