Josef "Sepp" Gangl (September 12, 1910 – May 5, 1945) was a German major of the Wehrmacht who became a member of the Austrian Resistance very late in the Second World War.

Josef Gangl was born on September 12, 1910, in Obertraubling, Kingdom of Bavaria, the son of an official of the Royal Bavarian State Railways and a former shop assistant.

On November 1, 1928, Gangl joined the Reichswehr, which was then limited to 100,000 men, in order to begin a career as a professional soldier in Artillery Regiment 7 in Nuremberg.

He held this position on the Eastern Front, until he was assigned as commander of the Nebelwerfer replacement and training department 7 in Höchstädt an der Donau in January 1944.

After the Allied invasion of Normandy, he marched with the Werfer-Brigade to Caen on June 7, 1944, where it was placed under the 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend" ("Hitler Youth") and played an important role in the defense of the city.

Gangl participated with the brigade in the Ardennes offensive (Battle of the Bulge), in the subsequent general retreat and in February 1945 in the unsuccessful defense of Saarbrücken.

It was decided that the execution of Johann Giehl's order to defend Wörgl against the Americans to the end (to break bridges and block paths) should be prevented, and also to liberate the prominent French prisoners from the nearby Itter Castle.

Together with ten comrades from his NebelWerfer ("Fog Thrower" in English) Regiment 83, he remained in Wörgl against Hengl's order to withdraw.

Gangl called Alois Mayr again for help, whereupon two other Wehrmacht soldiers and the young resistance fighter Hans Waltl drove to the castle.

Gangl was fatally hit by a sniper while trying to get former French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud out of the line of fire.

[3] Additionally, a small memorial was crafted in his honor with an engraving on it, detailing Gangl's joining of the local resistance and freeing of the captives kept at Castle Itter.

[5] Gangl's likeness is used in the WWII Grand Strategy game Hearts of Iron 4, where his portrait is sometimes used to depict 'generic' Field Officers.