When Enemies Became Allies: The Incredible Battle of Castle Itter

You are now listening to World War 2 Stories. I'm your host Steve Matthews. Today, I'm going to tell you about one of the most extraordinary battles of World War II - a battle so unusual, so contrary to everything we understand about that conflict, that it sounds like Hollywood fiction. Yet it happened.

In the final days of the war in Europe, American soldiers fought alongside former German Wehrmacht enemies to protect French VIP prisoners from fanatical SS troops. It was the only time during the war when Americans and Germans served as allies on the battlefield - a remarkable footnote to history that deserves far greater recognition.

This is the Battle of Castle Itter - a medieval fortress in the Austrian Alps that became the setting for an unlikely last stand as the Third Reich crumbled around it.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
You are now listening to World War Two stories.
I'm your host, Steve Matthews. Today I'm going to tell you
about one of the most extraordinary battles of World
War 2A battle so unusual, so contrary to everything we
understand about that conflict, that it sounds like Hollywood
fiction. Yet it happened in the final

(00:21):
days of the war in Europe. American soldiers fought
alongside former German were mocked enemies to protect French
VIP prisoners from fanatical s stroops.
It was the only time during the war when Americans and Germans
served as allies on the battlefield, a remarkable
footnote to history that deserves far greater
recognition. This is the Battle of

(00:43):
Castleiter, a medieval fortress in the Austrian Alps that became
the setting for an unlikely laststand as the Third right
crumbled around it, setting the stage Europe in late April 1945.
Let me take you back to late April 1945.
The Third Reich is in its death throes.

(01:03):
Hitler has committed suicide in his Berlin bunker on April 30th.
German forces are surrendering across Europe.
The war that is raged for nearlysix years is clearly ending.
Yet even as Nazi Germany collapses, pockets of fanatical
resistance remain, particularly among the s s, the elite Nazi

(01:24):
units most implicated in the regime's worst atrocities.
Many of these s s troops know they face war crimes trials if
captured. They have nothing to lose, and
some are determined to eliminatewitnesses and evidence of their
crimes before surrendering, if they intend to surrender at all.
In this chaotic environment, an extraordinary drama is about to

(01:46):
unfold at a 13th century castle nestled in the Austrian Tyrol,
about 50 miles east of InnsbruckCastle.
It, or a medieval fortress perched on a rocky outcrop
overlooking the IN valley, had been converted by the Nazis into
Avip Prison, a special detentionfacility for high profile
enemies of the right, too valuable to kill but too

(02:07):
dangerous to house in regular concentration camps.
The castle's prisoners include some of the most prominent
political figures of pre war France, former prime ministers
Edouard Dalladier and Paul Renaud, generals Maxine Vagon
and Maurice Gamelin, labor leader Lyon Joao, right wing
leader Francois de la Roc, tennis star Jean Barotra and

(02:30):
Marie Agnes Caleo, the sister ofCharles de Gaulle himself.
These aren't ordinary prisoners.They're living records of Nazi
crimes, potential witnesses at future war crimes trials, and
symbolic figures whose deaths would serve as a final act of
Nazi vengeance. By early May, the situation at
Castle it OR has become increasingly precarious.

(02:53):
The s s guards, hearing of Hitler's suicide in the imminent
collapse of Nazi resistance, begin to desert their posts.
On May 4th, the last S S commander at the castle, a man
named Sebastian Wimmer, flees inthe night.
The prisoners are now unguarded,but far from safe.

(03:13):
Roaming bands of s s fanatics are scouring the countryside,
determined to eliminate high value prisoners before they can
be liberated. Inside the castle, the French VI
PS armed themselves with weaponsabandoned by the fleeing guards.
They've established A tenuous form of self governance during
their captivity, overcoming political differences that once

(03:36):
divided them in peacetime France.
Now they face a common threat, ss death squads that might arrive
at any moment to execute them all.
One man understands their peril better than most.
Andreas Crobet, a check handymanat the castle who has been
sympathetic to the prisoners. On the morning of May 4th,

(03:56):
Crobet slips away from the castle with a mission to find
Allied forces and guide them to castle.
Later, before it's too late, theunlikely alliance forms.
May 4th, 1945. While Krobit searches for
American forces, another key figure enters our story, Major
Joseph Sepp Gangl, a decorated we're mocked officer commanding

(04:19):
the remaining German army forcesin the nearby town of Orgel.
Gangl is no Nazi ideologue. By this stage of the war he has
been secretly working with Austrian resistance fighters,
using his position to protect civilians from s s reprisals and
helping deserters escape execution.
When gang learns about the abandoned prisoners at Castle IT

(04:41):
or through resistance contacts, he faces a momentous decision.
The wear mocked officer knows that S S units are converging on
the region, determined to eliminate high profile
prisoners. He also knows that his own
military career, indeed his entire worldview, has been
shattered by Nazi atrocities he can no longer ignore.

