Ritterkreuzträger

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Thursday, August 20, 2026

Ritterkreuzträger of 1. Schnellbootflottille

The 1. Schnellbootflottille was the oldest and most prestigious Schnellboot unit of the Kriegsmarine, originating from the secret UZ(S)-Versuchsgruppe of the Reichsmarine formed in March 1932 and officially redesignated the 1. Schnellbootshalbflottille before becoming the 1. Schnellbootflottille in June 1935 upon the commissioning of S 9 at Kiel. Equipped initially with early experimental craft and later with modern Diesel-powered boats supported by tenders such as Tsingtau and Carl Peters, the flotilla began the Second World War in the Baltic Sea, laying mines and engaging Polish naval forces off Gdynia in September 1939 under Kapitänleutnant Kurt Sturm. In April 1940 it participated in Unternehmen Weserübung as part of Kriegsschiffgruppe 3, operating against Bergen and in Norwegian fjords under Kapitänleutnant Carl-Heinz Birnbacher, who commanded from November 1939 until August 1942. After transferring to the Channel coast the flotilla conducted intensive Feindfahrten against British coastal convoys and warships in 1940–1941, scoring notable successes that produced several Ritterkreuz recipients including Werner Töniges and Bernd Klug. In mid-1941 the flotilla returned briefly to the Baltic and Finnish waters before six of its boats were laboriously transferred via the Elbe, overland and the Danube to the Black Sea in 1942. From bases at Constanța, Iwan Baba and later Anapa the 1. Schnellbootflottille operated against the Soviet Black Sea Fleet and coastal traffic until heavy losses to air attack in 1944 forced the survivors to withdraw overland. Reformed and re-equipped in the Baltic by March 1945 under Korvettenkapitän Hermann Büchting, the flotilla escorted evacuation transports from Kurland and East Prussia, performing its final mission from Libau to the Geltinger Bucht on 9 May 1945 before entering captivity. Throughout the war successive Flottillenchefs including Georg-Stuhr Christiansen maintained the unit’s reputation as a cadre formation that trained many of the Kriegsmarine’s most successful Schnellboot commanders.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER

Korvettenkapitän Werner Töniges (1910-1995) was born on 7 January 1910 in Oberhausen as the son of a mining director and transferred from the Handelsmarine to the Kriegsmarine in 1935, receiving promotion to Leutnant zur See in 1937. He served aboard the Panzerschiff Admiral Graf Spee during the Spanish Civil War before transferring to the Schnellbootwaffe, where he commanded the boats S 24, S 26 and later S 102 of the 1. Schnellbootflottille. In the early months of the Second World War he conducted numerous Feindfahrten in the English Channel, achieving several sinkings that earned him the Eisernes Kreuz second and first class in 1940. On 25 February 1941, after completing eighty-eight combat patrols as Oberleutnant zur See und Kommandant of S 102, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for his successes against Allied shipping, which by that time included several freighters and steamers. Continuing operations with the same boat, Töniges later transferred with elements of the flotilla to the Black Sea, where he sank additional Soviet vessels, among them the passenger ship Belostok and other transports evacuating troops from Sevastopol and the Taman Peninsula. By the autumn of 1942 his cumulative record stood at eighteen war and merchant ships plus two U-Boot-Jäger sunk for a total of approximately 86,200 BRT after 281 Feindfahrten. For these achievements he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 13 November 1942 as Kapitänleutnant, becoming the first Schnellboot-Kommandant to earn this distinction. Shortly beforehand he had been posted as Kompaniechef to the 1. Abteilung of the Marineschule Mürwik in Flensburg-Mürwik, where he also received the Schnellboot-Kriegsabzeichen mit Brillanten. From September 1943 he served as Ausbildungsoffizier and Referent in the Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine and was promoted to Korvettenkapitän on 1 January 1945. After the war he worked as an independent merchant in Witten and died in Essen on 25 January 1995.

Source :
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Schnellootsflottillen/1Flot.htm

Ritterkreuzträger of Schnellbootwaffe (Fast Attack Boats)

The Schnellbootwaffe formed a specialized branch of the Kriegsmarine during the Second World War, comprising fast attack craft known as Schnellboote or S-Boote that the Allies termed E-boats. Originating from secret development under the Reichsmarine in the early 1930s to circumvent Treaty of Versailles restrictions, the force expanded after 1935 with the first operational units organized into Schnellbootflotillen such as the 1. Schnellbootflottille. These wooden-hulled boats, typically 32 to 35 metres long and powered by three Daimler-Benz diesel engines, achieved speeds exceeding 40 knots and carried two 533 mm torpedo tubes along with increasing anti-aircraft armament including 20 mm and 37 mm guns. Organized primarily into flotillas of six to ten boats supported by Begleitschiffe, they operated under the Führer der Schnellboote, a post held from 1942 by Kapitän zur See Rudolf Petersen. Their main theatres included the English Channel, North Sea, Baltic, Mediterranean and Black Sea, where they excelled in nocturnal hit-and-run attacks on coastal convoys, minelaying and occasional troop insertions. Early successes came during the Norwegian campaign and the evacuation from Dunkirk, followed by sustained operations against British coastal shipping that earned the waters the nickname E-boat Alley. Tactics evolved to include the Stichansatz group approach, allowing coordinated torpedo runs that sank or damaged numerous merchant vessels and warships. Over the course of the war approximately 230 Schnellboote entered service and claimed the sinking of around 101 merchant ships totalling over 214,000 GRT together with a dozen destroyers, multiple minesweepers, landing craft and other vessels. From 1943 onward intensified Allied air superiority and radar reduced their effectiveness, yet they continued aggressive sorties including attacks during Exercise Tiger and the Normandy landings. Later classes such as the S-100 featured armoured bridges and heavier armament while remaining highly manoeuvrable. By May 1945 surviving units of various Schnellbootflotillen gathered in the Geltinger Bucht for final mustering under Petersen before surrender.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER

Source :
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Tr%C3%A4ger_des_Ritterkreuzes_des_Eisernen_Kreuzes_der_Schnellbootwaffe

Ritterkreuzträger of 12. Unterseebootsflottille

The 12. Unterseebootsflottille was established on 15 October 1942 in the occupied French port of Bordeaux as a Frontflottille of the Kriegsmarine under the command of Korvettenkapitän Klaus Scholtz, who was later promoted to Fregattenkapitän and remained Flottillenchef until the unit’s dissolution. Subordinated to the Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote West, the flotilla specialised in long-range operations and was equipped primarily with Type IXD2 boats for distant patrols, Type XB minelayers, Type XIV supply submarines known as Milchkühe, and a few Type VIIF torpedo transporters. Its principal operational areas lay in the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, where its boats conducted the so-called Monsun missions, often supported by the supply vessels that formed a core element of the flotilla’s strength. Among the most notable boats assigned were U-181 under Korvettenkapitän Wolfgang Lüth, U-196 under Korvettenkapitän Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat, and U-198 under Kapitän zur See Werner Hartmann, all of which achieved significant successes on extended Feindfahrten lasting many months. The first German U-boat to enter the new Bordeaux bunker complex was U-178 in January 1943, after which the base became the main hub for these far-ranging operations. Following the Italian capitulation in September 1943 several captured Italian submarines, redesignated UIT-22, UIT-23, UIT-24 and UIT-25, were also placed under the flotilla for transport duties. Altogether some forty-six U-boats served with the 12. Unterseebootsflottille during its existence, the majority of which were eventually lost on operations. With the Allied advance into western France after the Normandy landings, most seaworthy boats departed Bordeaux for Norway or Germany in August 1944; the last vessels to leave were U-534 and U-857 on 25 August. The flotilla was formally disbanded that same month, and the remaining personnel of approximately 220 men under Fregattenkapitän Scholtz attempted to reach Germany overland but were captured by American forces on 11 September 1944.

