The Last Battle
Page 23
Lise Pommois, for sharing photos of 23rd Tank Battalion operations in Alsace.
IN GERMANY:
The research and reference staffs of the Stadtarchive Ludwigsburg, KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau, and the Bundesarchiv’s Militärarchiv.
IN POLAND:
Marta Grudzińska at the Majdanek Museum and Archive for information on Sebastian Wimmer’s activities at the infamous concentration camp.
IN SWITZERLAND:
Remo Becci, archivist of the United Nations International Labor Organization office in Geneva, for providing background information on and photographs of Augusta Léon-Jouhaux.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PRIMARY SOURCES
OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS
Many of the sources below are part of the National Archives and Record Administration’s Modern Military Records Center in College Park, MD; these are indicated with the abbreviation NARA MMRC.
Armored Force Field Manual, Tactics and Technique. U.S. War Department. March 1942. Archives II, NARA MMRC.
Battalion Diary for Month of May 1945. 753rd Tank Battalion. Oct. 31, 1945. NARA MMRC.
Battlegroup Buddenbrock, 16 March–4 May 1945, by Generalmajor Jobst Freiherr von Buddenbrock. Foreign Military Studies, 1945–1954. Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 1956.
Company History, 1–8 May 1945. Company D, 753rd Tank Battalion. May 10, 1945. NARA MMRC.
Final Strike Assessment, Wörgl M/Y, Austria. Photo Interpretation Officer, 301st Bombardment Group (Heavy), Feb. 23, 1945. NARA MMRC.
General Order 212. HQs., U.S. Forces, European Theater, Aug. 29, 1945.
The German Replacement Army (Ersatzheer). Military Intelligence Division, War Department, Washington, DC, April 1944. NARA MMRC.
Himmler’s Files from Hallein. Office of the Military Governor for Germany (U.S.), Office of the Director of Intelligence, Nov. 8, 1945. NARA MMRC.
Historical Narrative for May 1945. HQs., 753rd Tank Battalion, n.d. NARA MMRC.
History of the 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, Sept. 3, 1943–May 8, 1945 (Volume II, France, Germany, Austria). HQs., 142nd Infantry Regiment, n.d. NARA MMRC.
Journal of Operations, 1944–1945. HQs., 17th Armored Infantry Battalion, n.d. NARA MMRC.
Kampf um die Alpenfestung Nord, by General der Gebirgstruppen Georg Ritter von Hengl. Foreign Military Studies, 1945–1954. Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 1956.
Operations in Germany, 1–10 May 1945. 23rd Tank Battalion, 12th Armored Division, Feb. 15, 1946. NARA MMRC.
Operations in Germany and Austria, May 1945. HQs., 103rd Infantry Division, July 1945. NARA MMRC.
Operations in Germany and Austria, 1–10 May 1945. HQs., 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, May 25, 1945. NARA MMRC.
Operations in Germany, Austria and Italy, May 1945. HQs., 103rd Infantry Division, n.d. NARA MMRC.
Personalakten für Gangl, Josef, Heeres-Personalamt, Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. Berlin, n.d. NARA MMRC.
Regimental History, 409th Infantry Regiment, 1–10 May 1945. NARA MMRC.
Resistance and Persecution in Austria, 1938–1945. Austrian Federal Press Service, Vienna, 1988.
Rocket Projectors in the Eastern Theater. Foreign Military Studies, 1945–1954. Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 1956.
7th Werfer Brigade, 24 March–30 April 1945, by Generalmajor Dr. Kurt Paape. Foreign Military Studies, 1945–1954. Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 1956.
Special Narrative Report, Mission to Wörgl M/Y, Austria. Office of the Intelligence Officer, 301st Bombardment Group (Heavy), Feb. 23, 1945. NARA MMRC.
SS Personalakten für Wimmer, Sebastian, SS-Hauptamt. Berlin, n.d. NARA MMRC.
Tank, Medium, M4A3. Technical Manual 9–759. War Department, Washington, DC, September 1944. NARA MMRC.
Unit Journal, 1–10 May 1945. HQs., 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, NARA MMRC.
Widerstand und Verfolgung in Tirol, 1934–1945: Eine Dokumentation, Dokumentationsarchiv des Österreichischen Widerstandes. Vienna, 1984.
INTERVIEWS
Duvall, Calbert. Company B, 23rd Tank Battalion. Conducted via e-mail, June 20, 2012.
Kramers, John T. Military Government Section, 103rd Infantry Division. Audio-recorded June 8, 2012.
Pollock, Arthur P. Company E, 142nd Infantry Regiment. Audio-recorded Nov. 3, 2011.