(05:03):
In a decision that will define the rest of his short life,
Major Gangl chooses humanity over his oath to Hitler.
He resolves to protect the French prisoners, but realizes a
small force of about 10 loyal Wermock soldiers is insufficient
against the s s units in the area.
Gangl needs Allied help around noon on May 4th.

(05:26):
Check. Handyman Crobin encounters
advance elements of the American12th Armored Division in the
town of Kufstein, about 8 miles north of the castle.
He manages to convey the urgent situation to US officers who
immediately grasp the significance of the high profile
prisoners at risk. Captain Jack Lee, commanding a

(05:46):
tank company in the 23rd Tank Battalion, volunteers to lead a
rescue mission. Lee is the epitome of an
American combat officer, bold tothe point of recklessness,
innovative in his tactics, and determined to complete his
mission regardless of obstacles.Despite having only a small
force at his disposal, just 14 American soldiers and two

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Sherman tanks, Lee decides to proceed immediately to castle it
her. Around the same time, Major
Gangl has made contact with the Americans through Austrian
resistance channels. In a meeting that has no
precedent in the European theater.
The wear mocked officer formallysurrenders to Captain Lee, but
then makes an extraordinary proposal.

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Rather than going into captivity, Gangel and his men
want to join the Americans in defending the French prisoners
at Castle Iter. It's a scenario that would have
been unthinkable just months earlier.
Americans and Germans fighting as comrades.
Yet in the dying days of the war, as the moral lines clarify
between those who served Hitler and those who can no longer

(06:51):
stomach Nazi atrocities, this unlikely alliance forms.
Lee, a pragmatic combat officer,accepts Gangel's offer.
The German brings valuable assets to the mission.
Intimate knowledge of the local terrain, intelligence on S S
unit positions, and even a powerful Panzer 4 tank, one of

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Germany's most formidable weapons, now turned against
Hitler's most fanatical followers.
By late afternoon on May 4th, this makeshift coalition force
begins its journey toward CastleLitter.
Progress is slow along roads clogged with refugees and
scattered with improvised roadblocks. 1 of Lee Sherman

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tanks hits a mine and is disabled, reducing his armored
support by half. As darkness falls, the relief
column finally approaches the castle.
Major Gangl uses his local authority to bluff his way past
several s s checkpoints, presenting the unusual convoy as
a routine wear mock patrol with captured Americans.

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It's a dangerous game that couldend in disaster if they
encounter more seasoned s s troops.
Around 11:00 PM, the combined force reaches Castle Litter.
The French prisoners, initially alarmed at seeing both American
and German uniforms, quickly understand the extraordinary
circumstances. Former Prime Ministers Renaud

(08:15):
and Daladier, political opponents before the war, stand
united to welcome their unlikelysaviors.
Captain Lee immediately begins organizing the castle's defense.
He positions his remaining Sherman tank, named Besatin
Jenny at the castle's main gate where it commands the only Rd.
access. Gangl's Panzer 4 is stationed at

(08:38):
a secondary position covering the tanks flanks.
The small force of Americans andWermock soldiers establishes
defensive positions along the castle walls.
The French prisoners, despite their civilian status in
advanced age, many are in their 60s and 70s, insist on
participating in their own defense.

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Tennis star Jean Barotra, a former Wimbledon champion now in
his late 40s, helps distribute weapons and ammunition.
Former General Maxine Vagon, those 78 years old, checks
defensive positions with the sharp eye of a military
commander who once LED armies. Throughout the night, the
defenders can hear vehicle movements in the surrounding

(09:22):
forests. s s units are converging on the castle.
By dawn on May 5th. The trap is set, but who exactly
is trapping who remains to be seen.
The battle begins dawn May 5th, 1945.
First light on May 5th reveals Asobering sight to the defenders

(09:42):
of Castle Litter. The medieval fortress is now
surrounded by elements of the 17th s s Panzer Grenadier
Division, battle hardened Nazi fanatics led by s s Hopsterm for
a Curt Siegfried trader. Conservative estimates put their
strength at 150 to 200 men armedwith machine guns, mortars and

(10:03):
anti tank weapons, including thedreaded Panzerfaust, a German
bazooka capable of destroying any Allied tank of the era.
Inside the castle walls the situation is desperate.
Captain Lee commands just 14 American soldiers.
About 10 were mock troops under Major Gangle and a collection of
French VI PS with minimal combatexperience.

