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
Resistance (Austrian)
forms after Anschluss, 10, 73
centers in Tyrol, 10, 74–75
gathers intelligence for OSS, 74
with Austrian-born military personnel, 74–77, 87–88
initially avoids guerilla warfare, 73
in Wörgl, led by Mayr, 76–77, 86–90
Gangl joins, leads, 1–2, 109–112
given responsibility for Wörgl by Allies, 122
Resistance (French)
activities prior to Allied invasion, 84
of CGT, 38–40, 49
activities increase as Allied invasion approaches, 84
de la Rocque gathers intelligence for Britain, 57, 59
of Cailliaus (Michel, Alfred, Marie-Agnès), 60–62, 168
Granger’s cell, 52
guerilla warfare, 73
Reynaud, Paul
background, 27, 43–44
in Vichy’s custody, 29
at Sachsenhausen, 45, 48
antagonism toward Weygand, 53–54, 63
hostilities with Daladier, 28, 63, 162, 163, 167
Schloss Itter radio, 64
reports on Weiter’s suicide, 96
observes retreating Germans, 107
defies Lee’s orders, 146, 148
fires on enemy, 148–151
postwar life and death, 166–167
Rhinehotel Dreesen, Bonn, 61
Riom Trial, 29–31, 35–36
Roman Catholicism, 5–7, 10, 16, 46, 54, 60, 113
Royal Norfolk Regiment (British army 2nd Battalion), 20
Rushford, William T.
as Lee’s driver Technician Fourth Grade, 123
drives, shoots from, Besotten Jenny, 125–127, 130–132, 137, 139
under attack from Waffen-SS, 147–148
postwar death, 171
Russia. See Red Army; Soviet Union
Saarbrücken, defense of, 85
Sachsenhausen concentration camp, 45, 48, 50
Saint-Cyr military academy, 33, 54, 57
Saturday Evening Post magazine, 172
Scheffold, Hans, 89
Schirwoski Battle Group, 72
Schloss Eisenberg in Czechoslovakia, 56–57, 59
Schloss Garlitz, 55
Schloss Itter
background, 5–13
as Dachau satellite, converted to VIP prison, 11–17
with Wimmer as commandant, 22–23, 40–42, 92–96
enmity among prisoners, 62–63
conditions worsen as German military deteriorates, 91
guards and Wimmer flee, 107
becomes Lynch’s command post, 164–165
Schloss Itter battle
defenses organized by Lee, 127–133
German corporal defects to Waffen-SS, 143–144
under attack from Waffen-SS, 146–152, 158–160
gatehouse defense, 136–137
Great Hall defense, 132–139
Gangl killed by sniper, 150
ammunition runs low, 151–152, 157
relief arrives, 160
aftermath, 163–165
Schrader, Annaliese Patales, 98–100, 128, 146, 148
Schrader, Kurt-Siegfried
background, 96–97
as Waffen-SS, 98–99
becomes anti-Nazi, friends with Krobot, 100–101
leads Giehl to surrender to Allies, 102
ensures VIP prisoners’ safety, 108–109, 122
as Lee’s lieutenant at Schloss Itter, 128–130
defends Great Hall, Schloss Itter, 138–139, 152
hands over VIP prisoners to Lynch, 161
postwar life and death, 170
Schwab, Eric
accompanies Kramers to Schloss Itter, 143, 153
aftermath of battle, 161
French war photographer, 121
2nd Battalion, 142nd Infantry Regiment
attempts to relieve Lee, 123–124
advance to Itter delayed around Wörgl, 140–141
Seigfried, bishop of Regensburg, 6
Seiner, Edward J.
