Ritterkreuzträger of 29. Unterseebootsflottille

The 29. Unterseebootsflottille was established in December 1941 at La Spezia in Italy as a Frontflottille of the Kriegsmarine’s U-Boot-Waffe, operating exclusively in the Mediterranean Sea against Allied convoys and supply lines under the command of the Führer der Unterseeboote Italien and later the Führer der Unterseeboote Mittelmeer. Its first Flottillenchef was Korvettenkapitän Franz Becker from December 1941 until May 1942, followed by Korvettenkapitän Fritz Frauenheim from May 1942 to July 1943 and then Korvettenkapitän Günther Jahn from August 1943 until the unit’s dissolution. In late May 1942 the remaining boats of the disbanded 23. U-Flottille were absorbed into the 29. Unterseebootsflottille, expanding its strength. The primary base remained La Spezia until August 1943, after which the flotilla transferred its headquarters to Toulon in southern France while maintaining additional support facilities at Pola, Messina, Marseille and Salamis. Equipped mainly with Type VII B and Type VII C U-Boote, the flotilla was assigned a total of fifty-two boats over its existence, including well-known vessels such as U-81, U-331, U-73, U-559 and U-565. These boats conducted numerous Feindfahrten against Mediterranean shipping, supporting Axis operations in North Africa and targeting Malta-bound convoys under difficult conditions of clear water and strong Allied air and surface defenses. By mid-1944 losses had severely reduced the number of operational boats, and after U-407 was sunk on 19 September 1944 the final two remaining vessels, U-565 and U-596, were scuttled at Salamis, leading to the formal dissolution of the 29. Unterseebootsflottille in September 1944.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Guggenberger (1915-1988) was born on 6 March 1915 in Munich and entered the Reichsmarine as a cadet on 26 September 1934, later transferring to the U-Boot-Waffe in October 1939 where he served as I. Wachoffizier aboard U-28 under Kapitänleutnant Günther Kuhnke before briefly commanding the boat himself in a training role. On 26 April 1941 he commissioned U-81 and took her on successive Feindfahrten, first in the Atlantic and then into the Mediterranean after successfully forcing the Strait of Gibraltar. On 13 November 1941, while operating against a British naval formation in the western Mediterranean despite heavy enemy defenses, Kapitänleutnant Guggenberger launched a torpedo attack that struck the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (22,600 tons), causing such severe damage that the vessel sank the following day with the loss of only one crewman; for this outstanding success, together with earlier sinkings, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 10 December 1941. He continued to command U-81 on further Mediterranean patrols, sinking additional merchant and naval vessels including tankers, and was recognized as one of the most successful U-Boot commanders in that theater. On 8 January 1943, after accumulating a total of seventeen ships sunk totaling over 66,000 GRT, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz as its 171st recipient while still holding the rank of Kapitänleutnant and command of U-81. He briefly commissioned U-847 before serving as Admiralstabsoffizier on the staff of the Befehlshaber der U-Boote, then took command of U-513, which was sunk off Brazil in July 1943; Guggenberger survived and spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner. After release he worked as an architect, rejoined the Bundesmarine in 1956, rose to Konteradmiral, served as Chief of Staff at NATO’s AFNORTH headquarters, and retired in 1972; he disappeared on a walk near Erlenbach am Main on 13 May 1988 and his remains were found two years later.

Source :
 

Ritterkreuzträger of Kampfgeschwader 4 (KG 4) "General Wever"

Kampfgeschwader 4 „General Wever“ was formed on 1 May 1939 through the redesignation of Kampfgeschwader 253, receiving its honorary name from General Walther Wever, the prewar advocate of strategic bombing who had died in a 1936 aircraft accident, and initially based its Stab at Erfurt with I. Gruppe at Gotha, II. Gruppe at Erfurt and III. Gruppe at Nordhausen, equipped primarily with Heinkel He 111 bombers. Under its first Geschwaderkommodore, Oberst Martin Fiebig, the unit took part in the Polish campaign of 1939 and then in Unternehmen Weserübung against Norway and Denmark in 1940, where its crews distinguished themselves in attacks on ports and troop concentrations including Andalsnes, Namsos and Dombaas. During the Western Campaign it supported operations over the Netherlands, Belgium and France before transferring to bases in Holland for the Battle of Britain, conducting night bombing and minelaying missions against England, including raids on Coventry, until early 1941 when III. Gruppe temporarily left to join Kampfgeschwader 30 after converting to Junkers Ju 88. Elements of the Geschwader participated in the Balkan campaign and the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, operating under various Fliegerkorps on the Eastern Front and later supporting the Stalingrad airlift as well as the continuous defensive fighting that followed. From late 1943 parts of I. Gruppe converted to the Heinkel He 177 heavy bomber for longer-range missions, while the bulk of the unit continued flying He 111s in tactical bombing and supply roles during the retreats of 1943–1945, including operations over the Crimea, Hungary and the final relief efforts for Budapest and Breslau. Successive Geschwaderkommodore after Fiebig included Oberst Hans-Joachim Rath, Oberst Dr. Gottlieb Wolff, Oberstleutnant Heinz-Joachim Schmidt, Oberstleutnant Werner Klosinski and Major Reinhard Graubner, who led the remaining Gruppen until the unit surrendered to British forces on 8 May 1945.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


General der Flieger Martin Fiebig (1891-1947) was born on 7 May 1891 in Rösnitz, Upper Silesia, and entered military service on 3 March 1910 as Fähnrich in Infanterie-Regiment „von Grolmann“ (1. Posensches) Nr. 18, serving as company officer before becoming battalion adjutant at the outbreak of the First World War and later transferring to aviation as pilot and squadron leader in a bomber wing until 1918. After postwar service involving secret aviation development work in the Soviet Union and time with Lufthansa, he rejoined the Luftwaffe, rising to Oberst by 1 June 1938 and assuming command as Kommodore of Kampfgeschwader 253, soon redesignated Kampfgeschwader 4 „General Wever.“ Leading this Geschwader through the Polish campaign and the Norwegian operations of Unternehmen Weserübung, where its crews achieved notable success against targets including Andalsnes, Namsos, Grong, Dombaas and Steinkjaer, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 8 May 1940 as Oberst und Geschwaderkommodore. Shot down over Holland on 10 May 1940 during the Western Campaign and briefly held as a prisoner, he later directed close-support units with the IV. and II. Fliegerkorps on the Eastern Front from 1941, commanded the 1. Flieger-Division, and on 1 July 1942 became Kommandierender General of the VIII. Fliegerkorps. For the outstanding leadership and combat achievements of this Fliegerkorps on the Eastern Front he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942 as its 168th recipient while holding the rank of Generalleutnant. Promoted to General der Flieger in early 1943, he subsequently commanded the X. Fliegerkorps and other higher formations until the war’s end, after which he was extradited to Yugoslavia, convicted of war crimes related to the 1941 bombing of Belgrade, and executed by hanging in Belgrade on 23 October 1947.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampfgeschwader_4

