May 1945.
During the final days of war in Europe,
an American tank commander
leads an unlikely band of U.S. and German soldiers...
to rescue French VIPs held in an Austrian castle.
As he organizes their defenses...
Lee's strategy is to keep the SS guessing
about the disposition of forces inside the castle.
They don't know he's only got 25 men and three officers.
But when Waffen SS forces attack,
he cannot be sure where their loyalty will stand.
On June 6, 1944,
Allied forces finally land troops in Normandy
to open the Western Front.
But Nazi fanatics and diehards
continue to fight ruthlessly for survival.
D-Day was a battle.
The Allies still need to win the war.
May 4, 1945.
Tyrol, Austria.
Advertise your product or brand here contact www.SubtitleDB.org today
German Army major Josef Gangl and his driver
near the town of Kufstein,
occupied just the day before by American troops.
German resistance has more or less collapsed.
But it has not yet surrendered.
German troops are withdrawing to the Alpine region,
where there is this myth of this Alpine Fortress,
the last stand of the Nazis.
As they turn a corner,
they come face to face with four U.S. Sherman tanks.
Out of the car.
Alright. What do you want?
On the surface,
it may look like Gangl is one of thousands of German soldiers
surrendering to Western Allies.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
But Gangl has come to Kufstein on a mission.
It may be risky.
Days prior,
the U.S. Army began to liberate
the nearby Dachau prison camp system.
After witnessing the atrocities,
many of the soldiers were of the opinion
that they simply weren't in the business
of taking prisoners anymore.
But Gangl has joined the Austrian Resistance
to help defeat the Nazis from within the Third Reich.
Gangl is taken to Lieutenant Jack Lee,
commander of Company B, 23rd Tank Battalion,
U.S. 12th Armored Division.
Months of hard fighting gives Lee confidence,
on the edge of bravado.
In a couple of days prior,
a German colonel wanted to surrender
a large number of his men
but wouldn't do so to a lowly first lieutenant.
So, Lieutenant Lee,
making use of the fact
that the insignia for a first lieutenant
is a single silver bar
and for a captain is two silver bars,
simply took a spare bar, put it on his collar,
and was a captain for a few minutes
to accept surrender.
In English, Gangl delivers his message.
The German officer explains
that he has knowledge of important French prisoners
held by the Nazis not far away.
From the perspective
of a U.S. Army commander,
you're wise if you decide,
I'm only going to trust my own guys.
But you also have to be open-minded enough
to realize that there may be a lot of people
who need your help
and that you're probably going to do yourself
more harm than good
if you're shooting first and asking questions later.
Gangl presents a letter
written by one of the VIPs.
In it, they plead for rescue.
Rumors had circulated
about an Alpine fortress holding such prisoners.
The story could be true,
or it could be a trap.
It's a tough sell for someone like Gangl
to make the Americans understand
that he is going to join them in common cause
and that he's really not a supporter of Nazism.
Lee climbs into his tank
to radio his commanding officer.
HQ, this is Lee.
He shares the intel about the French hostages.
Lee receives permission to proceed
as he judges appropriate.
Alright, we'll see it through. Over.
It's indicative of how fluid the situation is;
There's not always going to be time to check in.
The battalion commander is telling Lee
that he needs to exercise his judgment.
Lee decides to check out the story himself.
He will reconnoiter to where Gangl claims
the VIP prisoners are being held.
Only one of Lee's gunners
and the two Germans accompany him.
Lee decides to travel with Gangl
to determine the German major's reliability...
and to verify his connections with the Austrian Resistance.
This situation
that you have there on the ground in Austria
is extraordinarily complex.
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler
committed suicide five days prior,
on April 30, 1945.
The German military is disintegrating.
Some surrender to the Allies.
Others retreat,
or even desert.
In my opinion,
Gangl represents the state of the German armed forces
in May 1945.
He understands the war is lost,
probably has also understood
that he had served the wrong cause.
And now is time to try to avoid even more damage
to our home country,
even if this means to cooperate with a former enemy.
But many still support the cause of Nazism,
particularly those in the Waffen-SS...
The military arm of the Nazi party.
There are a number of Waffen-SS troops
in northern Austria by this time.