Seiner, Edward J. Company B, 23rd Tank Battalion. Audio-recorded Oct. 28, 2011.
UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS
Čučković, Zvonimir. “Zwei Jahren auf Schloss Itter.” Handwritten, n.d. Archiv KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau.
“Die Wahrheit Über Schloss Itter.” Privatarchiv Otto Molden: Zur Geschichte der Österreichschen Widerstandsbewegung Gegen Hitler, 1938–1945. Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Universität Wien, Vienna, n.d.
Flanagan, Drew. “Resistance from the Right: François de La Rocque and the Réseau Klan.” Department of History, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, 2010.
Schrader, Kurt-Siegfried. “Erinnerungen, Gedanken, Erkenntnisse.” 1993.
SECONDARY SOURCES
BOOKS
Alexander, Martin S. The Republic in Danger: General Maurice Gamelin and the Politics of French Defence, 1933–1940. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Bischof, Günter, Fritz Plasser, and Barbara Stelzl-Marx, eds. New Perspectives on Austrians and World War II. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 2009.
Cailliau de Gaulle, Marie-Agnès. Souvenirs personnels. Paris: Parole et Silence, 2006.
Craven, W. F., and J. L. Cate. Europe: ARGUMENT to VE-Day, January 1944 to May 1945. The Army Air Forces in World War II. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1951.
Daladier, Édouard. Prison Journal, 1940–1945. Boulder: Westview Press, 1995.
de La Rocque, François. Disciplines d’Action. Paris: Parti social français, 1941.
Demey, Evelyne. Paul Reynaud, mon père. Paris: Plon-Opera Mundi, 1980.
Dulles, Allen. The Secret Surrender. New York: Harper & Row, 1966.
East, William, and William F. Gleason. The 409th Infantry in World War II. Ed. Julius J. Urban. Washington, DC: Infantry Journal Press, 1947.
Ferguson, John C. Hellcats: The 12th Armored Division in World War II. Abilene, TX: State House Press, 2004.
Francis, Jim. A History of the 23rd Tank Battalion, 1943–1945. Privately published, 2004.
François-Poncet, André. Carnets d’un captif. Paris: Librairie Artheme Fayard, 1952.
Gates, Eleanor M. The End of the Affair: The Collapse of the Anglo-French Alliance, 1930–40. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981.
Haupt, Werner. Deutsche Spezialdivisionen, 1935–1945: Gebirgsjäger, Fallschirmjäger, Waffen-SS. Wölfersheim-Berstadt: Podzun-Pallas, 1995.
Koop, Volker. In Hitler’s Hand: Die Sonder-und Ehrenhäftlinge der SS. Köln: Böhlau, 2011.
Lanckoronska, Karolina. Michelangelo in Ravensbrück: One Woman’s War Against the Nazis. Translated by Noel Clark. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2006.
Lasik, Aleksander. Struktura Organizacyjna Oraz Obsada Osobowa Stanowisk Kierowniczych W Obozie Koncentracyjnym Na Majdanku W Latach 1941–1944. Majdanek: State Museum at Majdanek, 2003.
Léon-Jouhaux, Augusta. Prison pour hommes d’Etat. Paris: Denöel/Gontheir, 1973.
Lévesque, René. Memoires. Montréal: Editions Québec/Amérique, 1986.
Liszt, Franz, La Mara, and Constance Bache. From Rome to the End: Letters of Franz Liszt, Vol. 2. San Diego: Icon Group International, 2008.
Long, Robert P. Castle Hotels of Europe. East Meadow, NY: Hastings House, 1962.
Lucas, James. Alpine Elite: German Mountain Troops of World War II. London: Jane’s Publishing, 1980.
Luza, Radomír V. The Resistance in Austria, 1938–1945. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984.
MacDonald, Charles B. European Theater of Operations: The Last Offensive. United States Army in World War II. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993.
<
br /> Mackenzie, W. J. M. The Secret History of SOE: Special Operations Executive, 1940–1945. London: St. Ermin’s, 2002.
Mitcham, Samuel W., Jr. The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War II. Vol. 1. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2008.
Molden, Fritz. Fires in the Night: The Sacrifices and Significance of the Austrian Resistance, 1938–1945. Translated by Harry Zohn. Boulder: Westview Press, 1989.
Monroe-Jones, Edward. Crossing the Zorn: The January 1945 Battle at Herrlisheim as Told by the American and German Soldiers Who Fought It. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010.
Moore, John P. Signal Officers of the Waffen-SS (Nachrichtenoffiziere der Waffen-SS). Portland, OR: John P. Moore Publishing, 1995.
