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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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