The Battle for Castle Itter in the Austrian North Tyrol village of Itter near the town of Wörgl was fought on 5 May 1945 in the last days of the European Theater of World War II. It may have been the only battle in the war in which Americans and Germans fought side-by-side. Popular accounts of the battle have called it the "strangest" battle of World War II.
American Sherman Tanks in Tyrol, May 1945. Source: spiegel.de
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The prison was established to contain high-profile prisoners valuable to the Reich. Notable prisoners included tennis player Jean Borotra, former prime ministers Édouard Daladier, and Paul Reynaud, former commanders-in-chief Maxime Weygand (During the Polish–Soviet War, Weygand was a member of the Interallied Mission to Poland of July and August 1920, supporting the infant Second Polish Republic against the Soviet Union),
De Gaulle's sister Marie-Agnes Cailliau was among the French VIPs liberated from the German Nazis
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Source 2 photos above: bbc.com
On 3 May 1945, Zvonimir Čučković, an imprisoned Yugoslav communist resistance member who worked as a handyman at the prison, left the castle on the pretense of an errand for commander Sebastian Wimmer. He carried with him a letter in English seeking Allied assistance he was to give to the first American he encountered.
The town of Wörgl lay five miles down the mountains, but was still occupied by German troops. Čučković instead pressed on up the Inn River valley towards Innsbruck forty miles distant. Late that evening he reached the outskirts of the city and encountered an advance party of the 409th Infantry Regiment of the American 103rd Infantry Division of the US VI Corps and informed them of the castle's prisoners. Americans received support from the the German Wehrmacht under the command of Major Josef Gangl...
Major Josef Gangl died during the battle from a sniper's bullet
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Basic on: Wikipedia with my own additions.
About the Battle for Castle Itter an interesting article read here:historynet
History of Itter castle before WWII
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The castle Itter, located at the top of a hill at the entrance of the Brixental valley. First mentioned in 1240, in the 19th century is has become a meeting point for composers and musicians, as Sophie Menter, a famous pianist all over Europe, purchased the castle in 1884. Famous personalities such as Richard Wagner, Liszt and Tschaikowskij visited Itter Castle. In the early 20th century it was rearranged in neo-Gothic style by her successors and today it is in private property and not accessible for the public.
Source: tirol.tl
American Sherman Tanks in Tyrol, May 1945. Source: spiegel.de
De Gaulle's sister Marie-Agnes Cailliau was among the French VIPs liberated from the German Nazis
and Maurice Gamelin, Charles de Gaulle's elder sister Marie-Agnès Cailliau, right-wing leader and closet French resistance member François de La Rocque, and trade union leader Léon Jouhaux. Besides the French VIP prisoners, the castle held a number of Eastern European prisoners detached from Dachau, who were used for maintenance and other hard work. The French prisoners were treated well.
Gen Maxime Weygand with her wife leaves the castle Itter, May 1945
On 3 May 1945, Zvonimir Čučković, an imprisoned Yugoslav communist resistance member who worked as a handyman at the prison, left the castle on the pretense of an errand for commander Sebastian Wimmer. He carried with him a letter in English seeking Allied assistance he was to give to the first American he encountered.
The town of Wörgl lay five miles down the mountains, but was still occupied by German troops. Čučković instead pressed on up the Inn River valley towards Innsbruck forty miles distant. Late that evening he reached the outskirts of the city and encountered an advance party of the 409th Infantry Regiment of the American 103rd Infantry Division of the US VI Corps and informed them of the castle's prisoners. Americans received support from the the German Wehrmacht under the command of Major Josef Gangl...
Major Josef Gangl died during the battle from a sniper's bullet
About the Battle for Castle Itter an interesting article read here:historynet
History of Itter castle before WWII
Source: tirol.tl