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BRILLANTENTRÄGER

Kapitän zur See Wolfgang Lüth (1913-1945) was born on 15 October 1913 in Riga, then part of the Russian Empire, as a Baltic German, and after studying law for three semesters he entered the Reichsmarine on 1 April 1933 as an Offiziersanwärter. Following training on the sailing ship Gorch Fock and the cruiser Karlsruhe he transferred to the U-Bootwaffe in 1937, rising to Oberleutnant zur See by 1938 and serving as Wachoffizier on several boats before receiving his first independent command. In December 1939 he took command of U-9, a Type IIB boat, with which he conducted six Feindfahrten and sank seven merchant ships plus the French submarine Doris; he then commanded the Type IID boat U-138 on two patrols, sinking further vessels and earning the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 24 October 1940 as Oberleutnant zur See und Kommandant of U-138. Transferred to the long-range Type IX boat U-43, he completed five patrols between October 1940 and April 1942, sinking twelve ships for over 68,000 BRT and being promoted to Kapitänleutnant. In May 1942 he commissioned the large Type IXD2 boat U-181 and led it on two highly successful Feindfahrten into the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean; on the first of these he sank twelve ships and received the Eichenlaub on 13 November 1942 while still at sea. The second patrol, lasting 205 days and ranking among the longest of the war, saw him sink a further ten ships, for which he was awarded the Schwerter on 15 April 1943 and, after additional successes, the Brillanten on 9 August 1943 as Korvettenkapitän und Kommandant of U-181, becoming the first Kriegsmarine officer to receive this highest grade of the Ritterkreuz. After returning to Bordeaux in October 1943 he was withdrawn from front-line service, later commanding the 22. U-Boot-Flottille and, from September 1944, the Marinekriegsschule Mürwik as Kapitän zur See. On the night of 13–14 May 1945, shortly after the German surrender, he was accidentally shot and killed by a German sentry near the academy when he failed to give the password, ending the career of one of the most decorated and successful U-Boot-Kommandanten of the war.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_U-boat_Flotilla

Ritterkreuzträger of Festung (Fortress)

During the later stages of the Second World War the German high command under Adolf Hitler designated numerous towns, cities, ports and bridgeheads as Festungen or Feste Plätze, ordering them fortified, stocked with food and ammunition, and defended to the last man in order to delay Allied advances, tie down enemy forces and protect vital logistical points. On the Eastern Front the concept took formal shape with the Führerbefehl of 8 March 1944, which named twenty-nine locations including Warsaw, Budapest, Königsberg, Breslau, Küstrin, Danzig and Kolberg as Feste Plätze whose Kommandanten were required to hold out even when encircled. On the Western Front, Hitler declared eleven major Atlantic ports Festungen on 19 January 1944—among them Cherbourg, Brest, Lorient, Saint-Nazaire, Le Havre, Dunkirk, Boulogne-sur-Mer and the Gironde estuary—later adding Calais, La Rochelle and the Channel Islands; these Atlantikfestungen formed the strongest nodes of the Atlantikwall and were intended both to deny the Allies usable harbours and to keep U-Boot bases operational. Typical garrisons mixed regular Heer formations, Kriegsmarine coastal units, Luftwaffe Flak batteries and local Festungstruppen under a Festungskommandant of high rank, such as Generalleutnant Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben at Cherbourg, General der Fallschirmtruppe Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke at Festung Brest, or Generalleutnant Ferdinand Heim at Boulogne. Defences consisted of concrete Regelbau bunkers, anti-tank obstacles, minefields and heavy coastal artillery, often incorporating older French or German fortifications. Outcomes varied widely: Cherbourg fell after five days in June 1944, Brest held for six weeks until 19 September 1944 under Ramcke’s determined command, while Dunkirk, Lorient and the Channel Islands remained in German hands until the general capitulation in May 1945. On the Eastern Front Königsberg under Generalleutnant Otto Lasch and Breslau under Gauleiter Karl Hanke likewise resisted for weeks or months, binding substantial Soviet forces. Although the Festung strategy frequently failed to alter the strategic course of the war and often resulted in the destruction of the designated places themselves, it prolonged local resistance and forced the Allies to divert considerable resources to reduce or contain these isolated strongholds until the final collapse of the Reich.

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FESTUNG BREST (August-September 1944)

Festung Brest, the heavily fortified Atlantic port in Brittany, France, became the scene of a prolonged and costly siege from early August to mid-September 1944 under the command of General der Fallschirmtruppe Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke. After the Allied breakout from Normandy in Operation Cobra, German forces in Brittany fell back on the major ports; Ramcke’s 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division, which had earlier attempted to move eastward, returned to Brest on 9 August and on 12 August he assumed overall command of the garrison, previously held by Oberst Hans von der Mosel, who remained as his chief of staff. The defenders, numbering roughly 35,000 to 40,000 men drawn from the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division, the 343. Infanterie-Division, remnants of the 266. Infanterie-Division, Kriegsmarine personnel and various support units, occupied a dense network of concrete bunkers, pillboxes, forts and urban strongpoints that formed part of the Atlantikwall. Hitler had designated Brest a Festung to be held to the last man, and Ramcke ordered the systematic destruction of harbour facilities, docks and anything of potential value to the Allies while evacuating many French civilians. Opposed by the U.S. VIII Corps under Major-General Troy H. Middleton, comprising the 2nd, 8th and 29th Infantry Divisions reinforced by Rangers, engineers and armour, the Americans launched their main assault in late August after preliminary probes. Intense house-to-house fighting, supported by heavy artillery, air strikes and specialised armour such as Churchill Crocodile flamethrower tanks, slowly reduced the outer defences; key positions including Fort Montbarey fell in mid-September after bitter resistance. By 13 September American forces had pierced the main perimeter, yet Ramcke rejected a formal surrender offer and continued the fight. Most of the remaining garrison in the city proper capitulated on 18 September, but Ramcke and a small group of diehards withdrew to the Crozon Peninsula, where he finally surrendered on 19 September 1944 after more than a month of stubborn defence that left the port completely unusable and the historic city largely destroyed.

