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errors or omissions in this volume are, of course, mine alone.
    Above all, I wish to thank my wife, Margaret Spragins Harding. This book would literally not have been possible without her love, support, counsel, limitless patience, and extraordinary skills as a French linguist. She is the most remarkable human being I have ever encountered, and I am truly blessed to have her in my life.
    I would also particularly like to thank Dr. Alfred Beck, an eminent historian and true gentleman, who many years ago—when we both worked at the U.S. Army Center of Military History—first told me of an odd little battle in Austria in May 1945 that involved Germans, Americans, and a gaggle of French VIPs. Thanks also to my agent, Scott Mendel, for his excellent advice and guidance; Robert Pigeon, my editor at Da Capo, for his friendship and assistance in shaping and improving the manuscript; and Bryce Zabel, friend and screenwriter, for suggesting that the Schloss Itter story would make just as good a book as it will a screenplay.
    I am also indebted to:
    I N THE U NITED S TATES :
    My colleagues Michael W. Robbins, David Lauterborn, Dan Smith, and Jennifer Berry at Weider History Group’s Military History magazine for putting up with my frequent absences and almost continuous preoccupation while writing this book.
    Karen Jensen and Wendy Palitz, both of Weider’s World War II magazine; editor Karen for commissioning me to write the article from which this book evolved, and art director Wendy for both her friendship and the article’s wonderful design.
    Thomas Culbert and Mike Constandy for their dogged research work at the National Archives.
    Joe Basse for providing information on, and photos of, his father, Harry Basse.
    Robert D. Lee for providing information on, and photos of, his uncle John C. Lee.
    John Kramers, Arthur Pollock, and Edward Seiner for their personal recollections of the battle for Schloss Itter.
    Victoria Haglan for her excellent German translations.
    Patricia E. Evans, Chenango County, New York, historian, for locating and providing background material on John Lee and his family.
    Gail Wiese, Jennifer Payne, and Kelly Gonzalez of Norwich University’s Archives and Special Collections for their help in researching John Lee’s time at the university.
    Veterans of the 12th Armored Division F. George Hatt and Steve Czecha and 23rd Tank Battalion veterans James Francis and John McBride, all for their help in researching their units and the men who served in them.
    Lisa Sharik and the staff of the Texas Military Forces Museum and Kyle Wiskow and the staff of the 12th Armored Division Museum for their research assistance.
    John P. Moore for providing vital background information on Kurt-Siegfried Schrader.
    John Browning for information on his brother William Browning, squad leader in Company E, 142nd Infantry Regiment.
    Ron Thomassin for providing photos of Harry Basse.
    Megan Lewis at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum for her research efforts on Sebastian Wimmer and Stefan Otto.
    I N A USTRIA :
    The staff of Gemiende Itter, who were tremendously helpful both via e-mail and during my visit to Schloss Itter; Robert Kaller of Vienna’s Institut für Zeitgeschichte; Hedi Wechner, current mayor of Wörgl; Otto Hagleitner, for information on his father, Rupert; and Dr. Wilfred Beimroh and the staff of the Tiroler Landesarchiv.
    I N F RANCE :
    Evelyne Demey Paul-Reynaud, for sharing family history and photographs of her parents taken while they were imprisoned in Schloss Itter.
    Lise Pommois, for sharing photos of 23rd Tank Battalion operations in Alsace.
    I N G ERMANY :
    The research and reference staffs of the Stadtarchive Ludwigsburg, KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau, and the Bundesarchiv’s Militärarchiv.
    I N P OLAND :
    Marta Grudzińska at the Majdanek Museum and Archive for information on Sebastian Wimmer’s activities at the infamous concentration camp.
    I N S WITZERLAND :
    Remo Becci, archivist of the United Nations