Most of them are still determined to fight on.
They are fanatical.
When we hear 'fanatic' or 'fanatical' today,
we think of crazy people who fight on stupid-like.
But fanatic is actually considered a positive term
by the Nazis.
If they say you are a fanatic Nazi,
it's meant as a compliment.
The Waffen-SS will fight to the bitter end.
A couple of days before the war was over,
the thinking then was we are losing,
but when we are losing, our enemies shall not survive.
Their fatalism
creates great risk for the Allies.
Whether in the next village
they will be met with open arms,
or whether they will be met with a hail of bullets.
The four men travel to their objective...
Castle Itter.
Their route will be dictated by roadblocks.
The Nazis controlled
most every aspect of German life,
including the road net.
We have a roadblock at the entry points of a town.
This was a way to maintain control over populations,
to cow them into submission.
It was a way to maintain some semblance of political control.
With Gangl and his driver's knowledge of the area,
they bypass some roadblocks.
Other times, en route to the town of Worgl,
Lee and Gangl encounter Wehrmacht German Army troops,
who prove loyal to the German major.
As Gangl navigates each turn,
Lee must still wonder whether it's an elaborate ruse.
During a stop in Worgl,
Gangl offers Lee formal surrender
of the garrison based in the town.
They then continue to Itter village,
situated just below the castle itself.
So, for Lee,
the next introduction must have been jarring.
Though he's dressed in civilian clothes,
the man is introduced as a Waffen-SS captain.
SS officers did not swear loyalty to Germany
and its constitution and its laws.
They swore a personal loyalty to Adolf Hitler himself.
These were the fanatics.
These were the people who ran the concentration camps.
Lee may have trusted the Wehrmacht officer,
only to fall into the clutches of the SS instead.
May 4, 1945.
In the final days of World War II,
an American tank commander
believes a German officer's story
about French VIP prisoners in a nearby castle
needing rescue.
But while on reconnaissance,
Lieutenant Jack Lee fears he has fallen into the hands
of Waffen-SS Captain Kurt-Siegfried Schrader.
Why should I believe you?
But German Army Major Josef Gangl
vouches for the SS captain.
This creates a tense moment.
Gangl recognizes him.
They'd worked together before on Battle Group Giehl.
Schrader informs Lee and Gangl
that he has assumed responsibility
for the French VIPs' protection.
We can only speculate
what motivates Schrader's change in mind.
Was it a true change of mind,
or was it just opportunism,
seeing the war is lost for Germany.
They also learn from Schrader
that the SS unit that had guarded the prisoners
has fled overnight.
The VIPs are safe for now,
but everyone fears what's coming next.
Lee finds himself in a remarkable situation.
Two German officers... One from the SS...
Have turned their backs on the Nazi cause
to assist American forces to protect the French prisoners.
I'm going to check this guy's story out.
Still needing to confirm.
Gangl and Schrader's stories,
Lee insists they continue to the castle.
Schloss Itter, as it is known in German,
sits amidst Austria's Tyrol Mountains.
Positioned over a ravine,
a short bridge connects the 13th-century castle
to a nearby mountain.
Just south of the Austrian-German border,
the Tyrol region is of legendary concern.
Mountains separated by countless rivers,
threaded by country roads,
form natural defenses for retreating German troops.
A recurrent fear of Allied supreme commander.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
is a final stand in the Alps.
As the American forces move south,
they are ordered to cut off mountain passes
to prevent the formation of a Nazi redoubt.
But as the Allies press
from the north, east, and south of Austria,
the squeeze may inadvertently create
the assembly of loyal Nazi troops.
Eisenhower fears.
Upon arriving at the castle...
Lee encounters an armed group...
and realizes that Gangl's story is true.
The French VIPs exist,
and they need help.
The prisoners include
two former French prime ministers,
two French generals,
and the sister of Charles de Gaulle.
These are very distinguished soldiers
in some cases.
They are distinguished political voices.
In a way, they represent
the sort of kernel of French political nationhood.
So, there's a great value in them, in that sense.
So-called 'honor prisoners'
lived in relative luxury
in hotels and castles throughout the war.
The Nazis see them as a kind of bargain
for future negotiations with the enemy.