General der Fallschirmtruppe Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (1889-1968) was born on 24 January 1889 in Schleswig into a farming family and entered the Kaiserliche Marine in 1905 as a Schiffsjunge, later serving as a Matrose and rising through non-commissioned ranks before the First World War. During that conflict he transferred to the Marine-Infanterie and fought mainly in Flanders, earning the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse and 1. Klasse as well as the Prussian Golden Military Merit Cross for distinguished actions as an Offiziers-Stellvertreter. After the war he remained in the Reichswehr, advancing steadily to Oberstleutnant by 1937, and in 1940, at the age of fifty-one, volunteered for the Fallschirmtruppe of the Luftwaffe, completing parachute training and receiving the Fallschirmschützenabzeichen. In May 1941, as Oberst and Kommandeur of Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment 1, he took part in the airborne invasion of Crete; after Generalmajor Meindl was wounded he assumed command of the Westgruppe, leading the capture of Maleme airfield and the town of Chania, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 August 1941 and promoted to Generalmajor. In 1942 he commanded the Fallschirmjäger-Brigade “Ramcke” attached to the Afrikakorps in North Africa; during the Second Battle of El Alamein his isolated force refused surrender, captured a British supply column, and marched roughly 350 kilometres through the desert to rejoin Rommel’s troops, an exploit that earned him the Eichenlaub on 13 November 1942 and promotion to Generalleutnant. He later raised and led the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division in Italy and briefly on the Eastern Front before taking command of Festung Brest in Brittany in August 1944. There, as Kommandant, he directed a stubborn defence of the vital port against superior American forces for more than a month, delaying its capture until 19 September 1944, the same day he received both the Schwerter and the Brillanten to his Ritterkreuz and was promoted to General der Fallschirmtruppe. Captured that day, Ramcke spent years as a prisoner of war, was later convicted by a French court of war crimes committed during the Brest fighting, and after release lived quietly until his death on 4 July 1968 in Kappeln.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_World_War_II_fortresses

Ritterkreuzträger of Fallschirmjäger-Brigade "Ramcke"

The Fallschirmjäger-Brigade “Ramcke” was an elite Luftwaffe airborne formation raised in the summer of 1942 on the orders of General Kurt Student to reinforce the hard-pressed Deutsches Afrika-Korps after the cancellation of Unternehmen Herkules, the planned airborne assault on Malta. Assembled from experienced Fallschirmjäger elements that included Kampfgruppe Major Kroh drawn from I./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 2 returning from the Eastern Front, Kampfgruppe Major von der Heydte from the Fallschirmjäger-Lehr-Bataillon, Kampfgruppe Major Hübner from II./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 5, and Kampfgruppe Major Burkhardt from another Lehr-Bataillon, the brigade was further supported by II./Fallschirm-Artillerie-Regiment 7, a company of Fallschirm-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 7, the 2./Fallschirm-Pionier-Bataillon of the XI. Fliegerkorps, a Fallschirm-Nachrichten-Kompanie and a medical company. Placed under the command of Generalmajor Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke on 1 April 1942, the unit was airlifted in mid-July via Greece and Crete to Tobruk and then motored forward to take up defensive positions on the right wing of the Afrika-Korps northwest of the Qattara Depression near El Alamein. There it fought alongside the Italian 25. Infanterie-Division Bologna during the Axis push toward the Suez Canal and later held its sector against limited British probes while suffering heavier losses from disease than from combat. When the Second Battle of El Alamein began on 23 October 1942 the brigade, lacking organic transport, became isolated; on 2–3 November it broke out westward under continuous attack, marched more than 120 kilometres through the desert, captured a British supply column on 6 November that provided trucks, fuel, food and luxuries, and rejoined the main Axis forces near Marsa Matruh the following day with roughly 600 effectives after losing about 450 men. Ramcke was then recalled to Germany and awarded the Eichenlaub, command passing on 18 November 1942 to Oberstleutnant Hans Kroh. The reduced brigade continued the retreat into Tunisia, defending successive lines until the remnants, reduced to battalion strength, were included in the final surrender of Panzerarmee Afrika near Tunis on 13 May 1943.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER

General der Fallschirmtruppe Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (1889-1968) was born on 24 January 1889 in Schleswig into a farming family and entered the Kaiserliche Marine in 1905 as a Schiffsjunge, later serving as a Matrose and rising through non-commissioned ranks before the First World War. During that conflict he transferred to the Marine-Infanterie and fought mainly in Flanders, earning the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse and 1. Klasse as well as the Prussian Golden Military Merit Cross for distinguished actions as an Offiziers-Stellvertreter. After the war he remained in the Reichswehr, advancing steadily to Oberstleutnant by 1937, and in 1940, at the age of fifty-one, volunteered for the Fallschirmtruppe of the Luftwaffe, completing parachute training and receiving the Fallschirmschützenabzeichen. In May 1941, as Oberst and Kommandeur of Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment 1, he took part in the airborne invasion of Crete; after Generalmajor Meindl was wounded he assumed command of the Westgruppe, leading the capture of Maleme airfield and the town of Chania, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 August 1941 and promoted to Generalmajor. In 1942 he commanded the Fallschirmjäger-Brigade “Ramcke” attached to the Afrikakorps in North Africa; during the Second Battle of El Alamein his isolated force refused surrender, captured a British supply column, and marched roughly 350 kilometres through the desert to rejoin Rommel’s troops, an exploit that earned him the Eichenlaub on 13 November 1942 and promotion to Generalleutnant. He later raised and led the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division in Italy and briefly on the Eastern Front before taking command of Festung Brest in Brittany in August 1944. There, as Kommandant, he directed a stubborn defence of the vital port against superior American forces for more than a month, delaying its capture until 19 September 1944, the same day he received both the Schwerter and the Brillanten to his Ritterkreuz and was promoted to General der Fallschirmtruppe. Captured that day, Ramcke spent years as a prisoner of war, was later convicted by a French court of war crimes committed during the Brest fighting, and after release lived quietly until his death on 4 July 1968 in Kappeln.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramcke_Parachute_Brigade

Ritterkreuzträger of Sturmabteilung Koch / Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1

