Futility Closet

The closing days of World War II witnessed a bizarre battle with some unlikely allies: American and German soldiers joined forces to rescue a group of French prisoners from a medieval castle in the Austrian Alps. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow the Battle for Castle Itter, the only time that Allies and Germans fought together in the war. We'll also dodge another raft of aerial bombs and puzzle over a bottled pear. Intro: In 1917, Royal Flying Corps trainee Graham Donald fell out of his plane at the top of a loop. In 1750, the 1st Earl of Hardwicke installed an artificial ruin near his country house, Wimpole Hall. Sources for our feature on the Battle for Castle Itter: Stephen Harding, The Last Battle, 2013. Stephen Harding, "The Battle for Castle Itter," World War II 23:3 (August/September 2008), 38-45. George Hodge, "The Last Battle: When U.S. and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe," Military Review 94:4 (July/August 2014), 100. Joh