C. Lee Jr. Was the Officer in Charge During the Battle of Castle Itter in Austria
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Lieutenant John “Jack” C. Lee Jr. was the Officer in charge during the battle of Castle Itter in Austria. The engagement has been considered as the strangest battle of World War II as it occurred five days after Adolf Hitler's suicide and two days before the signing of Germany's unconditional surrender. It was the only battle where American and German soldiers fought alongside one another during the Second World War. The Castle of Itter was first mentioned in land records as early as 1240AD. Having been converted into a high security prison by the Germans for potentially valuable prisoners, it was considered escape-proof due to its massive walls and impregnable gatehouse. The facility was under the operational control of the concentration camp Dachau, ninety miles to the northwest. SS-Hauptsturmführer Sebastian Wimmer was the commandant of the prison-castle, and the guards were formed by the usual SS-Totenkopfverbände. Some notable VIP captives included former prime minister Paul Reynaud; Generals Maxime Weygand and Maurice Gamelin; awkwardly the tennis star Jean Borotra; right-wing leader Colonel François de La Rocque and Michel Clemenceau, son of World War I prime minister. While all prisoners were French, they could not possibly have been more diverse. Some were politically bitter enemies. On 4 May 1945, Hauptsturmführer Wimmer and all the guards hastily abandoned their posts. The former prisoners started to prepare themselves in case the SS-men would return by gathering weapons and ammunition, which were unbelievably left behind. Their Czech cook, Andreas Krobot rode a bicycle to the village of Wörgl in the hopes of encountering Allied troops. But instead, he ran into Austrian resistance members who confronted him with Wehrmacht Major Josef Gangl. Gangl and his men have befriended the local resistance and protected local residents from notorious SS reprisals. Gangl agreed to free the castle prisoners but only with the assistance of American troops. The Major approached them under a white flag at the town square of Kufstein. He was asking for help from 1st Lieutenant John C. Lee, who led Company B of the 23rd Tank Battalion, 12th Armord Division. Lee did not hesitate and volunteered in securing of the French captives after having received permission from headquarters. Lieutenant Lee led the rescue column towards the castle when they came across a small bridge. It was overall in poor condition and wired with demolition charges. Lee decided to cross the bridge and continue the mission only with one M-4 Sherman tank, 14 American servicemen (of which were 6 African-American), Major Gangl and 10 German soldiers riding in a truck at the end of the small force. The rest of the convoy remained at the bridge, functioning as their rearguard. Lieutenant Lee and his unit ran into a squad of SS troopers who were trying to set up a roadblock. Virtually every fighting men of this joint operation opened fire at the SS-men, from the tankʼs bow-gunner to Gangl's Wehrmacht soldiers, forcing the SS- troopers to withdraw into the surrounding woods. As night began to fall, the rescue unit reached the gates of the castle. The arrival of an American tank left the former prisoners unimpressed. Although greeted warmly, they were disappointed about the small size and felt uneasy towards the presence of German soldiers, which formed a part of the rescue unit. Lieutenant Lee positioned the Sherman in front of the main gate so it could command the road. He didnʼt have enough vehicles to move his men, the French, and the Germans back to Kufstein. He decided to stay put and wait to be relieved by advancing American forces that were aware of his position. While the presence of Waffen-SS units in the area was a worry, Lee believed that Castle Itterʼs thick walls would allow his tiny force to hold off any determined attacker. Lee was a harsh commander. Paul Reynaud must have found the American Lieutenant particularly irritating. He wrote in his memoirs “If Lee is a reflection of Americaʼs policies, Europe is in for a hard time.” Just after 11pm that evening, an estimate of 150 advancing Waffen-SS Grenadiers of the 17th SS-Panzergrenadier Division opened fire at the castle. It is unclear whether they had come specifically to eliminate the French VIPs or had decided to attack the small Allied force. The attack for probing for weaknesses and assessing their strength lasted throughout the night. Lee had ordered the French to hide, but some remained outside and fought among the American and Wehrmacht soldiers. Reynaud, Clemenceau, La Rocque and Borotra were all seen firing at the SS. In the early morning hours the SS-men moved in with an 88mm antitank gun. The U.S. tank crew, Sergeant William T. Rushford, Corporal Edward J. Szymcyk, Corporal Edward J. Seiner and Private First Class Herbert G. McHaley provided fire support until the 88mm gun knocked out their Sherman. The crew was able to escape but the destruction of the tank signaled the main Waffen-SS assault. A sniper killed Major Gangl. Several Wehrmacht and American soldiers were also killed from the still firing 88mm gun and the well- concealed sniper. Lieutenant Lee's communication lines had been severed, and Lee accepted Borotra's offer to vault the castle walls and run for help. He succeeded. He met lead elements of Lieutenant Colonel Marvin J. Coyle's 2nd Battalion, 142nd Infantry Regiment near the bridge they have crossed before. With Coyle's permission, more American tanks cautiously crossed the fragile bridge and joined the effort to reinforce Lee's men. The SS attackers hadnʼt yet managed to breach the fortressʼ walls, but they were executing their charge with what Lee would later call “extreme vigor.” The defenders, in turn, were running perilously low on ammunition. Lee communicated to his men the next move, which was literally medieval: withdrawal into the castleʼs massive keep. There they would use their last remaining bullets to defend every stairwell, hallway or floor. Lee even secured the agreement with French Generals Weygand and Gamelin, both of whom had deferred to the 27-year-old American throughout the battle despite their own exalted ranks. Lee began pulling defenders off the walls and shepherding the French towards the keep. Sensing victory, the SS troops focused their assault on the now undefended castleʼs entrance. However, it was right then when the relief force arrived with tanks in the lead. That changed the tactical situation drastically and the SS were eventually defeated. Reportedly, SS prisoners were taken. The relief force was met by the castleʼs jubilant defenders—black, white, American, French, and German. Lieutenant Lee was recognized for his leadership, awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and promoted to Captain. He passed away in January 1973. .