(10:27):
Their ammunition is limited. They have no way to call for
reinforcements. Radio communication with
American lines has been lost. During the night.
At 0515 hours, the first shots ring out. s s snipers target
anyone visible on the castle walls.
An American soldier manning a machine gun position is wounded

(10:49):
in the opening volley. Major Gangle calmly directs
return fire, his combat experience from the Eastern
front evident in his precise commands.
By O 600 hours, the S s launchesits first coordinated assault.
Mortar shells rain down on the castle courtyard, while machine
gunfire provides cover for s s troops attempting to breach the

(11:12):
main gate. The Sherman tank Besatin Jenny
responds with devastating effect, it's 75mm main gun and
.50 caliber machine gun tearing through the advancing s s
formations. For the French prisoners, this
battle represents an extraordinary reversal.
Men who had been at Hitler's mercy for years are now actively

(11:35):
fighting against his forces. Former Prime Minister Paul
Renaud, whose opposition to Naziappeasement had cost him his
freedom, fires a captured Germanrifle from a castle window.
Marie Agnes Caleo, Charles de Gaulle's sister, helps tend to
wounded defenders despite the danger.
Around 0730 hours, the S S changes tactics.

(12:00):
A group of Panzer grenadiers with flamethrowers attempts to
approach the castle walls from ablind spot not covered by the
tanks. It's Wermocked Major Gangle who
spots the danger, Leading a small counter attack of German
and American soldiers, he drivesback the s s assault team.
During this action, a Wermock soldier is killed by friendly

(12:22):
fire from the castle, a tragic reminder of the confusion
inherent in this unprecedented alliance.
By mid morning, the situation grows increasingly desperate for
the defenders. Ammunition is running low.
The Sherman tank has expended most of its main gun rounds. s s
forces have surrounded the castle, completely eliminating

(12:45):
any possibility of escape. Captain Lee gathers his
officers, both American and German, in the castle keep for
an emergency council. It's during this meeting that
French tennis star Jean Barotra proposes an audacious plan.
Despite being 46 years old, the former champion believes he can

(13:05):
use his athletic abilities to escape the castle and reach
American lines to bring reinforcements.
After brief deliberation, Captain Lee approves the
desperate gambit. At precisely 1100 hours, the
Sherman tank fires its remainingoperational rounds to provide
covering fire. Taking advantage of the

(13:26):
distraction, Barrotro, wearing his trademark tennis sweater,
vaults over a section of the castle wall and sprints through
s s lines. Using ravines and forest cover,
the tennis star begins an extraordinary eight mile journey
through enemy territory toward American positions.
Back at the castle, the defenders settle in for what

(13:48):
many believe will be their last stand.
Ammunition is rationed to singlerounds.
The Sherman tank, now out of main gun ammunition, serves only
as a stationary machine gun position in a psychological
deterrent. The Critical Hours Midday May
5th, 1945. By noon on May 5th, the

(14:10):
situation at Castle Litter has become critical. s s forces
launched their most determined assault yet, attacking from
multiple directions simultaneously.
Mortar rounds impact throughout the castle grounds.
Several s s soldiers reached theouter walls before being
repelled in desperate hand to hand fighting.

(14:31):
During this intense phase of thebattle, Major Gangle spots an S
s sniper taking aim at former French Prime Minister Paul
Renaud. In an instinctive act of
heroism, the wear mocked officerpushes Raynod to safety but
exposes himself in the process. The snipers bullet strikes
Gangle in the neck, killing him instantly.

(14:52):
His last act saves the life of aman who, in another context,
would have been his enemy. Captain Lee, now the sole
commander of the Castle's defense, reorganizes his
dwindling forces. Former French General Maurice
Gamelin, though elderly, provides valuable tactical
advice based on his experience commanding French forces earlier

(15:14):
in the war. The defenders consolidate at the
Castle score, abandoning outer positions they can no longer
hold. Around 1400 hours, a critical
development. The Sherman tank Besat and Jenny
is hit by a Panzerfaust anti tank rocket.
While not destroyed, the tank isimmobilized, it's track blown

(15:36):
off. The crew survives but is forced
to abandon their position at thegate.
The castles main entrance is nowvulnerable.
S S troops press their advantage, rushing the gate in
what appears to be the decisive assault.
In the confusion, in smoke, an extraordinary scene unfolds.
Wermock soldiers in German uniforms, in GIS, in American

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uniforms, stand shoulder to shoulder, firing at s s troops
who just days earlier would havebeen the Wermock's allies.
Former political rivals Reynaud and Valadier both manned
defensive positions, united against the common enemy that
once imprisoned them. By 1600 hours, the defenders
have been pushed back to the castle's inner courtyard.