Ritterkreuzträger of 45. Infanterie-Division

The 45. Infanterie-Division was formed on 1 April 1938 in Linz within Wehrkreis XVII from the former Austrian 4th Division after the Anschluss and took part in the occupation of the Sudetenland before mobilizing fully in 1939 for the invasion of Poland as part of the XVII. Armeekorps under the 14. Armee of Heeresgruppe Süd, advancing through Bielitz, the Sola sector, Tarnow, Rzeszow and toward Lemberg. In 1940 it served in the Western Campaign under the XXVI. Armeekorps, crossing the Aisne and advancing past Reims along the Marne and Seine to the Loire near Nevers. Transferred east in May 1941, the division opened Operation Barbarossa on 22 June by assaulting the fortress of Brest-Litowsk, which fell after a week of intense fighting under Generalleutnant Fritz Schlieper, then pushed through the Pripet Marshes via Pinsk, crossed the Beresina toward Gomel and contributed to the Kiev encirclement before advancing toward Moscow via Rylsk and capturing Jelez. During the Soviet winter counteroffensive of 1941–1942 it suffered heavy losses while withdrawing across the Sosna and Trudy rivers, fighting in fragmented Kampfgruppen around Livny, Schtschigry and the Voronezh bridgehead under successive commanders including Generalleutnant Fritz Kühlwein. Reorganized with Infanterie-Regimenter 130, 133 and 135 (later redesignated Grenadier-Regimenter) plus Artillerie-Regiment 98, Panzerjäger-Abteilung 45 and Pionier-Bataillon 81, it endured the 1943 defensive battles near Voronezh, Rossosh, Orel and Gomel before being virtually destroyed in the Bobruisk pocket during Operation Bagration in June 1944 while serving under Heeresgruppe Mitte. Reconstituted on 18 July 1944 as the 45. Grenadier-Division from remnants and the 546. Grenadier-Division, it was redesignated 45. Volksgrenadier-Division that autumn, fought at Warsaw and Radom in 1945, retreated through Silesia to Königgrätz and finally surrendered in Czechoslovakia.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


Generalleutnant Helmuth von Pannwitz (1898-1947) was born on 14 October 1898 into a family of Prussian nobility on his father's estate at Botzanowitz in Silesia, near the then German-Russian border. At the age of twelve he entered the Prussian cadet school at Wahlstatt and later the main cadet school at Lichterfelde, joining the Imperial German Army as a volunteer with the 1. Ulanen-Regiment upon the outbreak of the First World War and being promoted to Leutnant at sixteen while earning both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz for bravery. After the war he fought in Freikorps units in Silesia, lived for a time in Poland as a farm administrator, returned to Germany under amnesty in 1931, served briefly in the SA, and rejoined the army in 1935 as Rittmeister in Reiter-Regiment 2 before transfer as Major to Kavallerie-Regiment 11. At the start of the Second World War he commanded Aufklärungs-Abteilung 45 of the 45. Infanterie-Division in the Polish and French campaigns. On 4 September 1941, as Oberstleutnant and Kommandeur of that Abteilung, he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for actions in the Pripet Marshes during the opening month of Operation Barbarossa, when his Vorausabteilung secured Pinsk on 4 July, thrust into the Dawidgrodek-Turow area near Olszany on 8 July against strong Soviet forces, and launched a lightning attack around Olszany that rescued hard-pressed German troops east of the canal while preparing the division's subsequent advance to seize the territory between the Mostwa/Stwiga and the Pripet. Promoted to Oberst, he later formed and led the improvised Reiter-Verband von Pannwitz (also called Kampfgruppe Pannwitz) under 4. Panzer-Armee of Heeresgruppe Don, consisting of Panzer-Abteilung Sauvant, a Romanian cavalry brigade, Romanian heavy artillery, German alarm units, Cossacks and Flak. In November 1942 northeast of Kotelnikowo near Scharnutowskij this force annihilated the Soviet 61st Cavalry Division, then destroyed the 81st Cavalry Division near Kotelnikowo itself and a Soviet rifle division near Pimen Tscherni/Nebykow, thereby stabilizing the front in that sector and earning him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942 as the 167th recipient. Thereafter he organized the Cossack volunteer formations that became the 1. Kosaken-Kavallerie-Division and eventually the XV. Kosaken-Kavallerie-Korps, which he commanded as Generalleutnant and later SS-Gruppenführer while being elected Feldataman by the Cossacks. He surrendered with his corps to British forces in Austria in May 1945, voluntarily accompanied his men into Soviet custody despite being exempt as a German national, and was tried in Moscow, sentenced to death and hanged in Lefortovo Prison on 16 January 1947.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of 3. Infanterie-Division / 3. Panzergrenadier-Division

