In the final days of WW2, one of the last and strangest battles was fought on Austrian soil. Unlike Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, battles which are widely recognized, the Battle for Castle Itter is not so quite popular.
Castle Itter is situated near the small town of Itter, Austria, and during the war, the Nazis used it as a prison camp for high profile prisoners.
In the closing days of the war and with the addition of Hitler's suicide, the castle was abandoned by German forces and the prisoners within managed to take over the structure. One of the prisoners left the castle to inform American forces of the situation. Lt. John "Jack" Lee heard the call and prepared a small rescue force to liberate the prisoners. The small force also included a German officer Josef Gangl and men from the Wehrmacht who had surrendered days before and were also part of the Austrian resistance during the war. The rescue force consisted of 10 Germans, 14 Americans, 2 Tanks, a Kubelwagen and one truck.
On May 4, 1945, the force reached the castle and set up defensive positions.
On May 5, 1945 a small force of Waffen-SS began their attack on the castle. Before the main assault began, Gangl was able to phone the Austrian resistance leader in Itter and requested reinforcements; two more German soldiers under his command as well as Austrian resistance member Hans Waltl quickly drove to the castle.
Lt. Lee had ordered the prisoners to hide, but they remained outside, and fought alongside the American and Wehrmacht soldiers. After six hours of fighting, a relief force from the American 142nd Infantry Regiment arrived and the SS were defeated.
Lt. Lee was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Josef Gangl was killed during the fight and became one of Austria's national heroes. The battle is the only instance were Germans and Americans fought side by side during the entire war, and the only time American forces defended a medieval castle against an enemy force. #braveheartmode #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #itter #ww2