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Ammunition is nearly exhausted. Several defenders, both American
and German, have been wounded. The French VI PS, recognizing
the reality of their situation, destroy personal Diaries and
documents that might be valuableto the s s.
If the castle falls. The end seems inevitable.

(16:43):
But then, faintly at first, comes the sound that changes
everything. Tank treads and diesel engines
approaching from the north. The defenders hold their breath,
uncertain whether these are s s reinforcements arriving to
finish them off for the salvation they've been
desperately hoping for. Relief and resolution.
Afternoon to evening, May 5th, 1945.

(17:08):
At approximately 1630 hours, theanswer becomes clear as a column
of American armor from the 12th Armor Division crashes through S
S positions on the northern approach to castle litter.
Tennis star Jean Barotra, havingsuccessfully completed his
desperate mission, has returned with a relief force led by
Lieutenant Harry Bass, a column including several Sherman tanks,

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and about 40 American infantrymen.
Caught between the castle defenders in the relief column,
s s forces find themselves in anuntenable position.
After a brief but intense firefight, the s s commander
orders a retreat. Some S S units surrender on the
spot, while others melt away into the surrounding forests,

(17:53):
hoping to escape the advancing Allied armies.
By 1700 hours, the Battle of Castle it or is effectively
over. Lieutenant Bass's forces secure
the area around the castle, capturing approximately 100 S S
troops. Inside the fortress, the
unlikely band of defenders, American GIS, Wermock soldiers,

(18:16):
and French VIPs greet their rescuers with exhausted relief.
The human cost of this extraordinary battle becomes
clear in the aftermath. Major Joseph Gangel and two
American soldiers have been killed.
Several more defenders are wounded.
On the s s side, casualties are much heavier, with at least 35

(18:38):
confirmed dead and many more wounded.
The French prisoners, who have survived years of captivity only
to face death in the war's finaldays, are finally free.
Many are in tears as they realize their ordeal is truly
over. Former prime ministers Renaud
and Dalladier, political enemiesbefore the war, embrace in a

(19:00):
moment that symbolizes the reconciliation of a divided
France. By evening, the wounded are
evacuated to American field hospitals.
The surviving were mock soldierswho fought alongside.
The Americans are treated not asprisoners, but as comrades in
arms. Though they technically remain
under Allied custody, the FrenchVI PS prepare for repatriation

(19:23):
to their newly liberated homeland.
As night falls on May 5th, 1945.The significance of what has
transpired at Castle Litter is not yet apparent to most
participants. They have survived an
extraordinary day, but few recognize they have just
participated in one of the most unusual battles in modern
military history. The only time in World War 2

(19:46):
when Americans and Germans fought as allies.
The aftermath and legacy The dayafter the Battle of Castleiter
on May 6th, 1945, German forces throughout the region formally
surrendered. 2 days later, on May 8th, the war in Europe
officially ended with Germany's unconditional surrender.

(20:08):
The French VI PS were quickly transported to France where many
resumed prominent roles in post war politics.
Paul Reynaud and Eduard Daladierboth testified at the Nuremberg
trials, providing crucial evidence against Nazi leaders.
Tennis star Jean Barotra returned to sports, helping
rebuild French athletics after the war.

(20:31):
For the American participants, the battle became an unusual
footnote in their war experience.
Captain Jack Lee received the Distinguished Service Cross for
his leadership at Casa Litter, but the unique nature of
fighting alongside former Germanenemies was downplayed in
official accounts. In the urgent transition from
war to occupation and then to Cold War, the battle's

(20:53):
significance was largely overlooked.
The German soldiers who fought against the s S received perhaps
the most ambiguous recognition. Major Joseph Gangl, killed while
saving a French politician, was initially buried with little
ceremony. Years later, as the full story
of castle litter emerged, Austrian authorities recognized

(21:16):
his moral courage by naming streets after him and
establishing a memorial. Today, Gangl is remembered in
Austria as a man who chose humanity over blind obedience.
The German officer who died protecting his former enemies.
The battle itself faded from public memory for decades,
overshadowed by larger events atthe war's end.

