The Last Battle: When U.S. And German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe

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The Last Battle: When U.S. And German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe Page 27

by Stephen Harding


  combat action, 116–119, 165

  in Kufstein, led by Lee, 1–2, 112–113

  Concentration camps

  extended into Austria, 10

  female inmates serve at Schloss Itter, 64

  See also under specific camp names

  Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT), 36, 38–40, 49, 166

  Coyle, Marvin J., 123–124, 140–141, 159

  Croix de feu/PSF

  Borotra’s former membership, 63

  led by de La Rocque, 45, 58, 168

  Čučković, Zvonimir “Zvonko”

  introduced, 16–17

  steals short-wave radio for prisoners, 64

  tormented by Wimmer, 93–94

  finds Allies in Innsbruck, 103–107

  brings Kramers to Schloss Itter, 142–143

  thanked by liberated VIPs, 161

  repatriated to Yugoslavia after liberation, 164

  postwar life and death, 169

  Czechoslovakia

  annexed to Germany by Munich Agreement, 19, 27

  Bohemia and Moravia, 80

  recaptured by Red Army, 67

  Schloss Eisenberg, 56–57, 59

  See also Sudetenland annexation

  Dachau concentration camp

  conditions for Granger, 52–53

  Čučković’s experience, 16

  earliest years, 18–19

  Granger’s internment, 52–53

  liberated by American units, 111–112

  as parent facility for Schloss Itter, 12–13

  Weiter commits suicide, 95–96

  Daladier, Édouard

  as guest at Schloss Itter (1932), 9

  background in French politics, 25–30

  signs Munich Agreement (1938), 26–27

  antagonism toward Reynaud, 28, 162–163, 166

  in Buchenwald, 31–32

  reports on worsening conditions, 92, 94

  disdain for Lee, 123

  defies Lee’s orders, 139, 146

  nearly struck by enemy fire, 139

  end of battle, 159–160

  after liberation, 164

  postwar life and death, 165–166

  Daladier, Jean, 164, 165

  Dalton, Hugh, 39

  Dante, 6

  De Forsanz, Marie-Renée-Joséphine, 54, 55

  De Gaulle, Charles, 60–62, 164, 167

  De Gaulle, Henri, 60

  De La Rocque, François

  background, 57

  with Britain’s intelligence service, 57, 59

  leads Croix de feu/PSF, 45, 58–59

  hatred toward Jouhaux, 63

  fires on enemy, 148–150, 151

  after liberation, put on trial for collaboration, 164

  postwar life and death, 168

  De Lattre de Tassigny, Jean, 69, 163–164

  De Portes, Hélène, 44, 50

  Dernis, Colette Reynaud, 44, 50

  Devers, Jacob L., 69

  Dietrich (Gangl’s deputy), 110–111, 124, 128–129, 151

  Divine Comedy (Dante), 6

  Division Group North (Böhaimb), 72

  Drück Battle Group, 72

  École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr. See Saint-Cyr military academy

  Ehrenhäftlinge. See Honor prisoners

  Eicke, Theodor, 18–21

  Eisenhower, Dwight D., 69

  Elliot, William E.

  arrives at Schloss Itter, 160

  as sergeant on Boche Buster, 123, 152–153

  England

  as attempted exile for French resisters, 39, 47–48

  Free French base, 60

  Évaux-les-Bains, 39–40, 49

  Fiedler, Franz, 14

  Foch, Ferdinand, 54

  Forster Battle Group, 72, 89, 104, 111

  Franco-German armistice (June 1940), 28–29, 44, 47, 54–55

  Free French, 60–61, 68

  Free French First Army, 68

  French 1st Army or French First Army, 69, 163

  French National Economic Council, 166

  French North Africa

  Germany ousted by Allied forces, 31, 68

  with Noguès as commander in chief, 28

  Operation Torch Allied invasion, 31, 55

  resistance cells, 52

  Reynaud pressured to surrender, 44

  Weygand commands Vichy forces, 55

  Fresnes Prison, 51, 59, 61

  Frundsberg Division, 99

  Gaboriaud, Léo-Abel, 35–36

  Gamelin, Maurice

  background, 27–28

  in Vichy’s custody, 29–31, 35–36

  hostilities with Weygand, Daladier, 35–36, 63

  reprimands Wimmer for beating Čučković, 93

  at Schloss Itter, 25, 148–150

  postwar life and death, 166

  Gangl, Josef “Sepp”

