The Battle of Castle Itter - The Only Recorded Battle of U.S. Military Forces Fighting Alongside Nazi Defectors
Prologue:
In May of 1945, the Second World War in Europe was near ending. Across Europe, the Nazi party was desperate in their efforts to hold ground given their manpower shortages, equipment shortages, and thinly spread supply hubs. Front lines were falling, and battlefield resupply routes were subjected to frequent Allied ambushes. Prisoner camps, concentration camps, and rear echelon operations were being abandoned and guards were being allocated for front line service to supplement high casualty rates across the German front.
The Battle of Castle Itter:
Castle Itter is a 13th century fortress located in the Austrian Alps. In 1940, the castle was rented out to the German government after a political union in Austria brought the neighboring German country into Hitler’s Third Reich. Half-way through the war, the Nazi administration that controlled Dachau (a large concentration camp about 145 kilometers away) began to utilize the castle as a detention facility for political and strategic prisoners of the Nazi party. By May of 1945, the prisoners in Castle Itter were primarily high-ranking French politicians and officials. One of the former French Prime Ministers was even held captive there. The prison activities here were mostly white collar by nature. The prisoners were given cells that were once bedrooms of the castle and were provided adequate provisions to live more comfortably than most of the POW camps scattered across Europe. However, by the early months of 1945 the prisoners began to fear death knocking on their door.
As the German “retreat” to consolidate forces and prepare for a final stand against the advancing Allies and partisan groups began, the commandant of Dachau fled to Castle Itter. The concentration camp he fled was liberated by U.S. forces shortly after. He hid at Castle Itter for two days before committing suicide on May 2, just after Hitler had ended his life. At this point, the only Nazis that were still waging war were extreme loyalists to the German High Command. On May 4, Castle Itter’s own commandant and camp guards abandoned their posts after ignoring orders from German High Command to execute the prisoners and flee the castle to regroup with reconsolidating Nazi forces. This left the prisoners alone in the castle, and in a bind. They could not flee the castle and make the journey home on foot, as they were unfamiliar with the positioning of neighboring Nazi forces. They didn’t know what direction of travel would lead them to the Allies or lead them to a neighboring Nazi force’s firing squad. This is where Yugoslavian handyman and fellow Castle Itter prisoner Zvonimir Cuckovic finds his glory.
Zvonimir volunteered to flee the castle and attempt to locate Allied forces. After a journey on foot through the German occupied lines, he successfully contacted U.S. troops of the 103rd Infantry Division in Innsbruck. However, the castle’s location was outside of the 103rd ID’s jurisdiction, and to make matters stickier, the unit was bogged down by enemy artillery shelling. However, Major John Kramers, a field grade officer in the 103rd defied orders and began preparations to dispatch a small rescue team to aid the Castle in evacuation.
Meanwhile, the prisoners back in the castle were not confident Zvonimir was able to locate Allied forces and retrieve help. Some time had passed and there was no confirmation Zvonimir was still alive. They decided to dispatch another prisoner volunteer, a cook named Andreas Krobot. During his hunt for Allied aid to the castle, he was found by German forces.
Andreas had found Major Sepp Gangl, a German Wehrmacht officer who had abandoned the Nazi cause and was leading a group of likeminded German soldiers to aid Austrian resistance fighters. Major Gangl was briefed by Andreas on the dire situation taking place at the castle and offered his assistance to evacuate the prisoners abandoned in the castle. With help from the Austrian resistance, Gangl covertly contacted a nearby U.S. armored unit commanded by Captain Jack Lee. Gangl and his men officially surrendered to Lee at this time and informed him of Andreas, highlighting the need to assist in a prisoner rescue at the castle. Lee and Gangl stealthily visited the castle and conducted a recon. Together, they devised a plan to mount a discrete rescue attempt of the prisoners. Lee rejoined his unit after the recon and dispatched a rescue party, however, no tank other than Lee’s made it to the castle after getting into a skirmish enroute.
Captain Lee immediately took control of the castle upon his arrival with Gangl. His men and Gangl’s men mounted the castle walls manning fortified defensive positions. The arrival of the rescue team caught the attention of a nearby roving Waffen-SS division, who planned to mount a siege against the castle to finish the execution order of all Castle Itter prisoners. Lee, Gangl, and their men expedited their defensive plan and placed Lee’s tank at the main castle entrance to cover the enemy’s main avenue of approach while Gangl’s Wehrmacht defectors manned the castle walls. Lee, Gangl, and a young German Waffen-SS officer who had also abandoned the Nazi party finished their defensive plan just before the evening of May 4.
That night, a reconnaissance force of German Waffen-SS began probing the castle with small arms fire in an attempt to find weaknesses in the castle’s defense. U.S., German Whermacht defectors, and prisoners who took up small arms left behind by their captors returned fire. Small firefights took place throughout the night and the defenders held their positions, mounting minimal casualties.
At dawn the Waffen-SS attackers used a well concealed 88 anti-tank gun to take out the U.S. Sherman tank guarding the front entrance. Only the tank’s radio operator was able to crawl out of the tank’s wreckage alive. Once the tank was destroyed, the 88 targeted the castle walls which weakened the castle defenses. It was at this point, the Waffen-SS began their main assault. Around 150 attackers began to assault from a nearby tree line towards the castle gate. While the main assault pushed forward against the main castle defense, a small group of SS soldiers flanked the castle from the west, reaching the base of the castle walls. The American and German defenders, alongside many of the prisoners continued to engage the attackers with small arms from high up positions covered by the castle walls. As the battle progressed, the defender’s casualties started to rise. Sepp Gangl was shot and killed by a sniper while attempting to move one of the French prisoners out of harms way. He would later be venerated as an Austrian national hero for his actions.
By noon, Captain Lee and the remaining defenders were running low on ammunition and the situation was growing desperate after 12+ hours of fighting. Fortunately, Major Kramers of the 103rd ID was able to successfully contact Captain Lee on a field phone, informing him that a relief force was enroute to the castle to reinforce. The reinforcement party was comprised primarily of partisan fighters and U.S. GIs from the 103rd. The only issue was that Kramers’s reinforcements could not find a safe approach into the battlespace and risked running straight into the Waffen-SS assault force. One of the prisoners, champion tennis player and Vichy Minister of Sport Jean-Robert Borotra, volunteered to scale the castle walls, sprint through hails of Waffen-SS gunfire to link in with Kramers’s reinforcements. Once Jean-Robert was able to find the Allied reinforcements, he was able to begin leading them safely into the battlespace and counter the attackers. During this time, some of the Waffen-SS attackers had successfully breached the castle walls, and a close quarter fight ensued inside of the castle.
Finally, around 4:00 PM, Kramer’s reinforcements complimented with Armored units arrived at the castle, quickly overwhelming the Waffen-SS attackers, and taking many prisoners. It’s accepted by many historians that this is the only battle where US and German forces fought together as allies. Undoubtably, this battle was one of the most unique instances of conventional fighting that took place during the Second World War. It is an excellent example of dedication to duty and courage exercised by warfighters to protect the innocent. Likely, it would have been easy for Captain Lee, Major Kramers, or even Major Gangl to ignore the desperate plea for assistance by the prisoners. Peace and a safe ticket home was not far out of reach for these men, but they knew their duty as Soldiers was not yet finished and they honored the oath they swore as men of battle.
References Sited:
Lewis, R. (2024, April 30). Battle for Castle Itter. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-for-Castle-Itter