But faced day-to-day uncertainty,
as their survival depended on Hitler's impulses.
With his death
and German command structure imploding,
SS units in the region
might decide it is in Germany's interest
to execute the VIPs.
The fear is
that the SS were fully capable of executing anybody
that they didn't want around to testify after the war.
Though currently unguarded
and in possession of German weapons,
the VIPs are trapped and face imminent danger.
While Lee wants to protect his men from unnecessary risks
in what could be the last hours of the war,
he understands the importance of the French VIPs
and that they may be critical
to the stability of free France after the war.
Lee tells the French prisoners that he will be back with help
as soon as possible.
Lee and Gangl return to Kufstein
to gather reinforcements.
Alright, boys, let's roll out!
Just before 1900 hours,
Lee leads seven Sherman tanks and three squads of infantry
from Kufstein towards Castle Itter.
They are joined by Major Gangl,
who adds men to strengthen their numbers.
Jack Lee finds himself in command
of 14 American and 10 German soldiers.
I know of no other time
when you had German soldiers directly serving
and following the orders
of an American junior officer in World War II.
As they proceed to Itter,
Lee must return three of his tanks to Kuftstein,
when an old bridge gives way
and prevents further crossings.
He also leaves two tanks behind
to defend the town of Worgl
and one to secure a bridge
they may need
as an escape route.
This leaves Lee's tank,
nicknamed the Besotten Jenny,
as the only Sherman still bound for the castle.
The Besotten Jenny
is an M4 A3 Sherman tank,
operated by a crew of five.
It is armed with
a 76-millimeter main gun,
capable of firing
20 rounds a minute...
and fitted with a .50-caliber
and two .30-caliber
machine guns.
As the rescue force closes in on Itter village,
they encounter a Waffen-SS roadblock...
and open fire to clear the way.
The German troops immediately scatter
without firing a shot.
They just melt off into the woods.
Pick up the pace.
Having announced their presence
to any enemy soldiers in the area,
Lee and his rescue force hurry to Itter Castle.
A 60-foot road leads to the castle's gatehouse.
OK, move it, move it.
Lee's driver puts the tank in reverse.
There's no way to turn around
once you're at the castle gate.
And if you were to drive up forward,
he'd have the most vulnerable portion of the tank...
The engine compartment...
Directly facing enemy fire.
Alright, boys, keep moving.
The tank's rearview mirrors were broken,
so Lee uses his voice to guide the tank up the hill.
It's an incredibly tense maneuver
because the consequences of error are monumental.
The tank would plunge at least 25 feet
down into the ravine.
With the Sherman tank safely parked,
Lee is greeted by the French VIPs,
whose joyful relief quickly fades.
The initial reaction
of the French VIPs to the rescue force
is disappointment.
They're like, boy, is this all that's coming?
Infused as some of them were with their own importance,
they would have assumed,
well, of course half the United States Army
is going to come after us.
And of course, this was just a little recon element
that they did not find particularly impressive.
And plus, you've got Germans in tow with weapons, still.
So, you're probably not too wild about that either.
Lee is also met by SS Captain Schrader.
Schrader informs Lee that he's witnessed SS troops
moving anti-tank guns into the woods around the castle.
This is most likely
because of the Besotten Jenny's run-in
with the Waffen-SS roadblock.
For their safety,
Lee directs the VIPs into the castle's cellars.
The male VIPs argue
that they wish to fight in their own defense,
but Lee counters
that they would not be much help to France
if they get themselves killed.
From the perspective of these two French generals...
Both very senior, distinguished generals,
both of whom had extensive combat experience...
Now you're being asked to take orders
from some 27-year-old American?
He ranks way below you.
You would find that somewhat insulting.
You would've expected Lee to defer to you
and say, General, what do you think we ought to do now?
That's not his mindset.
Lacking sufficient resources
to evacuate the castle,
Lee organizes a defensive strategy
for the American and German troops under his command.
Lee assigns responsibility for 180 degrees...
Basically half the field of fire... to each man.
Schrader to the north and Gangl to the south.
Lee also orders
that his tank, the Besotten Jenny,
is manned at all times.