The 3. Infanterie-Division was established in October 1934 under the cover designation Kommandant von Frankfurt in Frankfurt an der Oder within Wehrkreis III and received its official title on 15 October 1935. Mobilized on 1 August 1939, the division crossed into Poland as part of the 4. Armee under Heeresgruppe Nord, advancing through the Polish Corridor and participating in the encirclement battles that followed. In May 1940 it took part in the campaign in the West within the 12. Armee of Heeresgruppe A, crossing the Meuse and advancing deep into France before occupation duties near Le Creusot. Returned to Germany in October 1940, the formation was fully motorized and redesignated 3. Infanterie-Division (mot.), transferring Infanterie-Regiment 50 to the newly raised 111. Infanterie-Division. During Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 the division advanced with Heeresgruppe Nord toward Leningrad, fighting near Luga and south of Lake Ilmen, before transfer to Heeresgruppe Mitte for Operation Typhoon and the subsequent defensive battles around Moscow through the winter of 1941–42. In the summer of 1942 it moved south for Fall Blau, advancing across the Don toward Stalingrad, where it was encircled with the 6. Armee and destroyed by February 1943. Reconstituted on 1 March 1943 in southern France from remnants and the 386. Infanterie-Division (mot.), the unit was redesignated 3. Panzergrenadier-Division on 23 June 1943 under commanders including General der Panzertruppe Fritz-Hubert Gräser and later Generalleutnant Walter Denkert. Deployed to Italy, it participated in the disarmament of Italian forces after the armistice, opposed the Salerno landings, and fought at Anzio, along the Gustav Line, and in the defense of Rome before withdrawal northward. Transferred to the Western Front in August 1944, the division engaged in Lorraine, the Ardennes offensive, and the defense around Remagen, finally surrendering in the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945 after nearly continuous combat across multiple theaters.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Generalleutnant Helmuth Schlömer (1893-1995) was born on 20 May 1893 in Hausberge near Minden and joined the Königlich Preußische Armee on 9 March 1913 as a Fahnenjunker in the 8. Lothringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 159, serving as an officer throughout the First World War in roles including company commander, battalion adjutant and regimental adjutant before being retained in the Reichswehr after 1918. In the interwar years he held various troop and staff appointments and in 1935 served as an instructor at the Kriegsschule München; with the expansion of the Wehrmacht he took part in the invasion of Poland and the campaign in the West. As Oberst and Kommandeur of Schützen-Regiment 5 he distinguished himself during Operation Barbarossa, particularly in the final advance of Heeresgruppe Nord that aimed to sever the land connection to Leningrad, leading his regiment through heavily fortified and swampy terrain along the Ljuban–Ishora–Leningrad axis, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 2 October 1941. Shortly thereafter he assumed command of Schützen-Brigade 7 and on 30 April 1942 was appointed Kommandeur of the 3. Infanterie-Division (mot.). As Generalmajor he directed the division in the southern sector of the Eastern Front during the 1942 summer offensive, achieving the successful crossing of the Tim on 28 June 1942, the stubborn defence of the Voronezh bridgehead from 7 to 13 July 1942, the hard-fought actions in the Don bend between 24 July and 10 August 1942, and the prolonged defence of the northern edge of the German salient at Stalingrad between the Don and the Volga. These achievements earned him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942 as the 161st recipient. Promoted to Generalleutnant, he took over the Generalkommando XIV. Panzerkorps inside the Stalingrad pocket on 15 January 1943 after General der Panzertruppe Hans-Valentin Hube was flown out, and on 29 January 1943 became the first corps commander to open surrender negotiations with the Red Army. Taken prisoner with the remnants of the 6. Armee, he later joined the Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland and the Bund Deutscher Offiziere, was released in 1949, and died on 18 August 1995 in Minden-Lübbecke at the age of 102!

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of 326. Infanterie-Division / 326. Volksgrenadier-Division

The 326. Infanterie-Division was formed on 9 November 1942 as a Kriemhilde-Einheit from replacement troops drawn from Wehrkreise VI, XII and V for occupation duties in southern France under Heeresgruppe D. Deployed by late November to the Narbonne area, it conducted security, coastal defence and anti-partisan tasks while initially organised with Grenadier-Regiment 751, Grenadier-Regiment 752, Grenadier-Regiment 753, Artillerie-Regiment 326, Schnelle-Abteilung 326, Pionier-Bataillon 326 and Infanterie-Divisions-Nachrichten-Abteilung 326. On 5 May 1943 the formation was converted into a bodenständige Infanterie-Division, its grenadier regiments redesignated Festungs-Grenadier-Regimenter and the Schnelle-Abteilung dissolved with its companies redistributed. Command passed successively to Generalleutnant Max Dennerlein, Generalleutnant Karl Böttcher and, from 1 June 1943, Generalleutnant Viktor von Drabich-Wächter. Relocated to northern France in early 1944 as army reserve near the Pas-de-Calais, the division remained largely intact until mid-July 1944 when elements crossed the Seine to form a reception line for retreating units. Committed around Caumont-l’Éventé against British forces during Operation Bluecoat, it suffered heavy losses under intense artillery and air attack; Generalleutnant Viktor von Drabich-Wächter was killed on 2 August 1944, temporary command falling to Oberst Kretsch and then Oberst Erwin Kaschner. Virtually annihilated in the Falaise Pocket by late August, the remnants were withdrawn and the division was reconstituted on 4 September 1944 in Galanta, Hungary, as the 326. Volksgrenadier-Division by redesignation of the 579. Volksgrenadier-Division. Transferred west in November, the new formation fought in the Ardennes offensive and subsequent defensive battles in the Eifel before withdrawing across the Rhine; by April 1945 its two separated Kampfgruppen entered American captivity in the Ruhr Pocket and the Harz respectively.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


Oberstleutnant Josef Bremm (1914-1998) was born on 3 May 1914 in Mannebach in the Vulkaneifel region as the son of a Volksschule teacher, completed his Abitur, entered the Wehrmacht on 1 November 1935 with Infanterie-Regiment 7, rose through the ranks from Gefreiter and Unteroffizier to Feldwebel der Reserve and Leutnant der Reserve by 1938, and after brief discharge was reactivated in 1939 as Zugführer and later Adjutant in Infanterie-Regiment 453 of the 253. Infanterie-Division, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. and I. Klasse during the 1940 campaigns in the West. Transferred eastward, he became Chef of the 5./Infanterie-Regiment 426 of the 126. Infanterie-Division and on the morning of 22 December 1941, with his depleted Kompanie, repelled a strong Soviet assault on the Orelje barracks bridgehead before launching an immediate counterthrust that broke into the enemy ranks, where he personally killed a commissar with machine-pistol and hand grenades, partially destroying an opposing Bataillon and shattering the rest, an action that brought him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 18 February 1942 as Leutnant der Reserve. Continuing to distinguish himself southeast of Lake Ilmen, at the end of September 1942 he led an assault troop that penetrated and rolled up an enemy blocking position, enabling his Regiment to reach its objective, and days later shielded the Division’s flank against heavy attacks despite being wounded for the fourth time, remaining in command until the assaults were broken; for these deeds he received the 165th Eichenlaub on 23 December 1942 as Oberleutnant der Reserve and Chef of the 5./Grenadier-Regiment 426. Promoted successively to Hauptmann, Major and finally Oberstleutnant, he later commanded the Füsilier-Bataillon of the 712. Infanterie-Division and from August 1944 Grenadier-Regiment 990, fighting in Normandy, the Ardennes and the final defense of Germany. In April 1945, at the head of the remnant Kampfgruppe formed from Grenadier-Regiment 990 and supported by Tiger II tanks near Kassel, he conducted repeated counterattacks against an American armored spearhead of the U.S. Third Army, actions for which he was nominated for the Schwerter; the Association of Knight’s Cross Recipients records the 159th Schwerter as awarded on 9 May 1945 according to the Dönitz decree, though the presentation was never officially completed before the 11. Armee’s surrender. Taken prisoner by American forces at war’s end, Bremm later worked as a salesperson for agricultural machines, married Agnes Steffens, and died childless on 21 October 1998 in Monreal, remembered as the highest-decorated soldier of the Eifel region.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/326th_Infantry_Division

