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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

33. A Star Takes the Opportunity to Shine Once Again

French tennis star Jean Borotra. Bundesarchiv Bild

The American rescue force headed to Castle Itter had incomplete information about the situation there, because communications were prematurely severed. So French tennis star Jean Borotra offered to jump off the castle’s wall, then sprint through the SS besiegers to reach the approaching American rescuers. Against the odds, he crossed about forty yards of open ground swept by bullets. He reached the rescuers, and guided them back to the castle, which they reached just in the nick of the time, before the defenders had fired their last bullet. The SS besiegers were routed, with many killed, and about 100 captured.

The French Army’s former commander in chief, Maxime Weygand, leaving Itter Castle. Agence France Presse

The prisoners were rescued, and the French VIPs were sent back to France. Captain John Lee was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross. Unfortunately for German Army Major Sepp Gangl, he was killed by an SS sniper while defending former French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud. He was the only defender killed during the battle. After the war, Gangl was celebrated as an Austrian hero. A street in nearby Worgl was named after him.

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.