Capitulation of German Army Group South - July ‘97 World War II Feature

When the 1st Platoon went by, one of its armored cars skidded off the shoulder and became stuck in the soft soil next to the road. Burns ordered Samuell’s platoon to proceed to the town of Waidhofen. When the German soldiers–who had apparently never before seen Americans–saw that the platoon needed help, they pitched in to assist in getting the car back on the road. (The German soldiers might have thought that they had reached the safety of the American area of operations–they did not know that the American cavalrymen were operating in the Soviet zone.) Once the armored car was operational again, the 1st Platoon headed due east, moving north of and parallel to Burns.

Near Predmass, the platoon was halted by a Hungarian roadblock. At first, Samuell was somewhat alarmed. Previous encounters with the Hungarians near the Isar River had been hostile, and the Americans still had a great deal of ill feeling and distrust for the Hungarians. At the roadblock, Samuell was confronted by two Hungarian generals who wanted to surrender their divisions immediately and demanded safe conduct to the American lines. Samuell told the generals that he was only authorized to deal with their German superiors on the matter of surrender, but if they so desired, they could disarm themselves and proceed on the roads toward Steyr. There they could discuss their demands with Americans who had the authority to deal with them.

The Hungarians moved away, and the platoon continued eastward through Predmass and Aichen. East of Aichen, Samuell halted the 1st Platoon to assess the gasoline situation. The armored car drivers reported that if the platoon proceeded farther they would not have enough fuel to return to Steyr. Although the jeeps had more gasoline, they could not share gasoline with the armored cars.

While Samuell and Staff Sgt. Lawrence B. Rhatican, his second-in-command, were discussing this problem, a German motorcycle messenger came down the road at a rapid pace. Rhatican blocked the road, and the messenger stopped. As he had done several times before, Rhatican called upon Technician 5 Charles Staudinger, an armored-car gunner and assistant radio operator with the 1st Platoon who had been born in that area of Austria and was fluent in German, to interpret for the messenger. Staudinger asked the messenger in a friendly manner if he could find some gasoline for the platoon. The German replied that if Staudinger went with him he would find fuel in the next town, Waidhofen. Staudinger climbed on the back of the motorcycle and took off with the German messenger.

Shortly after Staudinger’s departure, some SS troops, led by a major and a sergeant major, came out of the surrounding woods. They showed no sign of hostility, and Samuell and the major spoke while the SS sergeant major interpreted. The SS major wanted to know if he could be of any assistance. Samuell asked for gasoline for the armored cars. The SS major agreed on the condition that the platoon would not tell American aircraft where the dump was located. Samuell assured him that the platoon would not divulge the location, and the major sent the sergeant major and some German troops to get the fuel. When the SS sergeant major returned, the Germans and Americans filled up the armored cars. When that was done, Samuell thanked the Germans and they went back into the woods.

Meanwhile, Staudinger and the German messenger arrived on the outskirts of Waidhofen. The German messenger told Staudinger to wait outside his boss’ office building. Within a few minutes, an SS major walked out of the office and approached Staudinger in an arrogant manner. He had the German messenger blindfold Staudinger and put him into a car. They drove a short distance and entered the courtyard of the picturesque Schloss (castle) Rothschild, overlooking the Ybbs River. Staudinger was taken into the castle, and his blindfold was removed. He was told to wait outside the door to an office, where he overheard what seemed to be a loud argument coming from within. At first he could not understand the heated discussion. But when the voices became louder, he heard someone suggest that he should be shot, and he became alarmed.