Original Color Photographs of Ferdinand Schörner by Walter Frentz

Generaloberst Ferdinand Schörner (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe Nord) in a picture taken on 16 January 1945 by Walter Frentz, during Brillanten award ceremony with Hitler at the Neue Reichskanzlei in Berlin, Germany. Schörner formally received the Brillanten zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern on 1 January 1945 as the 23rd recipient for his determined leadership as Oberbefehlshaber of Heeresgruppe Nord during the defensive battles in the Baltic region in late 1944. After taking command of Heeresgruppe Nord in July 1944, he faced the massive Soviet Baltic Offensive that began on 14 September 1944 against German forces still holding positions in Estonia and northeastern Latvia. Under Schörner’s direction the troops of Heeresgruppe Nord conducted an orderly withdrawal from these territories without suffering significant losses, despite being heavily outnumbered and repeatedly cut off. Once the remaining formations of the 16. Armee and 18. Armee were compressed into the Kurland-Kessel, Schörner organized the defence of the Courland Peninsula and directed the first three of the four major Kurland battles that followed. In these prolonged and bitter engagements the Soviet forces, employing overwhelming numerical and material superiority in infantry, armour and artillery, launched repeated large-scale assaults but were able to achieve only limited territorial gains at the cost of severe personnel and equipment losses. Schörner’s personal presence at the front, his energetic reorganization of the defensive lines, and the resolute resistance he inspired among the isolated units of Heeresgruppe Nord prevented a complete collapse of the pocket and tied down substantial Soviet strength that might otherwise have been transferred to other sectors of the Eastern Front. For these sustained defensive successes, which were among the last German operational triumphs of the war, he was awarded the Brillanten while still serving as Oberbefehlshaber of Heeresgruppe Nord, shortly before his transfer to command Heeresgruppe Mitte.

Source :
"Hitler's Personal Security: Protecting the Führer 1921-1945" by Peter Hoffmann
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=1020564&hilit=sch%C3%B6rner#p1020564
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-s/
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/1054/Sch%C3%B6rner-Johann-Ferdinand.htm

Ritterkreuzträger with Bulgarian Medals

 ORDEN ZA HRABROST (ORDER FOR BRAVERY)

The Bulgarian Military Order for Bravery, known in Bulgarian as Военен орден „За храброст“, was established on 1 January 1880 by decree of Prince Alexander of Battenberg as the first national order of the Principality of Bulgaria under Article 59 of the Tarnovo Constitution, which permitted decorations solely for battlefield valor. Modeled on the Order of Military Merit of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, it was designed exclusively for military personnel to reward exceptional courage and heroism in combat and was first conferred on 17 April 1880 to thirty-three veterans of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. The badge takes the form of a white- or red-enamelled Maltese cross with crossed swords between the arms, a central medallion bearing a crowned lion or the founder’s cypher, and the inscription „За храброст“, suspended from a sky-blue ribbon edged with silver stripes. Originally structured in four classes for officers and generals together with lower Soldier’s Crosses for non-commissioned officers and enlisted men, the order was refined in 1886 by the creation of a Grand Cross reserved for the ruling monarch as Grand Master and the division of the first class into two grades, with further wartime classes added in 1915. It was awarded extensively during the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, the First World War, and the Second World War, recognizing both Bulgarian and foreign recipients for deeds performed under fire. After the abolition of the monarchy the order ceased to exist on 15 September 1946, yet it was revived by the 39th National Assembly on 29 May 2003 and promulgated in 2004 as a state decoration of the Republic of Bulgaria. In its modern form the order comprises three degrees, awarded with swords to military personnel and without swords to civilians for acts of bravery and heroism benefiting Bulgarian society and the state, and is conferred by the President. Throughout its history the Military Order for Bravery has remained the pre-eminent symbol of martial honor in Bulgaria, embodying the nation’s tradition of recognizing selfless courage on the field of battle.



SS-Obersturmbannführer Max Wünsche (1914-1995) was born on 20 April 1914 in Kittlitz and joined the SS in July 1933, graduating from the SS-Junkerschule at Bad Tölz in 1935 as SS-Untersturmführer before serving as a platoon leader in the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. In October 1938 he became an orderly officer in the Führerbegleitkommando, then in January 1940 rejoined the LSSAH as platoon commander in the 15. Kradschützen-Kompanie under Kurt Meyer during the Western Campaign, earning both classes of the Iron Cross and promotion to SS-Hauptsturmführer. As adjutant to Sepp Dietrich he took part in the Balkan and Barbarossa campaigns, later commanding the SS-Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 1 and, after staff training, the I. Abteilung of SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 as SS-Sturmbannführer. During the Third Battle of Kharkov in February 1943 his battalion broke through to Alexejewka to relieve Kurt Meyer’s encircled force and, on 25 February, on his own initiative launched an enveloping armoured attack near Jeremejewka against a strong Soviet column of the 350th Rifle Division, destroying 24 long 7.62 cm guns, 13 short 7.62 cm guns, 10 4.5 cm anti-tank guns, six 12.2 cm guns, one 10.5 cm gun, 300–400 sleds and numerous other weapons while inflicting 800–900 enemy dead for only five dead and fourteen wounded of his own, actions for which he received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold that same day and the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes three days later as Kommandeur of the I./SS-Panzer-Regiment 1. In June 1943 he was appointed Kommandeur of the newly forming SS-Panzer-Regiment 12 of the 12. SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend, promoted to SS-Obersturmbannführer in January 1944, and led the regiment from its first combat near Authie after the Allied landings, destroying 219 enemy tanks west of Caen by early July and preventing an Orne bridgehead at Amayé-sur-Seulles and Saint-André-sur-Orne on 28–29 June, for which he was awarded the Eichenlaub on 11 August 1944. Wounded while attempting to break out of the Falaise Pocket, he was captured by British forces on 24 August 1944, held in Camp 165 at Caithness until 1948, then returned to Germany, worked as an industrial manager in Wuppertal, and died in Munich on 17 April 1995.

Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2013/03/album-foto-tokoh-third-reich-peraih.html

Ritterkreuzträger with Koppelschnitt (German Military Haircuts)

During the Second World War the standard male haircut in the German Wehrmacht, particularly within the Heer, followed a distinctive practical style known in contemporary barber manuals as the short cut or full crown haircut, in which the sides and back of the head were closely clipped or shaved with a machine starting from the left temple, continuing around the nape, and finishing at the right temple, typically rising at least one inch or more above the ears before tapering upward, while the hair on the crown remained comparatively long, often combed and slicked straight back from the forehead with pomade or petroleum jelly and, when parted, featuring a high part line. This arrangement, sometimes referred to in later reenactment contexts as a form of "Unterschnitt" or "Koppelschnitt" when the transition was sharper, ensured that the Stahlhelm and other headwear fitted securely without interference from hair, facilitated hygiene under field conditions, and presented a uniform, disciplined appearance required of Soldaten, Unteroffiziere, and Offiziere alike. Although no single rigid service regulation dictated exact millimetre lengths for every rank or branch, recruits received a strict initial "Haarschnitt" (haircuts) upon induction into units such as Infanterie-Regimenter or Panzer-Divisionen, and subsequent maintenance was enforced by company barbers or field Friseure to keep the lower portions short and the top manageable. Photographs and film of Landser in the Afrikakorps, on the Eastern Front, or in Festungen show slight individual variations—some men allowed the top to grow fuller, others kept a cleaner taper—yet the overall silhouette of short sides and longer, rearward-swept crown remained the most common throughout the Heer, Luftwaffe ground units, and even among many Waffen-SS personnel. Beards were generally discouraged except for specific specialist roles or temporary field necessity, and sideburns were kept minimal, reinforcing the clean-shaven or lightly stubbled look expected of a Soldat. The style’s practicality under combat stress, combined with its visual association with military order, made it the prevailing Haartracht from the mobilisation of 1939 until the final months of 1945, when shortages of barbers and equipment sometimes led to more irregular cuts among isolated Kampfgruppen.

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HEER


Major Hans-Detloff von Cossel (1916-1943) was born on 1 July 1916 in Swakopmund, German South-West Africa, and entered military service on 6 April 1934 with Reiter-Regiment 6, receiving promotion to Leutnant on 1 April 1937 before transferring to Panzer-Regiment 35 of the 4. Panzer-Division. As Oberleutnant he took part in the Polish and French campaigns, earning both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, and in the summer of 1941, while Führer of 1./Panzer-Regiment 35, he forced the Dnjepr crossing near Stary Bychow, broke through the Stalin Line and, after losing all his tanks and being wounded, led the survivors back across the river, actions for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 8 September 1941. Promoted to Hauptmann and later Major, he assumed command of I./Panzer-Regiment 35 (the so-called Bärenabteilung) in early 1943 and was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 5 May 1943 for earlier fighting around Orel and Ssewsk. During the defensive battles of Operation Kutuzov in July 1943, south of Orel, his Abteilung penetrated deep into Soviet positions, shielded a neighbouring Panzer-Division from a flank attack, and on 19 July, on his own initiative, gathered available infantry and personally led the capture of the vital height Point 254.5 with light losses while inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy; later he converted a withdrawal into a counter-attack that seized and held a village until relief arrived, and his abteilung repeatedly prevented Soviet breakthroughs. On 22 July 1943, while directing a counter-thrust near Kromny (or Gromy), he was killed in action; posthumously promoted and decorated, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (285th award) on 29 August 1943 as Kommandeur of I./Panzer-Regiment 35.

Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2010/11/potongan-rambut-tentara-jerman.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undercut_(hairstyle)
https://www.menshairforum.com/talk/Thread-SS-Haircut-and-Nazi-Hairstyle-Guide-with-Rare-Hair-Pictures
https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/mens-hairstyles-in-ww2.23653/

Ritterkreuzträger of 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"

The 5. SS-Panzer-Division „Wiking“ was formed in late 1940 on the orders of Heinrich Himmler as a motorised infantry division intended to incorporate Germanic volunteers from the Netherlands, Flanders, Denmark and Norway alongside German cadres, initially designated SS-Division „Germania“ before being renamed SS-Division „Wiking“ by Führerbefehl of 21 December 1940. Its core consisted of the experienced SS-Regiment „Germania“ drawn from the SS-Verfügungs-Division, together with the newly raised SS-Regiment „Nordland“ and SS-Regiment „Westland“, plus supporting artillery, reconnaissance, pioneer and anti-tank units; command was given to SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner, former commander of the SS-Standarte „Deutschland“. Although propaganda emphasised the foreign contingent, German personnel always formed the large majority of its strength. After training at Truppenübungsplatz Heuberg the division entered combat in June 1941 with Heeresgruppe Süd during Operation Barbarossa, advancing through Galicia and taking part in the encirclements at Uman and Kiev before fighting for the Dnepropetrovsk bridgehead and Rostov, then holding the Mius line through the winter of 1941–42. In summer 1942 it received its first Panzer-Abteilung and participated in Fall Blau, capturing Rostov and advancing into the Caucasus foothills as far as the Terek and Malgobek before the Stalingrad disaster forced a fighting withdrawal covering the retreat of the 1. Panzerarmee. Redesignated SS-Panzergrenadier-Division „Wiking“ on 9 November 1942 and later 5. SS-Panzer-Division „Wiking“ on 22 October 1943, it fought in the Third Battle of Kharkov, served as reserve during Operation Citadel, and suffered catastrophic losses in the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket of early 1944, from which only remnants escaped. After reconstitution it defended at Kovel and Maciejow, where its Panzer-Regiment destroyed hundreds of Soviet tanks, then fought near Warsaw and in the relief attempts of Budapest during Operations Konrad before taking part in Operation Frühlingserwachen in Hungary. Successive commanders after Steiner included SS-Obergruppenführer Herbert Gille, SS-Oberführer Eduard Deisenhofer, SS-Standartenführer Johannes Mühlenkamp and finally SS-Oberführer Karl Ullrich. The division ended the war in Austria, where the bulk of its remaining personnel surrendered to American forces near Radstadt in May 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner (1896-1966) was born on 23 May 1896 in Stallupönen, East Prussia, and entered the Preußische Armee in March 1914 as Fahnenjunker in the Infanterie-Regiment „von Boyen“ (5. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 41 at Tilsit, serving through the First World War where he was severely wounded, rose to Oberleutnant, and received the Eisernes Kreuz first and second class together with the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz. After the war he joined an East Prussian Freikorps, was absorbed into the Reichswehr, and left active service in 1933 as Major before entering the NSDAP and SA and transferring in 1935 to the SS as Obersturmbannführer, soon commanding the newly formed SS-Standarte „Deutschland“ of the SS-Verfügungstruppe. As SS-Oberführer he led this Standarte through the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the Polish campaign and the Westfeldzug of 1940; for his decisive leadership in the three-day advance that captured the island group of Zeeland from French forces, the rapid thrust to Vlissingen, the storming of strong positions at the Beveland Canal and the causeway to Walcheren Island, and subsequent fighting in northern France, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 August 1940, becoming the first member of the Waffen-SS to receive the decoration. Promoted SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS, he formed and commanded the SS-Division „Wiking“ from December 1940, leading it with marked success yet also harsh methods during the invasion of the Soviet Union; for outstanding performance on the Eastern Front, particularly the fighting along the Terek river, the relief of the 13. Panzer-Division near Gisel and the destruction of a Soviet Guards division that threatened the sole supply road near Tschikola, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942 while holding the rank of SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS. In 1943 he assumed command of the newly created III. (germanisches) SS-Panzerkorps, organising the Division „Nordland“ and the Brigade „Nederland“ under its banner, conducting successful defensive operations against breakout attempts from the Oranienbaum pocket, and preserving the integrity of his forces during the withdrawal from Leningrad and their redeployment on the Narva front, achievements for which he was awarded the Schwerter to the Ritterkreuz on 10 August 1944 as SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS. After illness, brief command of the 11. SS-Panzerarmee and the theoretical Armeegruppe Steiner in the final defence of Berlin—orders he declined to execute—he surrendered to American forces in May 1945, was released in 1948, later helped found HIAG and published apologetic works on the Waffen-SS, dying in Munich on 12 May 1966.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_SS_Panzer_Division_Wiking