The Sturmabteilung Koch, later redesignated Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1, was an elite Fallschirmjäger unit of the Luftwaffe formed on 2 November 1939 in Hildesheim as the Versuchs-Abteilung Friedrichshafen from elements of the 1. Kompanie of I./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1, the Pionier-Zug of II./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1, and a Lastensegler-Kommando, under the command of Hauptmann Walter Koch, after whom it was promptly renamed. Specialised in silent glider assaults using DFS 230 aircraft, the unit was organised into four Sturmgruppen for the invasion of Belgium on 10 May 1940: Sturmgruppe Granit under Oberleutnant Rudolf Witzig seized the key fortifications of Fort Eben-Emael, while Sturmgruppen Beton, Stahl and Eisen captured the vital bridges over the Albert Canal at Vroenhoven, Veldwezelt and Canne, enabling the rapid German advance into central Belgium with only light losses. Following these successes the formation was expanded in the autumn of 1940 to three Bataillone and redesignated Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1, with a fourth Bataillon added during the winter of 1940/41; its successive commanders were Oberst Walter Koch until 31 August 1940, Generalmajor Eugen Meindl from 1 September 1940, Oberst Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke from 21 May to 18 June 1941 during the Crete operation, and then Meindl again until February 1942. In Unternehmen Merkur on 20 May 1941 the I. Bataillon landed by glider near Maleme while the remaining Bataillone parachuted into the same sector, suffering heavy casualties against the New Zealand 5th Infantry Brigade yet, reinforced by elements of the 5. Gebirgs-Division, securing the airfield that proved decisive for the German victory on Crete, the only occasion on which the regiment fought as a complete unit. After the island’s surrender, elements of the regiment were implicated in reprisal killings of civilians in villages such as Kondomari, Alikianos and Kandanos. The Bataillone were subsequently dispersed on the Eastern Front from late 1941, seeing action near Schlüsselburg, Stalino, Yukhnov, Rzhev and elsewhere; the regimental Stab became the Stab of Luftwaffe-Division Meindl in February 1942, while the individual Bataillone were gradually redesignated into other Fallschirmjäger formations by mid-1942, bringing the independent existence of the Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1 to an end.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER

General der Fallschirmtruppe Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (1889-1968) was born on 24 January 1889 in Schleswig into a farming family and entered the Kaiserliche Marine in 1905 as a Schiffsjunge, later serving as a Matrose and rising through non-commissioned ranks before the First World War. During that conflict he transferred to the Marine-Infanterie and fought mainly in Flanders, earning the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse and 1. Klasse as well as the Prussian Golden Military Merit Cross for distinguished actions as an Offiziers-Stellvertreter. After the war he remained in the Reichswehr, advancing steadily to Oberstleutnant by 1937, and in 1940, at the age of fifty-one, volunteered for the Fallschirmtruppe of the Luftwaffe, completing parachute training and receiving the Fallschirmschützenabzeichen. In May 1941, as Oberst and Kommandeur of Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment 1, he took part in the airborne invasion of Crete; after Generalmajor Meindl was wounded he assumed command of the Westgruppe, leading the capture of Maleme airfield and the town of Chania, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 August 1941 and promoted to Generalmajor. In 1942 he commanded the Fallschirmjäger-Brigade “Ramcke” attached to the Afrikakorps in North Africa; during the Second Battle of El Alamein his isolated force refused surrender, captured a British supply column, and marched roughly 350 kilometres through the desert to rejoin Rommel’s troops, an exploit that earned him the Eichenlaub on 13 November 1942 and promotion to Generalleutnant. He later raised and led the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division in Italy and briefly on the Eastern Front before taking command of Festung Brest in Brittany in August 1944. There, as Kommandant, he directed a stubborn defence of the vital port against superior American forces for more than a month, delaying its capture until 19 September 1944, the same day he received both the Schwerter and the Brillanten to his Ritterkreuz and was promoted to General der Fallschirmtruppe. Captured that day, Ramcke spent years as a prisoner of war, was later convicted by a French court of war crimes committed during the Brest fighting, and after release lived quietly until his death on 4 July 1968 in Kappeln.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment

Ritterkreuzträger of Fallschirmjäger (Paratroopers)

The Fallschirmjäger formed the airborne forces of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War and were the first paratroopers committed in large-scale operations, earning the nickname “Green Devils” from their opponents for their tenacity and distinctive esprit de corps under the overall command of General der Fallschirmtruppe Kurt Student. Originating from volunteers of the Regiment General Göring in the mid-1930s, they were organised into the 7. Flieger-Division in 1938 and later expanded into successive Fallschirmjäger-Divisionen, with specialised units such as the Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment and Fallschirmjäger-Regimenter 1, 2 and 3. Their early successes included the unopposed seizure of airfields and bridges during the occupation of Denmark and Norway in April 1940, the dramatic glider-borne capture of Fort Ében-Émael by Sturmgruppe Granit in May 1940, and the securing of key bridges and airfields in the Netherlands and Belgium during the Western Campaign. The culminating airborne assault was Unternehmen Merkur on Crete in May 1941, when elements of the 7. Flieger-Division and supporting Gebirgsjäger landed by parachute and glider to seize the island; although successful, the operation cost the Fallschirmjäger roughly 3,000 to 4,000 killed or missing and led Adolf Hitler to forbid further large-scale airborne operations. Thereafter the Fallschirmjäger fought primarily as elite ground infantry, with the Fallschirmjäger-Brigade “Ramcke” operating in North Africa during the Second Battle of El Alamein, the 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division defending Monte Cassino in Italy, and the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Division under Generalleutnant Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke holding Festung Brest against American forces in 1944. Additional divisions including the 3., 4. and 5. Fallschirmjäger-Division saw heavy combat in Normandy, the Falaise Pocket, Arnhem and the Ardennes, while later formations raised in 1944–45 were often understrength and used as ordinary infantry. Equipped with distinctive jump smocks, the Fallschirmjäger-Stahlhelm and specialised weapons such as the FG 42, they maintained high combat value until the final surrender of remaining units in May 1945, having suffered tens of thousands of casualties across every major theatre.

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BRILLANTENTRÄGER

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Knight%27s_Cross_of_the_Iron_Cross_recipients_of_the_Fallschirmj%C3%A4ger

"Twins" Ritterkreuzträger

Max Stotz and Josef Zwernemann
Max Stotz (left) was born on 13 February 1912 in Mannswörth, Lower Austria, joined the Austrian Bundesheer in 1933 and transferred to the Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte in 1935 before entering the Luftwaffe after the Anschluss, serving first with Jagdgeschwader 76 and later with Jagdgeschwader 54. He claimed his first aerial victory during the Phoney War and accumulated further successes in the Battle of France and over the Channel before achieving most of his score on the Eastern Front, where as Oberfeldwebel in the 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 June 1942 after 53 confirmed victories. On 29 October 1942 he scored his 100th victory and the following day was awarded the Eichenlaub, later rising to Staffelkapitän of 5./Jagdgeschwader 54 and posthumously to Hauptmann; credited with 189 victories in over 700 missions, he went missing in action on 19 August 1943 after bailing out near Vitebsk. Josef Zwernemann was born on 26 March 1916 in Kirchworbis, entered the Kriegsmarine in 1935 and transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1936, joining the 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 52. After early claims in the Battle of Britain and service in the Balkans he fought on the Eastern Front, earning the Ritterkreuz on 23 June 1942 as Oberfeldwebel in 7./Jagdgeschwader 52 for 57 aerial victories plus numerous ground-attack successes. In September 1942 alone he claimed around thirty victories, reaching the century mark shortly thereafter and receiving the Eichenlaub on 31 October 1942; he later served with Jagdgeschwader 77 and as Staffelkapitän of 1./Jagdgeschwader 11 in the Defence of the Reich before being killed in action on 8 April 1944 near Gardelegen, having achieved 126 victories in approximately 600 missions and being promoted posthumously to Hauptmann.

Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/10/album-foto-wajah-serupa-dan-kembar.html

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Ritterkreuz Award Ceremony of Karl Faulhaber

Ritterkreuz award ceremony for Oberst Karl Faulhaber (Kommandeur Grenadier-Regiment 282 / 98.Infanterie-Division). He formally received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 December 1943 in recognition of his decisive personal leadership during the critical fighting that followed the Soviet landing near Eltigen south of Kertsch on the Kerch Peninsula on 1 November 1943. Born on 11 January 1896 in Gerolzhofen, Faulhaber was already a decorated veteran who had earned the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 12 November 1942 while commanding the same regiment, then designated Infanterie-Regiment 282. When Soviet forces, supported by heavy artillery fire from the Taman peninsula, established a beachhead at Eltigen under cover of darkness, all communications with the coastal defence forces of the II. Bataillon under Hauptmann Dr. Finke collapsed and the situation remained completely unclear. Acting as commander of the coastal sector south of Kertsch, Oberst Faulhaber immediately drove forward in person, encountered the battered 2. Kompanie of his regiment whose commander had been severely wounded, and observed several hundred Soviet troops advancing westward along the Kamysch-Burun–Tobetschik road, already threatening to envelop the firing positions of the 2./Artillerie-Regiment 198. Refusing to await the arrival of the divisional reserve, he rallied the leaderless and heavily depleted Kompanie under intense fire, led them personally in a flank attack against the advancing enemy, outflanked the foremost Soviet elements, and seized a series of commanding crests and quarries. Throughout the subsequent fierce Soviet counter-attacks he moved from nest to nest, directing the defence by personal example and ensuring that the vital high ground south of Salt Lake remained in German hands. This bold action halted the enemy breakthrough at the last moment, relieved the threatened artillery battery, restored contact with the encircled command post of Hauptmann Finke, and created the conditions for a continuous defensive line that later enabled the Eltigen beachhead to be contained and constricted with limited forces, thereby preserving the Kerch Peninsula for the hard-pressed 98. Infanterie-Division..

Karl Faulhaber’s Ritterkreuz recommendation reads as follows:

“Just before daybreak on the 01.11.1943, and under the cover of numerous heavy batteries firing from the Taman peninsula, the enemy landed near Eltigen (south of Kertsch). At first the situation remained totally unclear. All means of communication were unavailable. Under the enemy’s artillery drumfire no battle noises could be heard except for a few scattered rifle and MG shots, which soon fell silent. Communications to the II./Grenadier-Regiment 282 (commanded by Hauptmann Dr. Finke, and in charge of coastal defense along with the local reserve) failed. Communications from Finke’s command post likewise failed to reach Hauptmann Vockentanz, commander of the I./Grenadier-Regiment 282 (which was on standby as the divisional reserve in Stary Karantin-Süd). Everything about the situation remained unclear, including the strength of the landed enemy, the extent of their beachhead and their current disposition.

Oberst Faulhaber, the commander of the coastal sector south of Kertsch, immediately resolved to personally carry out the necessary reconnaissance and restoration of communication with Hauptmann Finke. As he was driving forward he encountered the 2./Grenadier-Regiment 282 south of Kamysch-Burun. At the time this unit was taking cover from heavy enemy artillery fire in the road ditches. Heavy losses had been incurred, and the Kompanie commander had fallen out with severe injuries. At this same time Faulhaber perceived that the Russians were already marching westwards from Eltigen with about 200-300 men along the road Kamysch-Burun-Tobetschik. Russian elements were bypassing the firing position of the nearby 2./Artillerie-Regiment 198 on both sides. It therefore had to be assumed that the command post of Hauptmann Finke, located further to the south, had either been encircled or destroyed. If the enemy continued their advance further west they would capturing the commanding high ground south of Salt Lake. In doing so they would secure all the prerequisites for a further successful attack into the unprotected territory towards the west, and also enable further landings to take place in the particularly valuable Kamysch-Burun harbour.

Fully realizing the severity of the situation, and the need to take instant action, Oberst Faulhaber decided not to wait for the divisional reserve to arrive. He decided to launch an immediate attack with the already heavily weakened, leaderless Kompanie. Under heavy fire he got the Kompanie to get on its feet again, led them to a relatively safe place north of the road to reassemble, and then from here launched a flank attack into the enemy forces that were advancing northwards. Faulhaber himself led at the head of this attack. As the fully surprised enemy began to hesitate, Oberst Faulhaber managed to outflank the foremost enemy elements and push them back across the road. He subsequently captured a series of crests and quarries. During an immediately launched enemy counterthrust by strong enemy forces Oberst Faulhaber rushed from resistance nest to resistance nest, directing the individual soldiers to their targets and inspiring them through his personal example. In this way he ensured that, following back-and-forth combat, his troops were able to remain in control of the commanding strongpoints.

The successes that were achieved were of great and decisive importance for the continuation of combat in the area. The enemy’s strong landed forces were slowed down during their unopposed march to the west at the last second, and were forced to yield a considerable amount of their newly conquered territory. In the process they took significant losses and were thrown into confusion. The 2./Artillerie-Regiment 198 was freed from its imminent encirclement, and was once again able to deliver decisive artillery support for the forthcoming battles. Contact with Finke’s encircled command post and the forces that had been gathered to him was restored. Through this the conditions were created to form an unbroken line of resistance, from which an attack that sought to constrict the enemy beachhead would later be launched.

The success achieved under the personal, bold leadership of Oberst Faulhaber prevented the enemy breakthrough. It also laid the groundwork for newly brought up forces to significantly constrict the enemy forces in the Eltigen beachhead and form a defensive front that would be able to contain them with minimal amounts of friendly troops. This enabled the Kertsch peninsula to continue to be held with the weak available forces.”

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2632509#p2632509
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/4232/Faulhaber-Karl-Grenadier-Regiment-282.htm

Monday, August 17, 2026

Original Color Photographs of Erwin Rommel by Walter Frentz

Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (Oberbefehlshaber Panzerarmee "Africa") in a picture taken on 1 October 1942 (some sources said the date is 30 September 1942) by Walter Frentz during award ceremony with Hitler at Neue Reichskanzlei in Berlin, Germany. In this event, Rommel was awarded his Marschallstab (Marshal Baton) and interimstab. He was also received the "Große Urkunde" for his Schwerter (on the same time). On that day a formal ceremony took place in the Reichskanzlei at which Rommel was presented by Adolf Hitler with his Marschallstab, the ornate ceremonial field marshal’s baton that accompanied his promotion to that rank which had been conferred on 22 June 1942 following the capture of Tobruk. In accordance with Wehrmacht custom Rommel also received the simpler Interimstab intended for everyday use, while the richly decorated Marschallstab itself, covered in red velvet and ornamented with the Wehrmachtsadler and Eisernes Kreuz, was reserved for formal occasions. At the same audience Hitler handed over the Große Urkunde, the large official certificate documenting the earlier award of the Schwerter zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub that Rommel had received on 20 January 1942 as General der Panzertruppen and Befehlshaber der Panzer-Gruppe Afrika. The presentation occurred during Rommel’s brief leave in Germany after the summer fighting in North Africa, with senior officers of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, including Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel, present in the study of the Reichskanzlei. Contemporary accounts describe Rommel entering the room, receiving the black leather case containing the glittering baton, and acknowledging the honour in the presence of Hitler’s adjutants and his own aide. Later that day and in the following days Rommel appeared as guest of honour at public events in Berlin, including a rally at the Sportpalast, where he displayed the newly conferred symbols of his rank while the German press and radio celebrated the Desert Fox at the height of his wartime prestige.