  background, 77–79

  as respected Wehrmacht officer, 80–81, 83–86

  joins/leads Wörgl resistance cell, 1–2, 86–90, 109–110

  accompanies Lee for rescue recon, 121–122

  adds Germans to Lee’s rescue force, 124

  defends Schloss Itter, 128–130, 132–133, 137–139

  killed by sniper’s bullet, 150, 164

  postwar honors and interment, 169

  German Alliance for Combating the Dangers of Tobacco, 12

  Germany invades unoccupied France (1942), 31, 55

  Germany surrenders (May 7, 1945), 164–165

  Gestapo

  arrests Borotra, 48

  arrests Clemenceau, 56–57

  and Austrian resisters, 10, 74

  execute anti-Nazis in Tyrol, 87

  executes deserters, 102

  reprisals against Austrian civilians, 76

  Giehl Battle Group

  Gangl’s roles on staff, 87–90

  stops fighting, surrenders to Allies, 102

  uses hit-and-run tactics, 72–73

  Gill, Joe W., 154–157, 159–161

  Giraud, Henri, 53

  Goff, Glenn A., 154, 156

  Granger, Marcel

  background as resister, 52

  at Dachau, 52–53

  postwar, 167

  Granger, Pierre, 53

  Granger, Renée Giraud, 53

  Great Depression, 9, 26, 78

  Gris (Kramers’s sergeant), 120, 142–143, 153

  Grüner, Franz, 9, 11, 12, 13

  Guards (SS-TV) of Schloss Itter, 17, 23, 42, 64–65, 92–93, 107

  Hagleitner, Rupert

  arrives at Schloss Itter, 160

  as key figure in Wörgl resistance cell, 76–77, 87–88, 110

  protects Wörgl citizens, 90

  with Lee at Schloss Itter, 122–123

  at Neue Post Inn, 145

  Himmler, Heinrich

  changes Schloss Itter to prison, 11–13

  detains Daladier, Blum, Gamelin, 31

  ignores Wehrmacht complaints about atrocities, 19

  orders executions of men showing white flags, 90

  rounds up extended Giraud family, 53

  Hitler, Adolf

  assassination attempted, 100

  brutalizes New Germany, 18

  opposed to tobacco use, 12

  orders Riom Trial halted, 30–31

  orders Weygand’s arrest, 55

  rises to power, 9

  threatens Czech Sudetenland, 26–27

  suicide, 2, 111, 119

  Hitler Youth

  movement/Hitlerjugend, 71, 85, 97, 155

  Höckel (Gangl’s lieutenant )