Ritterkreuzträger of 2. SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich"

The 2. SS-Panzer-Division „Das Reich“ originated in October 1939 when the regiments Deutschland, Germania and Der Führer of the SS-Verfügungstruppe were combined into the SS-Verfügungs-Division under the command of SS-Gruppenführer Paul Hausser. After distinguishing itself in the 1940 Westfeldzug in the Netherlands and France, particularly in the capture of Rotterdam and the clearing of Zeeland, the formation was redesignated SS-Division „Reich“ and later „Das Reich“; the regiment Germania was detached to form the cadre of another division. In April 1941 elements of the division, led by a small detachment under SS-Hauptsturmführer Fritz Klingenberg, accepted the surrender of Belgrade during the Balkan campaign. Assigned to Heeresgruppe Mitte for Operation Barbarossa, it fought in the Battle of Yelnya, the drive on Moscow and the subsequent winter battles, suffering catastrophic losses that reduced some of its regiments to mere handfuls of men. Withdrawn to France in 1942 for conversion into a Panzergrenadier-Division, it returned to the Eastern Front in early 1943, playing a central role in the recapture of Kharkov and in the southern sector of the Kursk salient during Unternehmen Zitadelle. Redesignated 2. SS-Panzer-Division „Das Reich“ in October 1943 to reflect its armoured establishment, the division was transferred to southern France in 1944. Ordered north after the Allied landings in Normandy, it conducted a protracted road march marked by clashes with the French Resistance and by the notorious massacres at Tulle on 9 June and Oradour-sur-Glane on 10 June 1944. In Normandy it fought at Mortain and in the Falaise pocket before withdrawing across the Seine, later participating in the Ardennes offensive and, after transfer eastward, in Operation Spring Awakening in Hungary. Throughout its existence the division was noted both for its combat effectiveness and for repeated war crimes against civilians and prisoners. Remnants of the formation surrendered to American forces in May 1945 near Linz.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner (1896-1966) was born on 23 May 1896 in Stallupönen, East Prussia, and entered the Preußische Armee in March 1914 as Fahnenjunker in the Infanterie-Regiment „von Boyen“ (5. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 41 at Tilsit, serving through the First World War where he was severely wounded, rose to Oberleutnant, and received the Eisernes Kreuz first and second class together with the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz. After the war he joined an East Prussian Freikorps, was absorbed into the Reichswehr, and left active service in 1933 as Major before entering the NSDAP and SA and transferring in 1935 to the SS as Obersturmbannführer, soon commanding the newly formed SS-Standarte „Deutschland“ of the SS-Verfügungstruppe. As SS-Oberführer he led this Standarte through the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the Polish campaign and the Westfeldzug of 1940; for his decisive leadership in the three-day advance that captured the island group of Zeeland from French forces, the rapid thrust to Vlissingen, the storming of strong positions at the Beveland Canal and the causeway to Walcheren Island, and subsequent fighting in northern France, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 August 1940, becoming the first member of the Waffen-SS to receive the decoration. Promoted SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS, he formed and commanded the SS-Division „Wiking“ from December 1940, leading it with marked success yet also harsh methods during the invasion of the Soviet Union; for outstanding performance on the Eastern Front, particularly the fighting along the Terek river, the relief of the 13. Panzer-Division near Gisel and the destruction of a Soviet Guards division that threatened the sole supply road near Tschikola, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942 while holding the rank of SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS. In 1943 he assumed command of the newly created III. (germanisches) SS-Panzerkorps, organising the Division „Nordland“ and the Brigade „Nederland“ under its banner, conducting successful defensive operations against breakout attempts from the Oranienbaum pocket, and preserving the integrity of his forces during the withdrawal from Leningrad and their redeployment on the Narva front, achievements for which he was awarded the Schwerter to the Ritterkreuz on 10 August 1944 as SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS. After illness, brief command of the 11. SS-Panzerarmee and the theoretical Armeegruppe Steiner in the final defence of Berlin—orders he declined to execute—he surrendered to American forces in May 1945, was released in 1948, later helped found HIAG and published apologetic works on the Waffen-SS, dying in Munich on 12 May 1966.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_SS_Panzer_Division_Das_Reich

Ritterkreuzträger of 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division "Florian Geyer"

