The Only Time American and German Soldiers Fought Together in World War II

By May 1945, Nazi Germany was collapsing.

Berlin had fallen. Adolf Hitler was dead. Across Europe, scattered German units were surrendering while others continued fighting. Yet in the Austrian Alps, one of the strangest battles of the Second World War was about to unfold.

American soldiers and German Wehrmacht troops would stand shoulder to shoulder behind the same defensive walls.

Their enemy was not each other.

It was the SS.

On May 5, 1945, just three days before Germany officially surrendered, the war had become chaotic. Many German Army units, known as the Wehrmacht, realized defeat was inevitable and sought to avoid further bloodshed. Others, particularly members of the Waffen-SS, remained fiercely loyal to Hitler's regime and continued fighting despite the collapse of the Third Reich.

One place caught in this confusion was Castle Itter, a medieval fortress in Tyrol, Austria.

During the war, the castle had been converted into a special prison by the Nazis. Unlike ordinary concentration camps or prisoner-of-war camps, Castle Itter held some of France's most prominent political and military figures. Among the prisoners were former French prime ministers Édouard Daladier and Paul Reynaud, former commander-in-chief General Maurice Gamelin, tennis champion Jean Borotra, and several other well-known public figures.

As Germany fell apart, the SS guards assigned to the castle abandoned their posts. But freedom did not necessarily mean safety.

The prisoners feared that nearby SS forces might return to eliminate them before Allied troops arrived.

With no guards left, the prisoners searched for help.

One of them managed to reach nearby Austrian resistance members, who in turn contacted Major Josef Gangl, a Wehrmacht officer stationed in the area.

Gangl had already turned against the Nazi leadership. Recognizing that the war was lost, he had begun cooperating with the Austrian resistance to protect civilians from unnecessary violence. When he learned about the prisoners at Castle Itter, he realized they would likely become targets if the SS reached the castle first.

But Gangl did not have enough men to defend it alone.

He decided to seek help from the nearest American forces.

A short distance away, Captain John C. "Jack" Lee Jr. of the U.S. 23rd Tank Battalion received the unexpected request. Instead of treating Gangl as an enemy officer, Lee accepted his offer to cooperate.

Together, the two men assembled a small force.

The defenders included around a dozen American soldiers, roughly ten Wehrmacht soldiers loyal to Gangl, several Austrian resistance fighters, and the French prisoners themselves, some of whom would later help defend the castle.

Their numbers were small.

The enemy approaching the castle was not.

Early on May 5, Waffen-SS troops surrounded Castle Itter.

Estimates vary, but historians generally place the attacking force at around 100 to 150 SS soldiers.

The defenders took positions behind the castle's thick stone walls.

An American Sherman tank, positioned near the entrance, initially provided valuable fire support. Eventually, however, it was knocked out by German anti-tank fire, leaving the defenders with even fewer resources.

Throughout the day, the SS repeatedly attacked the castle.

Inside, Americans and Wehrmacht soldiers fought side by side, exchanging rifle fire with the attackers while protecting the French prisoners.

The battle became increasingly desperate as ammunition began running low.

One of the prisoners, former tennis champion Jean Borotra, volunteered to escape the castle. Using his athletic ability, he slipped past the SS lines and reached advancing American forces to request reinforcements.

During the fighting, Major Josef Gangl was killed by a sniper while attempting to shield former French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud from enemy fire.

His decision to protect the prisoners ultimately cost him his life.

Not long afterward, American reinforcements from the 142nd Infantry Regiment arrived and attacked the SS positions.

The surviving SS troops either surrendered or fled.

The battle was over.

The defense of Castle Itter lasted only a single day, but it became one of the most unusual engagements of the war.

The French prisoners survived.

Captain John C. Lee Jr. was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his leadership during the battle.

Major Josef Gangl, once an officer in the German Army, came to be remembered in Austria as someone who chose to resist the final violence of the Nazi regime. Today, he is regarded by many in the region as a local hero for helping protect both civilians and the prisoners at Castle Itter.

Just three days later, on May 8, 1945, Germany formally surrendered, bringing the war in Europe to an end.

The Battle of Castle Itter remains one of the most extraordinary episodes of World War II because it brought together former enemies against a common threat.

It is widely regarded as the only documented battle during the war in which American soldiers and members of the regular German Wehrmacht fought on the same side against Waffen-SS forces.

The battle also illustrates the fractured state of Germany in the final days of the Third Reich. While some military officers accepted that the war was over and sought to save lives, fanatical SS units continued fighting even as Nazi Germany collapsed around them.

Although small in scale compared with the great battles of World War II, the defense of Castle Itter stands as a remarkable example of how rapidly alliances and loyalties could shift during the final days of the conflict. It remains one of history's most unusual wartime encounters—not because it changed the outcome of the war, but because it showed that, in its final hours, former enemies could unite against a greater danger.