  as key figure in Wörgl resistance cell, 110–111

  bolsters Lee’s troops, 124

  defends Schloss Itter, 128–129, 143, 151

  Holbrook, Wallace S., 123

  Holy Roman Empire, 6–7

  Honor prisoners

  introduced, 40–42

  conditions at Schloss Itter, 63–64

  Wimmer’s ground rules, false pledge, 40–42, 94

  relatio
ns fractured by differing politics, 27, 62–63, 162

  plan Čučković’s search for Allies, 103–104

  directed to cellars by Lee, 127–129

  defy Lee’s orders, 137, 139, 146–147

  seize weapons when guards flee, 107

  fire on Waffen-SS, 148–150

  postwar lives and deaths, 165–169

  See also under specific names

  Inflexible harshness doctrine, 19, 21

  Inn River valley

  Allied air attacks, 76

  history, 5

  6th Army Group advances, 69–71

  with specialized mountain-warfare units, 70

  von Hengl defends passes against allies, 72

  von Hengl retreats from Wörgl, 89

  Innsbruck

  German defense led by von Hengl, 71–72

  advanced upon, captured, by Allies, 69–71, 103, 120

  Čučković brings rescue message to Allies, 106–107

  Kramers’s rescue mission sets out, 120–121

  resistance cell, 74

  McAuliffe hosts liberated VIPs, 163

  International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), 38–39

  Italy, 38, 68, 76

  Itter village, 5, 9–10, 159

  Jacomet, Robert, 29, 31

  Jews

  active in Austrian resistance cells, 73

  brutalization sanctioned by Nazis, 18

  and Eicke’s inflexible harshness, 19

  Majdanek extermination center, 20

  Parisians rounded up by Nazis, 47–48

  Totenkopfstandarte atrocities, 18–19

  Joffre, Joseph, 33

  Joseph II, emperor of Holy Roman Empire, 6–7

  Jouhaux, Léon

  background, 36–37

  arrested, interned, by Vichy secret police, 39–40

  as CGT/labor movement leader, 38–40, 49, 166

  arrested, interned, by Vichy, 39–40

  joined by Bruchlen at Schloss Itter, 48–50

  shunned by de la Rocque, 63

  summons Schrader to Schloss Itter, 108

  defies Lee’s orders, 146, 148

  postwar life and death, 166, 169

  Journal de Captivité, 1940–1945 (Daladier), 165–166

  Keblitsch (Gangl’s corporal), 110–112, 116, 121

  Keyes, Geoffrey, 68

  Klan Network, 59

  Konrad VI von Haimberg, bishop of Regensburg, 6

  Kramers, John T.

  organizes rescue force from Innsbruck, 120–121

  advance stopped by Waffen-SS attack, 141–142

  defies order to return to Innsbruck, 142–143

  joins Lee at Schloss Itter battle, 152–155

  leads VIPs to Innsbruck, 161–163

  postwar life and death, 170–171

  Krobot, Andreas

  as prisoner-cook at Schloss Itter, 64

  becomes friends with Schrader, 100

  brutalized by Wimmer, 93–94

  delivers message to Wörgl resisters, 90–91, 108–109

  with Hagleitner, arrives at Schloss Itter, 160

  at displaced-persons camp after liberation, 164

  postwar, 169

  Kufstein, Austria

  garrisoned by mountain-warfare units, 70–71

  von Hengl attempts to defend against Allies, 72–73

  seized and held by Allied forces, 1, 70

  resistance cell, 74–76, 87–88

  Gangl connects with Allies, Lee, 111–113

  relief column leaves for Schloss Itter, 124

  Kunert, Maria, 9

  La Chambre, Guy, 29, 31

  Labor movement (French), 38–40, 49, 166

  Lanckoronska, Karolina, 51

  Le Portalet prison, 50–51

  Lebrun, Albert, 26

  Lee, John C. “Jack,” Jr.

  introduced, background, 1–3, 113–114, 115–117

  meets Gangl, embarks on rescue mission, 112

  leads division’s move into Austria, 118–119

  recons Schloss Itter, 121–123

  adds Gangl’s men to rescue force, 124

  leads defense of Schloss Itter, 125–151

  relief forces needed, arrive, 140–143, 160

  hands over VIP prisoners to Lynch, 161

  receives Distinguished Service Cross for Schloss Itter battle, 165

  postwar life and death, 172–173

  Lee, Virginia, 115, 172–173

  Léon-Jouhaux, Augusta, 166, 169. See also Bruchlen, Augusta

  Lévesque, René, 156–157, 161–163, 166

  Levin, Meyer

  as U.S. war correspondent, 121

  accompanies Kramers on relief mission, 141–143, 152–155, 159

  on Germans attempting to surrender, 155

  on enmity among VIPs, 162

  aftermath of battle, 161

  postwar magazine article, 172

  Linsen (Gangl’s corporal), 145–146, 149, 151

  Liszt, Franz, 8

  Lutten, Eric

  as French army liaison officer, 120, 164

  with Kramers’s rescue mission, 142–143, 153

  Lynch, George E.

  commands 142nd Infantry, 123

  promises to provide relief force to Lee, 124, 139–140

  orders Companies E, F, G, to advance on Schloss Itter, 154–156

  Lee hands over VIP prisoners, 159–161

  makes Schloss Itter command post, 164–165

  Mabire, Christiane Dolorès

  background, 44, 48–49

  arrested, imprisoned, 50

  reunited with Reynaud at Schloss Itter, 51–52

  defies Lee’s orders with other VIPs, 146, 148

  writes English pleas for help, 103, 106, 109, 112

  postwar life and death, 167

  Majdanek concentration camp, Poland, 20–21, 95

  Mandel, Georges

  in Vichy’s custody, 9, 29, 32, 44

  detained in Morocco, 28

  at Buchenwald, 32

  at Sachsenhausen concentration camp, 45, 48

  Massilia steam ship, 28

  Matney, Carl P., 154, 156, 159

  Maurin, Louis, 34

  Maximilian I, king of Bavaria, 7

  Mayr, Alois

  leads resistance cell in Wörgl, 76–77, 110, 145

  and resister Sepp Gangl, 85–89

  asked by Lee to call in U.S. reinforcements, 139

  sends Waltl, Wegscheider, Linsen to Schloss Itter, 145–146

  Mayr, Eugen, 8–9

  Mayr-Hagleitner resistance organization, 87–90, 122–124

  McAuliffe, Anthony C., 106, 142, 161–162

  McHaley, Herbert G.