The 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division „Florian Geyer“ was a cavalry formation of the Waffen-SS raised in 1942 from the cadre of the earlier SS-Kavallerie-Brigade, itself created in 1941 from the SS-Totenkopf-Reiter-Standarten that had operated under the Kommandostab Reichsführer-SS. Formed between June and September 1942 on the Truppenübungsplatz Dębica near Kraków by adding a third regiment composed largely of Rumäniendeutsche and other Volksdeutsche, the division was initially designated SS-Kavallerie-Division and assigned to Heeresgruppe Mitte. It saw combat in the Rschew salient and the Orel sector until spring 1943, then conducted extensive Bandenbekämpfung operations that resulted in the killing of thousands of civilians, before being committed to the retreat toward the Dnepr in autumn 1943. On 22 October 1943 it received the numerical designation 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division; its principal units included the SS-Kavallerie-Regimenter 15, 16 and 17 (later joined by 18), together with supporting artillery, Panzerjäger, Flak, Nachrichten and Pionier elements. In December 1943 the division was withdrawn to Croatia for rest and reinforcement, where it continued anti-partisan duties, while its training battalion had earlier participated in the suppression of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. On 17 March 1944 it was granted the honorary title „Florian Geyer“ after the Franconian knight who led the Black Company in the German Peasants’ War, and it took part in the occupation of Hungary. After fighting in Transylvania following the collapse of the Romanian front, the division was driven back into Hungary and, in December 1944, became trapped inside Budapest as part of the IX. SS-Gebirgs-Korps. Commanded at various times by officers including SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein, SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Bittrich, SS-Gruppenführer Bruno Streckenbach and finally SS-Brigadeführer Joachim Rumohr, the formation was virtually annihilated during the Siege of Budapest; of the roughly 30,000 men of the corps only about 800 reached German lines, and the last divisional commander took his own life after being wounded in a final breakout attempt on 11–12 February 1945. Surviving elements outside the pocket later contributed to the formation of the 37. SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division „Lützow“.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein (1906-1945) was born on 30 October 1906 in Ansbach and began his career in 1925 with the Reiter-Regiment 17 before joining the Bavarian State Police and transferring to the SS in 1933, rising rapidly through equestrian units to command the Haupt-Reitschule München and later the SS-Totenkopf-Reiterstandarte, which evolved into the SS-Kavallerie-Brigade deployed on the Eastern Front. As SS-Standartenführer and Führer of the SS-Kavallerie-Brigade under the XXIII. Armee-Korps of the 9. Armee in Heeresgruppe Mitte, he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 2 March 1942 for his leadership in the fighting around Rzhev, where from late January 1942 the brigade held a sector against breakthroughs, then on 5 February attacked and captured the road junction and station at Tschertolino against superior forces, followed by a night assault on 9 February that destroyed an enemy group of over 1,800 men, and the seizure of Jersowo on 14 February that enabled the final annihilation of the encircled Soviet forces southwest of Rzhev. In December 1942, as SS-Oberführer commanding Kampfgruppe Fegelein in the great bend of the Don with Heeresgruppe B, he earned the Eichenlaub on 22 December after launching a personal counterthrust with staff elements and Sturmgeschütze against a Soviet penetration into a gap in his lines, defeating the attackers in close combat, sealing the breach, and on a reconnaissance thrust capturing a Russian corps headquarters including its commanding general, chief of staff, and operations documents, though he was twice wounded by snipers on 21 and 22 December. Appointed commander of the 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division “Florian Geyer” in May 1943 and promoted to SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS, then later SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS, Fegelein received the Schwerter on 30 July 1944 for the division’s successes near Orel, extensive anti-partisan operations in the Pripet Marshes during summer 1943 including Operations Weichsel, Zeithen and Seydlitz, and defensive fighting south of Kharkov in late summer 1943, where between 26 August and 15 September the division repulsed five assaults of divisional strength and about eighty-five of battalion strength, notably around Bespalowka and Bol’shaya Gomol’sha. After severe wounds in September 1943 he became Waffen-SS liaison officer at the Führerhauptquartier, married Gretl Braun on 3 June 1944, was lightly wounded in the 20 July bomb plot, and on 28 April 1945 was arrested in civilian clothes in Berlin, court-martialed for desertion, and executed by firing squad in the garden of the Reichskanzlei.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_SS_Cavalry_Division_Florian_Geyer
http://www.old.axishistory.com/list-all-categories/119-germany-waffen-ss/germany-waffen-ss-divisions/1276-knights-cross-holders-of-8-ss-kavallerie-division-florian-geyer?_gl=1*3s7oqs*_ga*MTUxMzQ2NjY4MC4xNzQ4NDQ3MDg5*_ga_NBNC43HFJZ*czE3ODc0NDg4MDQkbzkkZzEkdDE3ODc0NDg4OTYkajUyJGwwJGgw

Ritterkreuzträger of 1. Gebirgs-Division

The 1. Gebirgs-Division was an elite mountain infantry formation of the German Wehrmacht, established on 9 April 1938 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen from the earlier Gebirgs-Brigade that had itself been created on 1 June 1935, and it drew mainly upon Bavarian and Austrian personnel who wore the distinctive Edelweiß badge as their unit symbol. Under its first Kommandeur Generalleutnant Ludwig Kübler the division took part in the invasion of Poland in September 1939 as part of Heeresgruppe Süd, distinguishing itself in the fighting through the Carpathians and around Lwów while already committing early excesses against civilians and prisoners. After the Westfeldzug of 1940 it was prepared for possible operations against Britain or Gibraltar that never materialised, then in April 1941 advanced into Yugoslavia under the 2. Armee. From June 1941 the division joined Operation Barbarossa with Heeresgruppe Süd, capturing Lviv, participating in the Uman pocket, reaching the Dnieper and Mius rivers, and later fighting in the Second Battle of Kharkov. In the summer of 1942, now under Generalleutnant Hubert Lanz, it advanced into the Caucasus as part of Operation Edelweiß, where a detachment raised the Reichskriegsflagge on the summit of Mount Elbrus on 21 August 1942 in a widely publicised propaganda action that nevertheless drew Hitler’s private anger. Withdrawn from the Kuban bridgehead in early 1943, the division under Generalleutnant Walter Stettner Ritter von Grabenhofen was transferred to the Balkans for anti-partisan operations, taking part in Unternehmen Schwarz in Montenegro and later in Greece and Albania. There units of the 1. Gebirgs-Division were responsible for the massacre of 317 civilians in the village of Kommeno on 16 August 1943 and for the killing of approximately 5,200 surrendered Italian soldiers of the 33rd Infantry Division “Acqui” on Cefalonia in September 1943. After further fighting in Yugoslavia, Serbia and Hungary, where Stettner was killed near Belgrade in October 1944, the formation was redesignated 1. Volks-Gebirgs-Division in February or March 1945 and ended the war in defensive battles around Lake Balaton and in Austria before surrendering to American forces in May 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