as Lee’s loader Technician Fifth Grade, 123
defends Schloss Itter, 127, 130, 150
postwar life, 171
Servir (Gamelin), 166
753rd Tank Battalion, 123–124, 140, 152–154
Sherman, Glenn E., 123
Sitzkrieg, 79
Socialists/Socialist Party, 26, 39, 73
Souvenirs personnels (Cailliau, M.-A.), 168–169
Soviet Union
invaded by Germany (1941), 81–82
overcomes Germany’s advance, 83
recaptures Nazi-taken territories, 68
victory at Stalingrad, 67
See also Red Army
Speer, Albert, 13
Spiess, Paul, 7
SS-TV troops
as Dachau guards, 52–53
convert castle to prison, 13–17
Wimmer as officer at Dachau, Schloss Itter, 18, 22, 92–93
last Dachau commander Weiter, 95–96
flee the advancing Allies, 95–96, 107
Stalingrad victory by Soviet Union (1943), 67, 150
Sudetenland annexation, 19, 26–27, 97. See also Czechoslovakia
Sûreté Nationale, 35, 39, 44
Sutton, William
in Lee’s rescue group, 125
defends Schloss Itter, 130, 132, 136
aftermath of battle, 164
postwar death, 171
Szymczyk, Edward J. “Stinky”
accompanies Lee for recon, battle, 121, 123
postwar death, 171
Tardieu, André, 33
Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich, 8
Telephone system
in Schloss Itter commander’s suite, 15
in Schloss Itter orderly room, 145, 152
of Wörgl town hall, 153
line severed, 157
36th Infantry Division, 1
Tobacco, 12, 31, 41
Tolbukhin, Fyodor, 67–68
Totenkopfstandarte Oberbayern atrocities, 18–20
Totu, bishop of Regensburg, 6
Treaty of Versailles (1919), 78
Tunisia, 52
12th Armored Division
adv
ances into Austrian Tyrol, 1
advances to Kufstein, 70, 89
combat action, 117–118
12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, 71, 85
XXI Corps, 69–71
XXI Corps, U.S. Seventh Army, 69–71
23rd Tank Battalion
commanded by Clow, 118–119, 121
in Kufstein, 1–2
postwar lives and deaths of soldiers, 171
Tyrol region
historical background, 5–6
administrative districts under Nazis, 9
Allied armies advance (XXI Corps), 67–71
as center for anti-Nazi resistance, 10, 74
Tyrolean peasant uprising (1515–1526), 6
Ukraine, 67, 81–82, 99
“Ungarische Zigeunerweisen” music (Menter), 8
Unions/trade unions, 36–38
United Nations International Labor Organization agency, 166
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, 164
U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS), 74
U.S. Seventh Army
commanded by Patch, 85
advances into Tyrol, 68–69
enters Austria, 117–118
hosts liberated VIPs, 163
U.S. 6th Army Group, 69
U.S. Third Army, 69
Vals-les-Bains, 39
Vichy government
Pétain as puppet head, 29–31
arrests French political figures, 35–36, 39–40, 44
de la Rocque’s role, 57, 58–59
orders CGT dissolved, 38
VIP prisoners. See Honor prisoners
Von Bock, Fedor, 10, 20
Von Hengl, Georg Ritter
battle groups, 72–73, 87–90, 104, 111
defends passes into Austria, 72–73, 86, 87–88
withdraws to east of Schloss Itter, 89–90
and Lynch broker surrender of Tyrol, 164–165
Von Kliest, Ewald, 81
Von Reichenau, Walter, 19
Waffen-SS troops
search out resisters in Wörgl, 91
flee advancing Allies, 94
shoot anyone showing white or Austrian flags, 102, 109, 111
fired on by Lee’s rescue force, 125
attack Kramers’s column, 141–142
all-out attack on Schloss Itter, 144, 146–152, 159–160
Wagner, Richard, 8
Waltl, Hans, 145, 151
War correspondents, 121, 143, 156–157, 161–163
War crimes, 18–21, 95
“We Liberated Who’s Who” article (Levin), Saturday Evening Post, 172
Wegscheider (Gangl’s lieutenant)
assists Dietrich in Wörgl, 110–111
sent to Schloss Itter with Linsen, Waltl, 145–146
defends Schloss Itter, 149, 151
Wehrmacht
Austrian-born officers, enlisted soldiers, 10–11, 74–75
forced to withdraw by Red Army, Allies, 67–68, 83
become resisters, 87–88, 102, 121–122
surrender to Allies at Wörgl, 122
led by Gangl, defend Schloss Itter, 129–130, 137–138
Gangl dies, two troops wounded, 150, 157
Weiter, Wilhelm Eduard, 95–96, 103
Werfer-Brigade 7, 84–86
Western Front, 79
Weygand, Marie-Renée-Joséphine (de Forsanz), 54, 55, 168
Weygand, Maxime
background, 44, 53–55
as conservative chief of army, 28, 33–34
arrives at Schloss Itter, 55
antagonistic toward Gamelin, 54
hated by Reynaud, Daladier, 62–63
after liberation, put on trial for collaboration, 164
postwar life and death, 168
Wimmer, Sebastian “Wastl”
background, 17–19
as commandant of Schloss Itter, 22–23, 40–42, 92–96
drunken violence toward number prisoners, 92–94
war crimes in Poland, Majdanek, Dachau, 18–21, 95
flees Schloss Itter, 96
postwar life and death, 169–170
Wimmer, Thérèse, 21, 22, 169–170
Winter, August, 71–72
Witchcraft in the Tyrol, 6
Wolf’s Lair, Hitler’s field headquarters, 98
Wörgl
as von Hengl’s headquarters, 72
Mountain Warfare Noncommissioned Officer School, 15, 70
key resistance cell, 10, 74–77, 86–90
Krobot finds Gangl’s resistance group, 109