With the defensive positions set,
Lee instructs them to sleep in shifts
and tries to get some rest himself.
At 0400 hours on May 5th...
Lee is awoken by the sound of gunfire.
Castle Itter is under attack.
May 5, 1945.
Lieutenant Jack Lee
commands a small group of American and German soldiers
trying to protect French VIPs
held as hostages at Castle Itter.
Woken by the sound of gunfire from the castle's gatehouse,
Lee rushes out.
As a machine gun from a nearby ridge
targets the castle,
the crew member stationed in Lee's tank,
the Besotten Jenny,
returns fire.
The attack comes from the Waffen-SS...
Fire!
Nazi loyalists
determined to retake the castle and the prisoners.
When the firefight subsides,
Lee's man reports he saw four Germans
inside the razor wire, which rings the castle,
with ropes and climbing gear.
Under fire, the advancing SS troops
retreated into the surrounding woods.
Lee debriefs with Major Josef Gangl
and Captain Kurt-Siegfried Schrader
about the exchange.
At the sound of another machine-gun burst,
the officers race down.
The trio encounter one of Major Gangl's men
under heavy fire.
Lee and Gangl pull the soldier to safety...
while Besotten Jenny's .50-caliber machine gun
opens up again in retaliation.
Gangl translates his soldier's account for Lee.
More Waffen-SS soldiers had gotten past the razor wire
and approached the castle.
The soldier opened fire on them,
and in turn, was shot at in retaliation.
They retreated again into the forest.
I got a .50-cal in that section.
No one's getting down there.
With the Sherman tank guarding access to the castle,
a frontal attack is futile,
so the SS troops need to find another way in.
What they do is probe the castle in small groups
and trying to find weak spots,
and perhaps also trying to find out
the number of the defenders.
HQ?
HQ, this is Lee.
This is Lee. Over.
The situation is dire.
Lieutenant Lee is on his own.
He has no radio communication.
He has no way of knowing if a rescue force is coming.
At this point, Lee's strategy is to keep the SS guessing
about the disposition of forces inside the castle.
They don't know he's only got 25 men and three officers.
But a short time later,
another round of gunfire alerts Lee to a new problem.
One of Major Gangl's men
has fled the castle.
The soldier secretly lowered himself down the castle wall,
then ran into the trees of the gorge.
You said I could trust your men, Gangl.
The soldier's escape
is a grave threat to everyone left inside Castle Itter.
Up until now,
the SS have no idea of who is defending the castle.
This man would likely tell the SS
anything they wanted to know.
He can give away
how many people are defending this castle
and where exactly are their defense positions.
The escape is not just about one soldier.
It undermines the Americans' faith
in the other Germans as well.
Lee's men observe
that the other Germans did not fire on him.
Now, at this point he doesn't know,
is that simply because
they didn't want to kill a fellow German,
or is there something bigger afoot?
This single soldier
represents a larger problem for the defenders.
Where is their loyalty?
Is it with Gangl?
Or is it with the besieging Waffen-SS unit?
It seems that Gangl and Lee
came to some sort of understanding,
and the Germans retain their weapons.
But it is a good thing,
because it soon becomes clear
that Lee will need every man he's got.
May 1945.
An American tank commander
tries to defend the lives of French VIPs
taken hostage and held by the Nazis
at Castle Itter during the war.
A Waffen-SS force prepares to retake the castle.
In an unusual twist of fate,
former enemies now work for a common cause.
The castle is held by both American and German troops.
27-year-old Lieutenant Jack Lee
is the American tank commander in charge.
In my opinion,
Lieutenant Lee, at this point,
trusts Gangl and Schrader implicitly.
Gangl already had well-established bona fides
both from the resistance and his actions so far.
Schrader, besides being vouched for by Gangl,
also had his family inside the castle.
Lee joins German officers.
Major Gangl and Captain Schrader
high in the castle
to observe Waffen-SS movements.
Lee spots artillery pieces
being moved into place among the trees,
only about 800 yards from the castle...
Likely in response
to information from an escaped defender.
They know that the defensive force
has no heavy weapons to fire.
And so they feel free to move their heavy guns into place.
One of the guns is an 88.
