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When US and German Soldiers Fought Together and Lesser-Known World War II Events

Khalid Elhassan August 25, 2020 35 min

Itter Castle - Battle of Castle Itter — The French Army's former commander in chief, Maxime Weygand, leaving Itter Castle. Agence France Presse

35. A German Detachment Allied with American GIs

US Army Captain John Lee. Stephen Harding

Major Sepp Gangl managed to locate a reconnaissance unit of the American 12^th Armored Division in the town of Kufstein, about 8 miles away. It consisted of four Sherman tanks, led by US Army Captain Jack Lee. Gangl approached the Americans under a white flag, explained the situation, and asked for help. Lee immediately sprang into action. He secured permission from his superiors to lead a rescue mission, then hopped into Gangl’s car to conduct a personal reconnaissance of Castle Itter with the German officer.

Captain Lee requisitioned more tanks and troops from a nearby unit and headed to Itter. However, his advance was halted by a rickety bridge. Lee was forced to leave most of his force behind, while pressing on with his tank, Besotten Jenny, and 14 American GIs. They were accompanied by Major Gangl, plus eleven German soldiers. En route, they attacked and defeated an SS detachment manning a roadblock. Upon reaching Itter Castle, Captain Lee deployed his men in defensive positions, and placed his tank at the main entrance. The stage was set for one of the strangest battles of the war.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.