Mueller, Ralph, and Jerry Turk. Report After Action: The Story of the 103d Infantry Division. Nashville: Battery Press, 1987.
Munoz, Antonio J., editor and translator. The Last Levy: Waffen-SS Officer Roster, March 1, 1945. Bayside, NY: Axis Europa Books, 2001.
Nobécourt, Jacques. Le colonel de La Rocque (1885–1946), ou, Les pièges de nationalisme chrétien. Paris: Librairie Artheme Fayard, 1996.
O’Donnell, Patrick K. The Brenner Assignment: The Untold Story of the Most Daring Spy Mission of World War II. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2008.
Pogue, Forrest C. European Theater of Operations: The Supreme Command. United States Army in World War II. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1954.
Reynaud, Paul. Carnets de captivité, 1941–1945. Paris: Fayard, 1997.
———. In the Thick of the Fight, 1930–1945. Translated by James D. Lambert. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955.
Ross, Alex. The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century. New York: Picador, 2008.
Schwab, Gerald. OSS Agents in Hitler’s Heartland: Destination Innsbruck. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996.
Singer, Barnett. Maxime Weygand: A Biography of the French General in Two World Wars. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2008.
Smyth, Sir John. Jean Borotra, the Bounding Basque: His Life of Work and Play. London: Stanley Paul, 1974.
Steinböck, Erwin. Österreichs Militärisches Potential im März, 1938. Wien: Verlag für Geschichte und Politik, 1988.
Sydnor, Charles W. Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death’s Head Division, 1939–1945. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990.
Turner, Barry. Countdown to Victory: The Final European Campaigns of World War II. New York: William Morrow, 2004.
Van Goethem, Geert. The Amsterdam International: The World of the International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), 1913–1945. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2006.
von Steiner, Kurt. Resistance Fighter: Anti-Nazi Terror Tactics of the Austrian Underground. Boulder: Paladin Press, 1986.
Weygand, Maxime. Recalled to Service: The Memoirs of General Maxime Weygand. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1952.
Williamson, Gordon. Gebirgsjäger: German Mountain Trooper 1939–45. Oxford: Osprey, 2003.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Note: The articles in this section are listed in chronological order.
Binghamton Press (Binghamton, NY):
“Norwich Lieutenant Proves Hero in Reich War-End Rescue Fight.” June 7, 1945.
“Captain Lee in Chenago Sheriff Race.” July 23, 1945.
“17 Tier Men Are on Latest Returnee List.” Jan. 25, 1946.
“John C. Lee, Jr., Ordered Held for Jury.” Feb. 25, 1953.
“Lee Fined $50 in Assault, Sister Freed.” Mar. 10, 1953.
“Lee Indicted by Chenango Grand Jury.” Apr. 10, 1953.
“Lee Vacates New Berlin Hotel.” July 3, 1953.
Evening Sun (Norwich, NY):
“John C. Lee Dies, Freed de Gaulle Kin.” Jan. 15, 1973.
New York Times:
“Mme. Menter’s Good Fortune.” Nov. 25, 1885.
“Freed: Daladier, Blum, Reynaud, Niemoller, Schuschnigg, Gamelin.” May 6, 1945.
“Reynaud Relates Reich Prison Life.” Aug. 15, 1945.
“Borotra Relates War Experiences.” March 18, 1947.
“Paul Reynaud Married.” May 14, 1950.
“Gen. Gamelin Dead.” Apr. 19, 1958.
“Gen. Maxime Weygand Dead.” Jan. 29, 1965.
“Paul Reynaud Dies; Led France in 1940.” Sept. 22, 1966.
“Daladier, Signer of Munich Pact, Dies at 86.” Oct. 12, 1970.
Norwich Record (Northfield, VT):
“Capt. Jack Lee, ’42, Rescues Daladier in Castle Battle.” June 22, 1945.
Norwich Sun (Norwich, NY):
“Lee Receives Award.” Mar. 17, 1945.
“Lee Receives Promotion.” May 28, 1945.
“Capt. John C. Lee Jr., Led Rescuers of Daladier, Ex-French Premier.” June 4 and 7, 1945.
“Thrilling Story About Captain John C. Lee Appears in ‘Post.’” July 18, 1945.
“Capt. Lee Seeks Democratic Nomination for Sheriff.” July 21, 1945.
MAGAZINE/JOURNAL ARTICLES
Bachinger, Eleonore, Martin McKee, and Anna Gilmore. “Tobacco Policies in Nazi Germany: Not as Simple as It Seems.” Public Health 122, no. 5 (May 2008): 497–505.