surrendered by Gangl to Lee, 122
Lee’s rescue force leaves for Schloss Itter, 124–125
Kramers and 753rd tanks arrive, 152–154
Workers’ Force, 166
World War I
armistice, 26
Borotra’s service, 46
Clemenceau’s service, 56
Daladier’s service, 26, 27
de la Rocque’s service, 57
Gamelin’s service, 32–34
as tragedy for France, 33
Weygand’s service, 54
Worsham, Alfred
in Lee’s rescue group, 125
under attack from Waffen-SS, 147–148
defends Schloss Itter, 130, 132, 136
aftermath of battle, 164
postwar death, 171
Woves, Bedrich, 38
Würthle, Friedrich, 75
Ybarnegaray, Jean, 47
“Zwei Jahren auf Schloss Itter” manuscript (Čučković), 169
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by Stephen Harding
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information, address Da Capo Press, 44 Farnsworth Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02210.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Harding, Stephen, 1952–
The last battle: when U.S. and German soldiers joined forces in the waning hours of World War II in Europe / Stephen Harding.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-30682-209-4 (e-book)
1. World War, 1939–1945—Campaigns—Austria—Tyrol. 2. World War, 1939–1945—Prisoners and prisons, German. 3. Prisoners of war—Austria—Itter—History—20th century. 4. Prisoners of war—France—History—20th century. 5. Daladier, Edouard, 1884–1970—Captivity, 1940–1945. 6. Reynaud, Paul, 1878–1966—Captivity, 1940–1945. I. Title.
D765.45.T9H37 2013
940.54'213642—dc23
2012044706
First Da Capo Press edition 2013
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
NOTES
1
Some sources date the earliest parts of the castle to 902. Most of the information regarding Schloss Itter’s early history is drawn from “Die Geschichte von Itter,” a pamphlet produced by Austria’s Hohe-Salve Regional Tourist Board, and Castle Hotels of Europe, by Robert P. Long.
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2
Reigned 893–930.
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3
A palatinate was a territory administered on behalf of a king or emperor by a count. In the Holy Roman Empire, a cou
nt palatinate was known in German as a pfalzgraf.
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4
Initially a collection of small huts and workshops used by the craftsmen who built the castle, the village of Itter evolved into a community built around the staffing and maintenance of the fortress. In return for their labor, the villagers were offered protection within the schloss in times of civil strife.
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5
Led by social and political reformer Michael Gaismayr, the revolt sought to replace the church-dominated feudal system with a republic. While successful in several military engagements against reactionary forces, Gaismayr and his followers were defeated at Radstadt in July 1526. Gaismayr fled to Venice and ultimately Padua, where on April 15, 1532, he was assassinated by Austrian agents.
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6
See Augusta Léon-Jouhaux, Prison pour hommes d’Etat, 23. As noted later in this volume, she was labor leader León Jouhaux’s secretary, companion, and future wife and was imprisoned with him at Itter from 1943 to 1945.
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7
Until his coronation in 1806 the king had been styled Maximilian IV Josef, prince-elector of Bavaria.
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8
Menter apparently purchased the castle using funds she’d earned on the concert circuit, though a brief article in the Nov. 25, 1885, edition of the New York Times (“Mme. Menter’s Good Fortune”) indicated that the purchase was largely financed by 400,000 rubles left to her in the will of an elderly Russian admirer.
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9
Ibid.
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10
Liszt, La Mara, and Bache, From Rome to the End, 377.
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11
Menter returned to Germany after the castle’s sale and lived near Munich for the remainder of her life. She died on Feb. 23, 1918.
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12
Widely referred to as the Wörgl Experiment, the effort was the brainchild of the town’s mayor, Michael Unterguggenberger. He sought to economically empower his town and the surrounding region by replacing standard currency with what’s known as “stamp scrip,” a local currency that would remain in use and in circulation rather than being hoarded by bankers. While the idea managed to revive the local Wörgl economy, it was terminated by the Austrian National Bank in 1933.
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