The 88 is the most dreaded weapon
in the German arsenal.
It's a high-velocity gun with a heavy punch.
Literally one round can go through a Sherman tank
like it's made of butter.
It does the same thing to stone walls.
They also watch
as Waffen-SS troops arrive and take up positions.
From all what we know,
the number of German troops attacking Castle Itter
was about a company.
So, about 150, 200 men maximum.
They were relatively well-armed.
They seemed to have been in good supply of ammunition.
Castle Itter is now surrounded.
While the American and German officers are concerned,
Major Gangl discovers that the French VIPs are not.
Gangl encounters them
getting some fresh air in the courtyard,
in spite of Lee's clear instructions.
The 88 suddenly opens up.
A shot hits an upper floor of the castle
and rains down debris.
Everyone scrambles for cover.
Let's go. Let's move!
At 1000 hours,
Waffen-SS troops begin a full-scale assault
on the castle.
Lee will soon learn if the Germans inside the castle
will fight to repel them.
Very quickly,
the Besotten Jenny, the defenders' only tank,
takes a direct hit.
Lee's best hope for protecting everyone inside Itter Castle
goes up in flames.
An American tanker escapes the burning wreckage.
He and two other U.S. soldiers retreat...
as the Sherman's fuel tanks explode.
It is a major setback.
The assault continues.
The forces inside the castle
are reduced to simply small arms...
Rifles, pistols, and grenades.
They have no heavy weapons whatsoever.
The defenders have no way
to take out the German 88...
and it continues to pound the castle.
Some of the French VIPs refuse to retreat to safety
in order to join the battle.
They had served in the French army.
Though for most,
decades earlier in the First World War.
Hurry! OK! Let's go!
Some defenders are positioned higher
to preserve their view of the attacking troops.
The Waffen-SS attack intensifies.
Lee notices that one of the French VIPs
has moved into a vulnerable spot.
But before Lee can react...
Major Gangl does.
May 1945.
During the final days of the war in Europe...
American and German soldiers fight together
to hold a castle
and protect French prisoners from Waffen-SS forces.
German Wehrmacht Major Josef Gangl
rushes to pull one of the French VIPs back
from a vulnerable position.
But in his haste...
Gangl exposes himself
to a bullet fired from outside the castle.
In the hope of peace,
Gangl chose to defy his own country,
because he could no longer support in its aims,
and he pays the ultimate price.
It was not an opportunistic choice
to defend Castle Itter.
He did it with conviction.
Lee cannot stop.
As the incoming fire increases,
he must secure the castle.
Lee passes word to his men in the gatehouse
to hang on as long as possible before falling back.
As part of the growing onslaught,
Waffen-SS troops advance from the east and west sides,
as well as up the drop-off to the castle's north.
The defenders struggle to cover all three directions.
It is not clear how long they will be able to hold out.
Jean Borotra,
one of the prisoners and a former French tennis star,
braves the incoming fire to deliver a message.
He bursts in to report to Lee
that they're running low on ammunition...
with Waffen-SS forces closing in.
Just then...
an unexpected sound cuts through the gunfire.
What happens next is amazing.
The telephone in the castle rings.
Hello?
Lee answers,
and is relieved to hear the voice
of an American officer on the line.
When he had reached the town of Worgl,
Gangl's Austrian Resistance fighters
had alerted the officer
to the existence of the castle telephone.
He's calling to check on Lee's forces
and what they need.
Lee only has time to report
that the castle is under attack
and they're low on ammunition...
before the line goes dead.
Though reinforcements may be coming,
there's no guarantee they will arrive in time.
He did not get a chance
to relay the strength and position
of the Waffen-SS troops,
which could help the relief force
make it more quickly to the castle.
In addition to losing Gangl,
two of the German soldiers have been injured.
Lee knows that the castle could be overrun
before help arrives,
risking the lives of everyone inside.
Jean Borotra interrupts with a crazy offer.
During his captivity,
Borotra had escaped from the castle before,
only to be recaptured and returned to the prison.
He suggests to Lee
that he should dress as an Austrian peasant,
jump the wall,
and try and run to town to get aid.
If Borotra can escape once more
and locate the American forces,
he can pass on Lee's warnings.
