German infantry units during World War II constituted the primary combat formations of the Heer and were structured around the Infanterie-Division, which in its 1939–1941 configuration typically comprised three Infanterie-Regimenter, each with three Bataillone plus a schwere Kompanie and a Panzerjäger-Kompanie, supported by an Artillerie-Regiment of three Abteilungen, an Aufklärungs-Abteilung, a Panzerjäger-Abteilung, a Pionier-Bataillon, and various supply and signals elements, giving the division a nominal strength of approximately 15,000 to 17,000 men equipped largely with horse-drawn transport and light infantry weapons; as the war extended into the Eastern Front and other theaters, mounting casualties prompted repeated reorganizations, including the reduction of many divisions to two regiments, the redesignation of Infanterie-Regimenter as Grenadier-Regimenter from late 1942 onward, and the creation of specialized variants such as Jäger-Divisionen optimized for mobile operations in forests and rough terrain with lighter equipment and higher mobility, Gebirgsjäger-Divisionen trained and equipped for mountain warfare with specialized mountain artillery and pack animals, and late-war Volksgrenadier-Divisionen that featured simplified two-regiment structures, increased allocation of automatic weapons like the Sturmgewehr 44, and greater integration of Volkssturm personnel to offset severe manpower shortages; within these units the rank structure followed standard Heer patterns, with enlisted personnel progressing from Schütze and Gefreiter through Obergefreiter and Unteroffizier to senior non-commissioned officers such as Feldwebel and Oberfeldwebel, while commissioned officers commanded at company level as Leutnant or Oberleutnant, at battalion level as Hauptmann or Major, and at regimental or divisional level as Oberstleutnant, Oberst, or Generalmajor, emphasizing small-unit tactics centered on the Gruppe of ten men led by a Gruppenführer and coordinated fire-and-maneuver supported by heavy weapons companies and attached artillery.
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SCHWERTERTRÄGER
General der Infanterie Karl Eibl (1891-1943) was an Austrian-born general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who rose from service as an officer in the k.u.k. Landwehrregiment 21 during the First World War to become one of the most highly decorated commanders on the Eastern Front. Having been absorbed into the Wehrmacht after the Anschluss as a Major and later Oberstleutnant commanding III./Infanterie-Regiment 131 of the 44. Infanterie-Division, he earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 August 1940 as Oberstleutnant for his personal leadership in storming the heavily fortified French strongpoint at Chuignolles during the Westfeldzug, an action that broke through determined resistance and enabled the continued German advance toward Proyart. Transferred to command Infanterie-Regiment 132 of the same division for Operation Barbarossa, Eibl distinguished himself further in the battles around Schitomir and Uman, leading his regiment in decisive successes at the Zwiahel bridgehead that earned him the Eichenlaub on 31 December 1941 as Oberst. Promoted to Generalmajor on 1 February 1942 and given command of the newly formed 385. Infanterie-Division, he led the unit through intense fighting along the Don and at Woronesch as part of the 6. Armee; during the defensive battles in the Rossosch area amid the Soviet Operation Little Saturn in late 1942, Eibl’s division repelled overwhelming enemy attacks for weeks despite heavy losses, holding the line against breakthrough attempts in the great Don bend and securing his award of the Schwerter on 19 December 1942 as the 21st recipient overall and the second soldier of the Heer after Erwin Rommel, while simultaneously being promoted to Generalleutnant. Shortly afterward, on 20 January 1943, Eibl assumed temporary command of the XXIV. Panzerkorps northwest of Stalingrad following the suicide of Generalleutnant Arno Jahr, but the next day he was mortally wounded by hand-grenade fragments from Italian Alpini troops who mistook his vehicle for a Soviet armored car in a snowstorm; he succumbed to his injuries after an emergency amputation at a casualty collection point in Kravzoka near Rossosch and was posthumously promoted to General der Infanterie on 1 March 1943.
General der Infanterie Hans Jordan (1892-1975) entered the Royal Prussian Army in 1912, served through World War I as an Oberleutnant, continued in the Reichswehr, and rose steadily in the Wehrmacht during World War II, commanding Infanterie-Regiment 49 (of the 28. Infanterie-Division) from 1939 to 1941, the 7. Infanterie-Division from December 1941 to November 1942, the VI. Armeekorps from November 1942 until May 1944, and briefly the 9. Armee in the summer of 1944 before being relieved during the opening phase of the Soviet Operation Bagration. As Oberst and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 49 he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 5 June 1940 for overcoming the fierce defenses of the Maas river with his regiment during the Western Campaign; he then took the necessary measures to exploit this success and complete the victory on that day, personally directing the capture of numerous hostile fortifications whose elimination proved of decisive importance for the overall operation in the Maubeuge sector. On 16 January 1942, still credited in connection with the command of Infanterie-Regiment 49, he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for the regiment’s successful defensive battles near Duchowtschina in August and September 1941 as well as its major contribution to the liquidation of the Vyazma pocket on the Eastern Front. Finally, as General der Infanterie and Kommandierender General of the VI. Armeekorps, he earned the Schwerter on 20 April 1944 for his outstanding leadership throughout the repeated summer and winter battles in the Rzhev salient and the stubborn defensive fighting near Vitebsk in the winter of 1943–1944, during which his corps prevented every Soviet attempt to achieve a breakthrough.
