Did you know that in 1945 before Germany surrendered the US Army & the German Wermacht (army) together fought the Waffen SS & Gestapo secret police to defend French VIP prisoners from an attack? Schloss Itter, a sub-unit of Dachau concentration camp was used for VIP French VIP 
political & military figures including 2 former French prime ministers, Edouard Daladier and Paul Reynaud, as well as the elder sister of Gen Charles de Gaulle, Marie-Agnes Cailliau. On 6 May 1945, Hitler was dead 5 days & it looked as if surrender was imminent, & the collapse
of the Third Reich certain. One of the prisoners, Zvonimir Čučković, a Yugoslav freedom fighter, escaped and went looking for help to rescue the rest of the prisoners. A highly decorated Wehrmacht officer, Major, Josef (Sepp) Gangl, had been opposed to the Nazis and was secretly
collaborating with the Austrian resistance. He know the Waffen SS were going to the Schloss & would probably kill the prisoners or try to hold them hostage. Taking a big white flag, Gangl went to Capt Jack Lee of the 23rd Tank Battalion, US 12th Armoured Division & they agreed
to lead a rescue mission to the castle. If the SS had managed to get into the castle & kill the French VIPs, the history of post-war France would have been radically different as they determined the post war policies that carried France into the 21st Century.
The prison guards
The prison guards
had fled & the prisoners took control of the castle, arming themselves with the weapons left behind. Upon arrival at the Schloss Lee the US & Wermacht troops took up defensive positions with a Sherman tank positioned at the main entrance. The Schloss was attacked by the Waffen SS
who blew up the Sherman tank, and a fierce gun battle ensued, but the SS were unable to get into the castle. A large relief US force arrived & the SS were promptly defeated & @ 100 SS men taken prisoner with the defenders suffering 4 injuries & 1 death, Major Gangl, killed by a
sniper while trying to move former French prime minister Reynaud out of harm's way.
Major Josef (Sepp) Gangl, was honored as an Austrian national hero, buried in Wörgl, a street named after him & a Memorial erected in his honour. The French prisoners including
Major Josef (Sepp) Gangl, was honored as an Austrian national hero, buried in Wörgl, a street named after him & a Memorial erected in his honour. The French prisoners including
Edouard Daladier, Paul Reynaud, & De Gaulle's sister Marie-Agnes Cailliau were evacuated that evening, reaching Paris on 10 May 1945.
The battle of Schloss Itter in Austria was the only battle where Americans and Germans together and not each other during the World War II. Since
The battle of Schloss Itter in Austria was the only battle where Americans and Germans together and not each other during the World War II. Since
World War II, the two nations have been allies. Germany became a NATO member on 6 May 1955.