Lee is not convinced the plan can succeed,
but has few choices and even less time.
As the fighting eases...
Borotra is able to slip away from the castle.
To fulfill his mission,
he will have make his way past the Waffen-SS
positioned outside the walls.
Everyone's life could depend on it.
May 5, 1945.
In the Austrian Alps,
Waffen-SS troops attack Castle Itter...
the wartime prison which housed French VIPs.
The castle is held by a motley mix
of both American and German soldiers
fighting to protect
the hostages of the Third Reich.
With the castle defenders
at risk of being overwhelmed by loyal Nazi forces...
former French tennis star Jean Borotra
escapes the castle in disguise
to alert nearby American troops.
But first,
he must make it through the Waffen-SS line
advancing on the castle.
Borotra must convince the Nazi troops
that he is just an Austrian peasant.
If they even suspect him of being a military deserter,
let alone an escaped prisoner,
it could cost him his life.
Tense moments pass.
Borotra's performance as a peasant
must have been convincing,
as they allow him to continue.
Borotra heads off in search of the Americans.
Back at Castle Itter...
Lieutenant Jack Lee continues to lose ground to the SS troops
and runs low on ammunition.
He has no way to know
if friendly reinforcements can reach them in time.
If the castle is overrun,
they believe the French VIPs are at risk of being executed
by the Waffen-SS fanatics.
Some hardcore SS officers say,
OK, we are losing the war,
but we will take our enemies with us.
They shall not survive us.
Lee and the French generals
agree to retreat to the castle's inner stronghold,
which Lee calls the keep.
Down to the last magazine!
Make it count.
The keep is literally the last stand.
There's no place to retreat to from it.
They have to gamble that they can hold off the SS
until relief forces arrive,
or the game is up.
At this point, Lee and his men are going to win or die.
Waffen-SS forces sustain their attack
and close in.
The castle defenders return fire,
but they are being overwhelmed by superior numbers.
SS troops reach the castle gate
and prepare to blast their way inside
with a Panzerfaust rocket,
an easy-to-use weapon which blows up tanks.
The Waffen-SS suddenly hear tank noise from the rear,
from the village.
Without an armored unit of their own,
the Waffen-SS are no match for the arriving U.S. tanks.
They quickly realized, the Americans are coming.
The Waffen-SS disappeared as quickly as possible.
To Lee's relief,
reinforcements have arrived just in time.
Lee and the others holed up in Castle Itter
have been saved.
Lieutenant Lee, by this point, is exhausted.
And when the commander of the 142nd comes up to him,
he says, 'Take 'em, Colonel, they're all yours.'
The battle for Castle Itter
would be amongst the last ground combat
of World War II in Europe.
Only two days later,
May 7, 1945,
Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allies.
The fact the last battle fought
in the European theatre of operations
was not to conquer territory
but to defend innocent prisoners
must have been an incredibly uplifting moment
for all those involved.
The Americans evacuate the French VIPs
to Innsbruck, Austria.
Within days, they arrive home in France.
Several would return to politics after the war.
SS-Waffen Captain Kurt-Siegfried Schrader
receives a letter,
undersigned by the former prisoners,
stating he ensured the safety of the French detainees
and stayed with them during the German attacks.
Schrader serves as a prisoner of war
for only two years,
before being released.
In the end, when we judge the personality,
we must always bear in mind
there were many SS officers who didn't act like Schrader,
who didn't change their mind.
You can say Schrader showed more responsibility
than most of his peers.
Austria honors Major Josef Gangl
for his work with the resistance
and for his actions at Castle Itter.
Lieutenant Jack Lee
would be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
for his initiative, boldness, and courage
in defense of Castle Itter.
Lieutenant Lee himself
summed it up years later when he was asked.
He just said, 'It was just the damnedest thing.'
It had been a long road
since the beaches of Normandy.
Peace, eleven months in the making.
D-Day is only the beginning,
and it's a really important beginning
of almost a year of really intense fighting
by a Western Allied coalition,
all of whom need one another badly
and all of whom sacrificed terribly,
for this to come to a final victory.
Craving big poker? Feast your eyes on Venom. $5 million GTD. AmericasCardroom.com