Battle year 1945 in which U.S. infantry and armour, Wehrmacht Heer, French prisoners and Austrian partisans took Castle Itter from the occupying Waffen SS
One of only two known instances in WWII where American and German forces fought together, and the sole case of a Waffen-SS member fighting on the Allied side.
Key Facts
- Date
- 5 May 1945
- US Unit
- 23rd Tank Battalion, 12th Armored Division, XXI Corps
- Wehrmacht Commander
- Major Josef 'Sepp' Gangl
- Attacking Force
- 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division
- Relief Unit
- 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, XXI Corps
- Known Instances of US-German Alliance
- 2 (Battle of Castle Itter and Operation Cowboy)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In the final days of World War II in Europe, the Waffen-SS maintained control of Castle Itter in the Austrian Tyrol, where prominent French prisoners of war were held. As the Wehrmacht fragmented and Allied forces advanced, dissident German soldiers sought to protect the prisoners from fanatical SS units unwilling to surrender.
On 5 May 1945, a combined force of US Army troops from the 23rd Tank Battalion, Wehrmacht soldiers under Major Josef Gangl, SS-Hauptsturmführer Kurt-Siegfried Schrader, and freed French prisoners jointly defended Castle Itter against an assault by the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division until American infantry from the 142nd Regiment arrived to relieve them.
The castle and its notable French captives were secured, and the attacking SS force was repulsed. The battle became historically notable as the only confirmed engagement in which Americans and Germans fought as allies during the war, and the only known instance of an active Waffen-SS officer joining the Allied side.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
3 belligerents
Lieutenant John C. 'Jack' Lee Jr., Major Josef 'Sepp' Gangl, SS-Hauptsturmführer Kurt-Siegfried Schrader.
Side B
1 belligerent