  bow machine gunner in Lee’s rescue force, 123, 125

  defends Schloss Itter, 130, 132, 136, 151

  postwar death, 171

  Meloy, Guy S., 142

  Mendès-France, Pierre, 28

  Menter, Sophie, 7–8, 14

  M4 Sherman tanks, 1, 112, 115–117, 120, 140, 153–154

  Milice, Vichy paramilitary, 52

  Morocco, 28–29, 52

  Mountain-warfare units (gebirgstruppen), 15, 70–71, 124

  Müller, Frau (Mabire’s cover name), 51

  Munich Agreement of 1938, 19, 26–27

  National Movement of Prisoners of War and Deportees, 60

  Nazi Germany armed forces. See Waffen-SS troops; Wehrmacht

  Neue Post Inn, 76, 89, 110

  Noguès, Charles-Auguste, 28–29

  Normandy, Allied invasion of western Europe, 2, 84–85, 99

  North Africa. See French North Africa

  Norwich University, Vermont, 113–114

  Number prisoners

  introduced, 64

  tormented by Wimmer, 93

  shelter in Schloss Itter cellar, 128

  liberated, 161, 163

  go to displaced-persons camp, 164

  postwar, 169

  Oberbayern troops, 18–19

  O5 organization, 7
4, 88

  103rd Infantry Division

  in Innsbruck, 106

  Meloy orders Kramers returned to Innsbruck, 142

  led by McAuliffe, 162–163

  142nd Infantry Regiment

  moves to Kufstein to relieve Lee, 119, 123

  advances to, arrives in, Wörgl, 129–130, 140, 153–154

  encounters Waffen-SS fire, 155

  led by Borotra to Schloss Itter, 157–159

  at Schloss Itter, 161, 163–164

  postwar follow up, 171

  Operation Barbarossa, 81

  Operation Dragoon, 68

  Operation Torch, 31

  Organization Todt, 88

  OSS. See U.S. Office of Strategic Services

  Ostmark province of Germany, 8, 12

  Otto, Stefan

  introduced, 17

  as Wimmer’s deputy, 22, 41–42, 62

  postwar, 170

  Paape, Kurt, 86

  Panzergrenadier divisions, 20, 71, 118, 144–145

  Paris antiparliamentarist riots (1934), 26

  Parti Social Français (PSF), 45, 46, 47, 58–59

  Partisans

  Austrian, 141, 153

  Russian, 98

  Serbian, 98–99

  Patch, Alexander M.

  advances into Tyrol, 68–70

  dines with liberated French VIPs, 163

  Saarbrücken battle, 85

  12th Armored Division assigned, 117

  Patton, George S., 69

  Pétain, Philippe

  as head of Vichy government, 29, 32

  opposed by Clemenceau, 56

  tries former government members, 44

  postwar trial, 168

  Petrukovich, Alex

  as 142nd infantryman, 125

  defends Schloss Itter, 130, 132, 136

  aftermath of battle, 164

  postwar death, 171

  Petz (supervisor of prison conversion), 13–17

  Phoney War, 79

  Pilgrim II of Puchein, archbishop of Salzburg, 6

  Pister, Hermann, 31–32

  Pius VI, pope, 6–7, 13

  POEN-O5, 74, 88

  Pohl, Oswald, 12

  Poland

  atrocities committed by Totenkopfstandarten, 19

  invaded by Germany (1939), 27, 79

  Majdanek concentration camp, 20–21

  Pollock, Arthur

  in Lee’s rescue group, 125

  defends Schloss Itter gatehouse, 130, 136, 143

  under attack from Waffen-SS, 147–151

  aftermath of battle, 164

  postwar life, 171

  Popper, David, 8

  POW camps/cages, 20, 21, 60, 155, 164, 169, 170

  Prison pour hommes d’Etat (Léon-Jouhaux), 166, 169

  Provisional Austrian National Committee (POEN), 74

  PSF. See Croix de feu/PSF; Parti Social Français

  Radical Socialist Party, 26

  Rapoto III of Ortenburg, 6

  Ravensbrück concentration camp, 51

  Red Army, 20, 67–68

  Regensburg diocese of Tyrol region, 5–6

  Reichswehr, 78–79. See also Wehrmacht

  Reinhard, Clifford J., 154–159

  Réseau Klan (Klan Network), 59

 

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