General der Infanterie Otto Hitzfeld (1898-1990) was a highly decorated German officer who served in both World War I and World War II, rising through the ranks to command major formations on the Eastern and Western Fronts before ending the war as commander of the 11th Army. Born in Schluchsee in the German Empire, Hitzfeld saw extensive combat experience starting in 1914 and continued his career in the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht. He earned his Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 October 1941 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 213 for his outstanding leadership during the German breakthrough at the Perekop isthmus in the Crimea; his regiment played a pivotal role in the assault, breaching deep Soviet defensive positions up to the Tartar ditch amid heavy fighting on 24-25 September 1941, which triggered the collapse of other Soviet lines in the sector. Just months later, on 17 January 1942, he received the 65th Eichenlaub as Oberstleutnant still commanding Infanterie-Regiment 213, in recognition of the regiment's exceptional defensive performance against massive Soviet assaults during the brutal winter fighting in the Crimea in 1941/42. Hitzfeld went on to command the 102nd Infantry Division, serve as an instructor at the infantry school in Döberitz, and later lead the LXVII. Armeekorps in the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge); promoted to General der Infanterie on 1 March 1945, he was reportedly awarded the 158th Schwerter on 9 May 1945 as commanding general of the LXVII. Armeekorps for his continued leadership in the final defensive operations on the Western Front. In April 1945 he briefly commanded the 11th Army, declaring Göttingen an open city to protect refugees before his capture by American forces on 19 April 1945; released in 1947, he learned of his Swords award only after the war. Hitzfeld, uncle of the renowned football manager Ottmar Hitzfeld, died in Dossenheim in 1990 at the age of 92.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Generalleutnant Kurt-Jürgen Freiherr von Lützow (1892-1961) was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 August 1940 as Oberst and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 89 within the 12. Infanterie-Division for his outstanding leadership during the campaign in France, where, despite having been wounded by a shell splinter in the earlier Polish campaign, he personally led his Bataillone from the foremost line with exceptional boldness and disregard for enemy fire, most notably during the successful attack across the Scarpe river at Monchy east of Arras on 23 May 1940 that enabled his regiment to achieve its objectives rapidly and with minimal losses. He received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub on 21 October 1941, the 37th such award, still serving as Oberst and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 89 now subordinated to the 16. Armee of Heeresgruppe Nord, for his decisive actions during the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa, including breaking through the Soviet border fortifications east of Schoßbach and leading his regiment on a rapid 65-kilometre advance to reach the objective at Szeszupa, forming a bridgehead over the Njemen during the assault on Kowno while capturing two forts against determined resistance from Soviet Kyrgyzstani and Tatar regiments, distinguishing his unit in hard fighting near Putoschka on 15–16 July 1941, and subsequently securing the line Nikitina–Kokotschina from which he repelled repeated Soviet tank-supported breakthrough attempts, thereby contributing significantly to the encirclement of several enemy divisions near Newel. Lützow later commanded the 12. Infanterie-Division and was taken prisoner by Soviet forces during Operation Bagration near Bobruysk in 1944.
General der Infanterie Karl-Wilhelm Specht (1894-1953) commanded Infanterie-Regiment 55 as an Oberst during the early campaigns on the Eastern Front and later rose to higher command responsibilities. Born in Herdecke, Germany, Specht had already served with distinction in the Imperial German Army during World War I before continuing his career through the Reichswehr and into the Wehrmacht, participating in the Invasion of Poland and the Battle of France prior to Operation Barbarossa. His most notable exploits occurred while leading Infanterie-Regiment 55 in the advance toward Gomel in August 1941, when Oberst Specht and his regiment seized a particularly strong Soviet strongpoint at Weliky-Log and held it against fierce counterattacks; shortly afterward he directed a swift flank attack that broke through the fortified positions at Rekta in only two hours, then thrust twenty kilometers deep into Soviet territory, thereby contributing decisively to the German breakthrough battle north of Gomel and the subsequent encirclement and destruction of large Soviet forces around and east of Rogachev, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 8 September 1941. His determined leadership continued through the battles of Gomel, Kiev, and Bryansk-Vyazma; despite shrapnel wounds to his hand and knee sustained during the crossing of the Ugra river, he remained in command, and even after his regimental command post was hit by fire three times—leaving him unconscious from carbon dioxide poisoning—he recovered quickly with oxygen treatment and returned immediately to the front line; on 15 November 1941, while personally scouting to identify whether approaching soldiers were friendly or enemy, he was shot in the head at five meters’ range by a Soviet soldier already inside the village, yet his regiment repelled the attack, inflicting losses of approximately 500 Soviet dead (including their regimental commander), 200 prisoners, three guns, and sixty machine guns, actions that earned him the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 16 January 1942 as the sixtieth recipient. Later promoted to General der Infanterie, Specht served as a member of the Court of Military Honour that expelled officers implicated in the 20 July Plot before they were handed over to the People’s Court; at the end of the war he surrendered to Soviet forces and died in captivity at the Voikovo prison camp near Ivanovo on 3 December 1953.
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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
Oberleutnant der Reserve Joachim Hundert (1920-1944) was a German Wehrmacht officer who began his service on 15 November 1938 as Kanonier in the 4. / Artillerie-Regiment 70 (motorisiert) at Niederlahnstein, advanced through the enlisted ranks to Unteroffizier on 1 February 1941 and Feldwebel on 1 June 1942, and was commissioned as Leutnant der Reserve in June 1942 before taking command of the 5. / Infanterie-Regiment 124, which was later redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 124. On 15 January 1943, as Leutnant der Reserve and Führer of the 5. Grenadier-Regiment 124, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for his courage and personal initiative in assuming command of a company whose commander had been wounded at a decisive moment and continuing the attack to seal off an enemy breakthrough, actions that also earned him the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse on 31 December 1942 as Chef of the same company; he was later promoted to Oberleutnant der Reserve and remained in frontline service on the Eastern Front until he was killed in action on 9 August 1944 near Glazow in Poland.
Source :
https://www.avalanchepress.com/BehindCounters2.php
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