(21:38):
It wasn't until historian Stephen Harding published his
book The Last Battle in 2013 that the full story reached a
wider audience. Today, military historians
recognize Castle Iter is not just a curiosity but as a
profound moral inflection point,a moment when the lines between
enemy and ally blurred in recognition of a higher

(21:59):
principal, the human dimension. What makes the Battle of Castle
It are truly remarkable goes beyond its unusual tactical
situation. It's the human choices that give
this story its power, choices made by individuals caught in
the moral collapse of the Third Reich.
Consider Major Joseph Gangel, a career German officer who had

(22:21):
served on the Eastern Front. By all accounts, he fought
capably for Germany through muchof the war, yet his Nazi
atrocities became impossible to ignore.
Gangl made the courageous decision to break his military
oath and follow his conscience instead.
In his final hours, When asked why he would risk everything to

(22:41):
protect French prisoners, Gangl reportedly said, I'd rather die
fighting with you than be hangedas a traitor.
It was not a statement of political conversion, but of
basic human decency reasserting itself amid barbarity.
Or consider the French prisoners, men who represented
the full political spectrum of pre war France, from

(23:02):
conservative nationalists to socialist labor leaders.
In peacetime they had been fierce political opponents.
In captivity, they found common cause and mutual respect.
Former Prime Minister Paul Renaud, who had advocated
fighting on against Hitler in 1940, and former Prime Minister

(23:23):
Eduard Delegier, who had signed the Munich Agreement appeasing
Hitler in 1938, put aside their profound differences to survive
together and ultimately fight together.
Captain Jack Lee's pragmatic decision to accept were mock
soldiers as allies speaks to thecomplexity of war's end.
In the chaos of Nazi Germany's collapse, Lee recognized that

(23:45):
the real dividing line was no longer nationality, but humanity
between those who served the dying regime's final crimes and
those who chose to oppose them. Even tennis star Jean Barotra's
daring escape through enemy lines reveals something profound
about human courage. A middle-aged athlete with no
military training, Barotra nonetheless volunteered for a

(24:08):
mission with minimal chance of success, driven by
responsibility toward his fellowprisoners.
These individual choices made inthe Crucible of war's end reveal
something important about how ordinary people respond to
extraordinary circumstances. The Battle of Castilator reminds
us that even in the most rigid systems of enmity, individual

(24:30):
human beings retain the capacityfor moral choice, sometimes at
great personal risk. Historical Significance and
Reflection As we reflect on the Battle of Castilator from our
vantage point today, several aspects of this remarkable event
stand out for their historical significance.
First, the battle represents a perfect microcosm of the moral

(24:53):
complexity. At war's end.
The clean lines of Allied versusAxis had already begun to blur
as Nazi Germany's collapse revealed the regime's true
nature to many of its own soldiers.
At Castle Iter, we see we're mocked officers making
individual moral choices that foreshadow the complicated
process of denassification and reconciliation that would follow

(25:15):
in post war Europe. Second, the battle offers a rare
moment of clarity amid moral ambiguity.
While much of World War 2 involved terrible choices and
compromised ideals, castle it orpresents an unusually clear
moral alignment those who soughtto protect innocent lives versus
those determined to take them inservice of a defeated ideology.

(25:38):
It reminds us that despite war'scomplexity, fundamental human
values can sometimes emerge withsurprising clarity. 3rd, the
alliance between American and German soldiers at Castle Itter
foreshadowed the post war reconciliation between former
enemies. Within just a few years, West
Germany would transition from occupied enemy to crucial NATO

(26:01):
ally in the emerging Cold War. The handshake between Captain
Lee and Major Gangle anticipated, in a small but
significant way, the rebuilding of a peaceful Europe from the
ashes of World War. Finally, Castle, it reminds us
of the power of individual moralchoice, even within the massive
machinery of Modern Warfare. Major Gangl's decision to

(26:24):
protect former enemies. Captain Lee's willingness to
trust former adversaries. The French prisoner's
determination to actively participate in their own
liberation, These individual choices shaped history in ways
that grand strategy and politicscould not.
The Battle of Castelitor lasted just one day and involved only a
few 100 combatants. Yet in its moral clarity, it's

(26:48):
unusual alliances, and it's expression of fundamental human
decency amid the collapse of an evil regime, it offers a lens
through which to understand the larger human dimensions of World
War 2's conclusion. As the last living participants
of this extraordinary battle have now passed away, their
story reminds us that history isnot just a chronicle of grand

(27:09):
forces and famous leaders, but also a record of individual
human beings making moral choices under the most difficult
circumstances imaginable. In the unlikely alliance that
defended Castle Iter, we find a reminder that even at the
darkest moments, the capacity for courage, conscience and
cooperation across the deepest divides remains 1 of humanity's

(27:32):
most powerful resources. This has been World War Two
stories. I'm Steve Matthews.
Join us next time as we continueexploring the moments that
shaped the greatest conflict in human history.