Distel, Barbara. “KZ-Kommandos an Idyllischen Orten: Dachauer Aussenlager in Österreich.” KZ Aussenlager—Geschichte und Erinnerung (1999).
“France: Trials, Tribulations.” Time, Sept. 30, 1940.
“Gamelin Speaks.” Time, Nov. 13, 1939.
Harding, Stephen. “The Battle for Castle Itter.” World War II (Aug.–Sept. 2008).
“Kampf um Schloss Itter.” Neue Illustrierte, Mar. 26, 1961.
Kennedy, Sean. “Accompanying the Marshal: La Rocque and the Progrès Social Français Under Vichy.” French History 15, no. 2 (2001).
Levin, Meyer. “We Liberated Who’s Who.” Saturday Evening Post, July 21, 1945.
“Maurice Gamelin: Good Grey General.” Time, Aug. 14, 1939.
“Reynaud Marriage Revealed.” Time, May 22, 1950.
“Where Is Gamelin?” Time, June 10, 1940.
INDEX
Alibi Network, 59
Allied advance
into Alpine passes, 69–71
into Tyrol area, 93–94
Allied air attacks
decimate Forster’s group, 89
of German industrial centers, 40–41
kill civilians, resisters, 75–76
of Kufstein, 76
over Belgium, 85
of Schrader’s Frundsberg unit, 99
Allied armies
recapture German-Austria frontier, 67–69
recapture western Europe, 85–86
Allied intelligence
British, and IFTU, 39
gathered by Austrian resisters, 74
passed to Britain by de La Rocque, 57, 59
provided by Gangl, Mayr, 145
on Tyrol military and training schools, 70
of XXI Corps, 71
Alpine Fortress, 68, 86
Alpine Front, Northwest, 71–73, 86, 87
Alsace-Lorraine, 38, 49, 68, 118
Anschluss, 9–11, 97
Anti-Nazi resistance. See Resistance (Austrian); Resistance (French)
Antismoking crusade, 12
Au Coeur de la Mêlée (Reynaud), 166–167
Au service de l’avenir (de La Rocque), 168
Austria
Allied plans for securing, 69–71
annexed by Nazi Germany (Anschluss), 9–11, 97
army transferred into Wehrmacht, 10–11
with Nazis in majority, 10, 73
Austrian resistance. See Resistance (Austrian)
Austrian Tyrol. See Tyrol region
Basques, 45–46, 47, 52
Basse, Harry J.
as Lee’s lifelong friend, 116, 173
commands tank in rescue effort, 123
as Lee’s lieutenant, 128–130
defends Schloss Itter, 130–132, 136–137, 143, 150–152
aftermath of battle, 160, 164
receives Silver Star, 16
5
postwar life and death, 171
Battle of the Bulge, 85
Besotten Jenny tank
of 12th Armored Division, 117
defends Schloss Itter, 124–136, 139
hit by antitank rounds, destroyed, 147–153, 164
Blechschmidt (Gangl’s lieutenant )
key member of Wörgl resistance, 110–111
accompanies Lee for rescue recon, 122–123
defends Great Hall, 137–138
defends Schloss Itter, 128–129, 151
Blitzkrieg warfare, 35, 58
Bloody Herrlisheim, 118
Blum, Léon
as premier of France, 26
in Vichy’s custody, 29
at Buchenwald, 32
as Riom Trial defendant, 30
Boche Buster tank
commanded by Basse, 123–125
rejoins 23rd Tank Battalion, 164
spearheads move to Schloss Itter, 155, 160
to Wörgl, 152–153
Böhaimb, Joannes, 72
Bonaparte, Napoléon, 7
Borotra, Jean
background, 45–46
as member of PSF with La Rocque, 47
at Sachsenhausen, 48
shunned by Daladier, Jouhaux, Gamelin, 63
escapes, is recaptured, 64–65
volunteers to search for Allies, 108
fires on enemy, 148–150, 151–152
carries message to 142nd Infantry, 157–159
after liberation, put on trial for collaboration, 164
postwar life and death, 167
Bourassol, 29, 31
British army 2nd Battalion, 20
British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), 39
British Special Operations Executive (SOE), 39
Bruchlen, Augusta
in CGT resistance movement, 38–39
arrested, interned, by Vichy secret police, 39–40
allowed to join Jouhaux at Schloss Itter, 48–50
summons Schrader to Schloss Itter, 108
in Schloss Itter under fire, 137
returns to cellar after defying Lee’s orders, 146, 148
postwar life and death, 166
See also Léon-Jouhaux, Augusta
Buchenwald concentration camp
Blum, Mandel, stay behind, 32
Cailliaus’ internment, 61