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2021354&hilit=rommel#p2021354
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/201/Rommel-Erwin-Johannes-Eugen.htm
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-n-r/

Hans Thurner with His Dog and Crew in the Cockpit

A little further west from Woolston, England, the Royal Navy base at Portland came under attack from the Heinkel 111s of III.Gruppe / Kampfgeschwader 55 (KG55) on 15 September 1940, and among the units taking part was the 8th Staffel of that KG55 formation. Although we cannot know if he specifically took part in that raid, Leutnant Hans Thurner (seated here at the controls) of an 8./KG55 He 111 became one of the most highly decorated Luftwaffe bomber pilots of the war and took part in the Battle of Britain and The Blitz. In this posed photograph, he is seen with his Great Dane dog and two crew members. Hans Thurner was born on 24 October 1918 in Innsbruck, Austria, and entered the Luftwaffe in 1938 as a Fahnenjunker, receiving training as a Kampfflieger before being commissioned Leutnant and assigned to the 8. Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 55. In the autumn of 1940 he flew numerous sorties against England, and from June 1941 he took part in operations over the Soviet Union. On 6 August 1941 he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes as Leutnant and pilot in the III. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 55 in recognition of 132 combat sorties flown against England between 5 July 1940 and 31 May 1941, together with further successful missions on the Eastern Front. In September 1942 he transferred as Oberleutnant and Technischer Offizier to Kampfgeschwader 6, with which he again operated against England, later flying in the Mediterranean theatre from the summer of 1943 and returning to raids over England in 1944. He received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold and, early in 1944, was appointed Kommandeur of the I. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 6, being promoted to Hauptmann on 1 May 1944. Thurner’s luck finally ran out when he was killed on 11 June 1944, despite the lucky horseshoe hanging in his cockpit. On that day, while flying a Junkers Ju 188 A-2 coded 3E+EB in defence against the Allied invasion of Normandy, he and his crew failed to return from a mission and were reported missing; his remains were later recovered approximately ten kilometres southeast of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives, and he was buried at the German war cemetery at La Cambe. By the time of his death he had completed more than 500 Feindflüge. Posthumously, on 17 September 1944, he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (the 587th such award) as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the I. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 6 for his many successful sorties on the Eastern Front, the Italian front, over England in the first months of 1944, and finally on the Invasion front.

Source :
"Luftwaffe Bombers of the Blitz 1940-1941" by Andy Saunders (page 30)

Original Color Photograph of Walter Model by Walter Frentz

Generaloberst Walter Model (Oberbefehlshaber 9. Armee) in a picture taken on 28 February 1942 by Walter Frentz, during Eichenlaub award ceremony with Hitler at Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze in Rastenburg, East Prussia. Previously in January 1942, as Soviet forces of the Kalinin and Western Fronts threatened to encircle the German 9. Armee in the Rzhev salient during the winter counteroffensive, General der Panzertruppe Walter Model, then commanding general of the XXXXI. Panzerkorps, was appointed to take charge of the beleaguered army on 16 January after its previous commander could no longer master the crisis. Upon assessing the desperate situation, in which Soviet pincer movements had nearly closed around the German positions and cut vital supply lines, Model flew to the Wolfsschanze and boldly proposed an immediate aggressive counteroffensive rather than further withdrawal, prompting Hitler’s approval with the words that he should proceed. Taking personal command, Model rapidly reorganized the exhausted formations of the 9. Armee, concentrating limited armoured and motorized reserves for decisive local strikes while directing the XXXXI. Panzerkorps and subordinate units such as the 2. Panzer-Division, 14. Infanterie-Division (mot.), and 36. Infanterie-Division (mot.) to seal breaches and restore cohesion along the front. Through a series of determined counterattacks launched in late January and early February, he succeeded in blunting the Soviet advance, isolating and largely destroying the remnants of several enemy armies that had penetrated the German rear areas, and by 5 February 1942 had largely cleared the immediate threat of encirclement, though scattered Soviet forces continued to operate in the dense forests behind the lines. His energetic leadership, frequent presence at the front, and insistence on offensive action even under severe winter conditions and supply shortages stabilized the Rzhev sector at a critical moment for Heeresgruppe Mitte. For these achievements in restoring the integrity of the 9. Armee and preventing a major operational disaster, Model was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 17 February 1942 while still holding the rank of General der Panzertruppe and nominal command of the XXXXI. Panzerkorps, an honour that recognized both his earlier corps-level performance during the withdrawal from Moscow and his decisive intervention with the army. Shortly thereafter, on 28 February, he received promotion to Generaloberst, solidifying his reputation as a resolute defensive commander capable of turning seemingly hopeless situations through bold and energetic measures.

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2065738&hilit=walter+model#p2065738
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/200/Model-Otto-Moritz-Walter.htm
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-l-m/

Ritterkreuzträger of Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1)

Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1), nicknamed “Wespe” (Wasp), was a Luftwaffe heavy-fighter (Zerstörer) wing of the Second World War that flew primarily the twin-engined Messerschmitt Bf 110 and later the Me 210 and Me 410, performing bomber-escort, ground-attack and air-superiority roles. Formed on 1 May 1939 from elements of Zerstörergeschwader 141 and Jagdgeschwader 54 without an initial Geschwaderstab or III. Gruppe, its I. and II. Gruppen took part in the invasion of Poland, the occupation of Denmark and Norway, and the campaign in the West, scoring early successes such as the destruction of twenty-six Dutch aircraft on the ground at Haamstede. After heavy losses the original wing was disbanded in June 1940, with I./ZG 1 becoming the nucleus of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 and II./ZG 1 redesignated III./ZG 76. Re-established on 4 January 1942 from the staff and Gruppen of Schnellkampfgeschwader 210, the reformed ZG 1 received a full Stab and three Gruppen and was committed to the Eastern Front under VIII. Fliegerkorps, operating from bases such as Belgorod and Armavir in ground-attack and escort missions against Soviet forces. Elements later served in the Mediterranean and North Africa, while other detachments flew defensive sorties over the Reich and the Atlantic coast. Commanded successively by officers including Major Arved Crüger, Major Ulrich Diesing, Oberstleutnant Paul-Friedrich Darjes and Oberstleutnant Erich von Selle, the wing continued operations until mid-1944. Faced with mounting attrition and the need for single-engine fighters, ZG 1 was dissolved on 16 July 1944; its Gruppen were converted into II./JG 4, III./JG 4 and III./JG 76, ending the existence of the last major Bf 110 Zerstörer formation of the Luftwaffe.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER

Oberstleutnant Wolfgang Schenck (1913-2010) was born on 7 February 1913 in Windhoek, German South West Africa, the son of a farmer, and after his mother’s death in 1923 moved with his sister to relatives in Berlin before returning to South West Africa in 1934 to work on a coffee plantation; holding gliding and powered-flight certificates, he entered the Luftwaffe in December 1936 as an officer-cadet and was posted to II./JG 132 “Richthofen,” later redesignated I. Gruppe, Zerstörergeschwader 1, flying in the Polish and Norwegian campaigns. He scored his first aerial victory on 11 May 1940 but was seriously wounded five days later; after recovery he joined Erprobungsgruppe 210, becoming Staffelkapitän of 1. Staffel and later acting Gruppenführer, pioneering fighter-bomber tactics with the Bf 110. In mid-1941 the unit became I. Gruppe, Schnellkampfgeschwader 210 and moved east for the invasion of the Soviet Union, where as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 1. Staffel/Schnellkampfgeschwader 210 he flew more than fifty fighter-bomber missions, destroyed numerous tanks and ground targets, and claimed nine aerial victories, earning the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 14 August 1941 after roughly two hundred sorties. He next headed the Erprobungsstaffel Me 210 at Rechlin, then in January 1942 returned as Gruppenkommandeur of I./Zerstörergeschwader 1, by which time he had reached eighteen aerial victories in some three hundred operational missions together with extensive claims against shipping, tanks and transport; for these achievements as Hauptmann und Kommandeur of I. Gruppe/Zerstörergeschwader 1 he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 30 October 1942 as the 139th recipient. In January 1943 he was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Schlachtgeschwader 1 in the Mediterranean, flying the Fw 190, was wounded again in December 1943, and later served as Inspizient der Schlachtflieger. In June 1944 he formed Kommando Schenck to evaluate the Me 262 as a fighter-bomber, subsequently commanded Kampfgeschwader 51 during its conversion to the jet, and ended the war as Inspector for Jet Aircraft with the rank of Oberstleutnant, having completed over four hundred combat missions including forty on the Me 262. After the war he returned to South Africa, accumulated more than 17,000 hours of bush flying, and finally settled in Marburg, Germany, where he died on 5 March 2010 at the age of ninety-seven.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerst%C3%B6rergeschwader_1

Ritterkreuzträger of 126. Infanterie-Division

The 126. Infanterie-Division was formed on 18 October 1940 at the Truppenübungsplatz Sennelager near Paderborn in Wehrkreis VI as a Rhineland-Westphalian formation drawn from elements of the 11. Infanterie-Division, the 253. Infanterie-Division and the non-motorized parts of the 16. Infanterie-Division (mot.). Its initial organization comprised Infanterie-Regiment 422, Infanterie-Regiment 424, Infanterie-Regiment 426 and Artillerie-Regiment 126 together with the usual divisional support units. After training it was transferred to East Prussia and crossed the Soviet frontier south of the Memel on 22 June 1941 as part of Army Group North. Advancing rapidly through the Baltic states it reached the western shore of Lake Ilmen by late July, took part in the capture of Novgorod and later contributed to the seizure of Schlüsselburg and the heights of Sinyavino during the approach to Leningrad. From late 1941 it held defensive positions along the Volkhov River, enduring the severe fighting of the Lyuban offensive and the subsequent battles around Staraya Russa. In the summer of 1942 the division was committed to the defense of the Demyansk salient, remaining there until the pocket was evacuated in February 1943. After reorganization into a Type 44 division with Grenadier-Regimenter 422, 424 and 426 plus Füsilier-Bataillon 126, it returned to the Leningrad front and later absorbed remnants of the 9. Luftwaffen-Feld-Division in February 1944. Heavy casualties marked the withdrawal through the Baltic states in 1944; by October the division was trapped in the Courland Pocket, where it continued to fight in successive defensive battles until the final surrender on 8 May 1945 near Preekuln–Vartava south of Libau, by which time it had been reduced to roughly seventy officers and three thousand men. Commanders included General der Infanterie Paul Laux, Generalleutnant Harry Hoppe, Generalleutnant Gotthard Fischer and Generalmajor Kurt Hähling.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER

Oberst Hermann Seitz (1902-1942) was born on 19 April 1902 in Beilngries, Bavaria, and entered military service in 1919 with Schützen-Regiment 43, receiving promotion to Leutnant in 1924. By 1934 he had advanced to Rittmeister and served as Chef of the 2./Aufklärungs-Abteilung 7, later becoming Major and Kommandeur of Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20 in 1939. He took part in the Polish and French campaigns, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 25 September 1939 and the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 2 July 1941. During the early fighting in the Soviet Union he commanded Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20 and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 11 December 1941. In the heavy defensive battles on the Volkhov front from December 1941 into January 1942 he played a decisive role in the weeks-long defense of the town of Kopzy beginning on 17 January 1942, where his active leadership, personal bravery and iron will enabled the German forces to hold the position against fierce Soviet attacks and thereby maintain operational freedom in the sector. For this achievement he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 12 April 1942 as Oberstleutnant und Kommandeur of Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20 (motorisiert). Promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 March 1942, he assumed command of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 63 of the 17. Panzer-Division in April 1942. In August 1942 north of Orel his regiment contributed decisively to the annihilation of strong elements of three Soviet divisions, and in the subsequent defensive fighting Seitz’s men successfully repulsed twenty large-scale enemy attacks over the course of three days within his sector. These actions brought him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 31 October 1942 as the 140th recipient. Seitz was killed in action on 20 December 1942 near Werch Kimsky in the Stalingrad area and was posthumously promoted to Oberst.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/126th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of 17. Panzer-Division

The 17. Panzer-Division was formed in November 1940 in Wehrkreis VII around Augsburg through the conversion of the 27. Infanterie-Division, receiving Panzer-Regiment 39 as its armored core along with the redesignated Schützen-Regimenter 40 and 63 that later became Panzergrenadier units. Under its first commander Generalleutnant Hans-Jürgen von Arnim the division prepared for the eastern campaign and in June 1941 crossed into the Soviet Union as part of XXXXVII. Panzerkorps within Panzergruppe 2 of Heeresgruppe Mitte under Heinz Guderian. It took part in the rapid advances of the Battle of Białystok–Minsk, the fighting around Smolensk and the drive toward Moscow, suffering heavy losses during the winter battles of 1941–42. After further defensive actions in the central sector it was transferred south in November 1942 to participate in Operation Wintergewitter, the unsuccessful attempt to relieve the encircled Sixth Army at Stalingrad. In 1943 the division was held in reserve during the Battle of Kursk and thereafter fought a series of delaying actions across Ukraine, including the Korsun-Cherkassy and Kamenets-Podolsky pockets. Continuously reconstituted after severe attrition, it retreated through Poland during the Vistula–Oder Offensive of 1944–45 and conducted final defensive operations in Silesia and Moravia. Commanders such as Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma, Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin and Karl-Friedrich von der Meden led it through these campaigns until the remnants under Generalmajor Theodor Kretschmer surrendered to Soviet forces near Görlitz and Olmütz in early May 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER

Oberst Hermann Seitz (1902-1942) was born on 19 April 1902 in Beilngries, Bavaria, and entered military service in 1919 with Schützen-Regiment 43, receiving promotion to Leutnant in 1924. By 1934 he had advanced to Rittmeister and served as Chef of the 2./Aufklärungs-Abteilung 7, later becoming Major and Kommandeur of Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20 in 1939. He took part in the Polish and French campaigns, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 25 September 1939 and the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 2 July 1941. During the early fighting in the Soviet Union he commanded Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20 and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 11 December 1941. In the heavy defensive battles on the Volkhov front from December 1941 into January 1942 he played a decisive role in the weeks-long defense of the town of Kopzy beginning on 17 January 1942, where his active leadership, personal bravery and iron will enabled the German forces to hold the position against fierce Soviet attacks and thereby maintain operational freedom in the sector. For this achievement he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 12 April 1942 as Oberstleutnant und Kommandeur of Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20 (motorisiert). Promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 March 1942, he assumed command of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 63 of the 17. Panzer-Division in April 1942. In August 1942 north of Orel his regiment contributed decisively to the annihilation of strong elements of three Soviet divisions, and in the subsequent defensive fighting Seitz’s men successfully repulsed twenty large-scale enemy attacks over the course of three days within his sector. These actions brought him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 31 October 1942 as the 140th recipient. Seitz was killed in action on 20 December 1942 near Werch Kimsky in the Stalingrad area and was posthumously promoted to Oberst.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_Panzer_Division

Sunday, August 16, 2026

Ritterkreuzträger of 46. Infanterie-Division

The 46. Infanterie-Division was formed on 24 November 1938 in Karlsbad in the Sudetenland as a first-wave unit of the peacetime army and was mobilized in August 1939 under Generalleutnant Paul von Hase, drawing primarily on ethnic German recruits from the region. It took part in the invasion of Poland in September 1939, advancing through southern sectors including the areas of Tschenstochau, Radom and the approaches to Warsaw, before moving west and participating in the Battle of France in 1940 as part of XXXVIII. Armeekorps after initially serving in OKH reserve. Following occupation duties in France, elements moved through Yugoslavia and Romania; in July 1941 the division joined Operation Barbarossa under Heeresgruppe Süd and the 11. Armee, crossing the Pruth, Dnjestr and Bug rivers and advancing through southern Ukraine to the Dnepr before breaking through the Perekop isthmus into the Crimea in late September. It fought in the siege of Sevastopol, defended the Kerch Peninsula during the Soviet landings of December 1941–January 1942 (an unauthorized withdrawal ordered by Generalleutnant Kurt Himer and Generalleutnant Hans Graf von Sponeck later leading to temporary stripping of the division’s battle honors), and participated in the reconquest of Kerch in May 1942. Transferred to the Caucasus in autumn 1942, it advanced into the western Caucasus mountains before being forced into a long series of defensive and withdrawal battles through Ukraine in 1943–1944, suffering heavy losses near Isjum, Dnjepropetrowsk, Kriwoi Rog and during the retreat across the Bug and Pruth. By autumn 1944 the remnants had reached Hungary, where they conducted defensive fighting in the Puszta, at Szolnok, in the Mátra mountains and along the Ipel before holding positions in the Margarethe-Stellung. Redesignated the 46. Volksgrenadier-Division in March 1945, the depleted formation continued the retreat through Moravia and surrendered to Soviet forces near Deutsch-Brod in May 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER

Generalmajor Ludwig Kirschner (1904-1945) was born on 12 June 1904 in Bayreuth and began his career on 1 May 1925 as an officer candidate in the Bayerische Landespolizei, becoming Polizei-Leutnant in 1928 and Polizei-Oberleutnant in 1934 before transferring to the Wehrmacht as Oberleutnant in 1935 and later serving with Infanterie-Regiment 110 of the 33. Infanterie-Division. Promoted to Hauptmann in 1936, he commanded a company of Infanterie-Regiment 104 during the western campaign of 1940, then took over I. Bataillon of the newly formed Infanterie-Regiment 436 of the 132. Infanterie-Division, rising to Major on 1 August 1941 and leading it into the Russian campaign. On 15 January 1942 his battalion spearheaded the attack on Feodosia; two days later, acting on his own initiative despite severed contact with the regiment and strong enemy forces on both flanks, he broke through Soviet positions with only 150 men, reached the coastal road north of Saarygol and completed the German encirclement of the town, an action for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 18 January 1942. In May 1942 he assumed command of Infanterie-Regiment 72 of the 46. Infanterie-Division, was promoted to Oberstleutnant in November, and after further distinguished fighting in the Caucasus mountains following the failed advance on Tuapse was awarded the Eichenlaub (135th award) on 28 October 1942. Advanced to Oberst in May 1943, he later commanded the Bataillonsführerschule in Antwerpen and, from 1 November 1944, the newly raised 320. Volksgrenadier-Division, which he led through heavy fighting near Krakau and in the Carpathians as part of the 17. Armee during the Westkarpatische Operation and the Weichsel-Oder-Operation; promoted to Generalmajor on 30 January 1945, he was killed in action on 11 February 1945 near Saybusch on the defensive line along the river Soła.

Oberstleutnant Konrad Hupfer (1911-1944) was born on 21 October 1911 in Altdorf near Nürnberg and entered the Reichswehr in 1930, receiving promotion to Leutnant in Infanterie-Regiment 63 in 1935 before transferring as Oberleutnant to Infanterie-Regiment 72 at the end of 1938, where he served as Chef of the 10. Kompanie. He took part in the Polish campaign, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 20 September 1939, and in the Western campaign, where he received the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 8 June 1940. Promoted to Hauptmann on 1 April 1941, he led the 14. Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment 72 during the early phase of the war against the Soviet Union. On 13 August 1941 he commanded a Vorausabteilung advancing on Trichaty with the mission of seizing the Bug River crossing; despite determined Soviet resistance he forced an entry into the town after roughly half a day’s fighting and captured some 500 prisoners, 30 guns, a thousand horses and substantial other material, an action that brought him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 September 1941. He later distinguished himself during the breakthrough of the Perekop isthmus and, toward the end of 1941, assumed command of the I. Bataillon of the same regiment. The unit fought in the reconquest of the Crimea and the siege of Sevastopol, for which Hupfer was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 14 June 1942. In the western Caucasus in autumn 1942, as Kommandeur of I./Infanterie-Regiment 72, he led his battalion in a successful assault on a hill strongly fortified with field works and bunkers, clearing twenty Soviet positions and securing the key height that proved decisive for subsequent operations; this achievement earned him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 28 October 1942 as the 136th recipient. Promoted to Major on 1 January 1943, he briefly commanded Infanterie-Regiment 72 before taking over Grenadier-Regiment 21. Hupfer was killed in action on 10 April 1944 near Czernowitz on the Eastern Front and was posthumously advanced to Oberstleutnant.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/46th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)