General der Gebirgstruppe Hubert Lanz (1896-1982) was born on 22 May 1896 in Entringen in the Kingdom of Württemberg and entered military service on 20 June 1914 as Fahnenjunker in the Infanterie-Regiment „Kaiser Friedrich, König von Preußen“ (7. Württembergisches) Nr. 125 at Stuttgart, serving on the Western Front in the First World War where he was severely wounded in September 1914, later promoted to Leutnant and ending the conflict as Oberleutnant before being retained in the Reichswehr and rising through staff and command positions including that of Oberstleutnant and Chef des Stabes of the IX. Armeekorps as well as Kommandeur of the Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 100. In the Second World War he was appointed Chef des Generalstabes of the XVIII. Armeekorps on 15 February 1940 and received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 1 October 1940 as Oberst im Generalstab for his outstanding achievements during the Battle of France, in which his personal reconnaissance of the Meuse River enabled a rapid advance across it, he contributed decisively to the capture of Léon, and at the Chemin des Dames he personally led an assault with rifle and grenade to seize a key strongpoint while restoring a critical situation after an enemy counterattack, further distinguishing himself by holding off attackers with a machine gun at the Yonne River long enough to evacuate the mortally wounded commanding general. On 26 October 1940 he assumed command of the 1. Gebirgs-Division, leading it through the Balkans Campaign and from June 1941 in the invasion of the Soviet Union, where the division captured Lvov, broke the Stalin Line, advanced to the Dnieper and Mius, fought in the Second Battle of Kharkov, and participated in the drive into the Caucasus during Operation Edelweiss, including the symbolic raising of the German flag on Mount Elbrus. For his successful leadership of the 1. Gebirgs-Division in these operations, particularly the winter battles at Stalino, the Second Battle of Kharkov, and the mountain fighting northeast of Tuapse, he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942 as Generalleutnant. Subsequently promoted to General der Gebirgstruppe, he commanded the Armeeabteilung Lanz, the XXXXIX. Gebirgskorps, and from September 1943 the XXII. Gebirgskorps in Greece before surrendering to American forces in May 1945; after conviction for war crimes in the Hostages Trial and release in 1951 he advised the Free Democratic Party on military matters and died in Munich on 12 May 1982.



Generalleutnant Harald von Hirschfeld (1912-1945) was born on 10 July 1912 in Weimar and received much of his education abroad in South America, Spain, London and Paris before voluntarily joining the Wehrmacht on 23 October 1935 with Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 98 of the 1. Gebirgs-Division. Commissioned Leutnant der Reserve in 1937 and taken into the active officer corps the following year, he served as Adjutant of the II. Bataillon and later as company commander during the campaigns in Poland and the West. As Oberleutnant and Chef of the 7. Kompanie of Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 98 he distinguished himself in September 1941 when Soviet forces encircled the village of Alexandrowka and launched repeated attacks with superior numbers; remaining constantly at the critical points of the fighting, he inspired his men to launch immediate counterattacks that destroyed every enemy penetration and held the position, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 November 1941. Promoted to Hauptmann, he assumed command of the II. Bataillon and in May 1942 led a bold forward thrust during the battle of Barwenkowo that advanced ten kilometres into enemy lines. Later that year, during the offensive northeast of Tuapse in the Caucasus, his Gebirgsjäger under his personal leadership broke through twelve successive Soviet defensive positions and stormed more than 350 bunkers in two weeks of continuous hard fighting despite the difficult mountain terrain. For these achievements, and having already been wounded eight times, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942 as the 164th recipient. Rising rapidly through the ranks to Major, Oberstleutnant and Oberst, he later commanded Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 98 and from late 1944 led the 78. Sturm-Division, becoming the youngest general officer in the Heer when promoted to Generalmajor on 15 January 1945. Only three days later, on 18 January 1945, he was mortally wounded by a Soviet low-level aerial attack near the Dukla Pass and died the same day while being evacuated to a field hospital; he was posthumously advanced to Generalleutnant.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Mountain_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of 97. Infanterie-Division / 97. Jäger-Division

The 97. Infanterie-Division, initially raised as the 97. leichte Infanterie-Division on 10 December 1940 in Wehrkreis VII around Bad Tölz from elements of the 7. Infanterie-Division and the 3. Infanterie-Division (mot.), was a light infantry formation of the Heer whose tactical emblem, the Spielhahnfeder, earned it the nickname Spielhahnjäger-Division. Under early commanders including Generalmajor Walter Weiß, Generalleutnant Sigismund von Förster and Generalmajor Maximilian Fretter-Pico, the division prepared for the Eastern Front and crossed into the Soviet Union with the 17. Armee of Heeresgruppe Süd in June 1941, advancing through Magierów, breaking the Stalin Line and participating in the Kesselschlacht bei Uman before reaching Artemowsk and contributing to the destruction of the Soviet bridgehead at Isjum during the Battle of Kharkov in May 1942. Redesignated 97. Jäger-Division on 6 July 1942 while serving under Generalleutnant Ernst Rupp, its principal combat units became Jäger-Regiment 204, Jäger-Regiment 207 and Artillerie-Regiment 81, supported by Aufklärungs-Abteilung 97, Pionier-Bataillon 97 and Panzerjäger-Abteilung 97. During the 1942 summer offensive the division crossed the Don and Manytsch, captured Armawir and the vital oilfields of Maikop, then pushed into the western Caucasus until halted in the Pschisch valley. After the Stalingrad disaster it withdrew fighting into the Kuban-Brückenkopf, enduring heavy defensive battles at Abinskaja, Krymskaja and Moldawanskoje before evacuating across the Kerch Strait to the Crimea and later holding sectors of the Wotan-Stellung near Melitopol and the Dnepr crossings. Continuing its long retreat through Ukraine, Moldavia and Romania, the division was redeployed in autumn 1944 to the Vistula-San line near Kielce and then to eastern Slovakia, where it fought costly defensive actions around Kaschau. In early 1945 it contested the Upper Silesian industrial region and Ratibor under Generalleutnant Friedrich-Carl Rabe von Pappenheim before falling back into the Protectorate. On 1 January 1945 it still mustered over 10 000 men; by May, under Generalmajor Robert Bader, remnants attempted to break westward toward American lines near Deutsch-Brod rather than surrender to the Red Army, but most columns were captured or dispersed. Highly decorated for its continuous front-line service, the division received more than 12 000 Eisernes Kreuz awards by late 1944 and produced 34 Ritterkreuzträger, eight of whom also earned the Eichenlaub, before its final dissolution in Soviet captivity.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberst Ernst Nobis (1901-1963) was born on 18 October 1901 in Graz, Austria, and entered the Österreichisches Bundesheer in 1928 with the Steirisches Alpenjägerregiment Feldmarschall Daun Nr. 9, later completing officer training and being commissioned Leutnant in 1933 before transfer into the Wehrmacht as Oberleutnant after the Anschluss. He served initially on the staff of Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 138 of the 3. Gebirgs-Division during the Polish campaign, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse and promotion to Hauptmann, then took command of a battalion in Infanterie-Regiment 204 of the 97. Infanterie-Division on the Eastern Front. On 10 December 1941, when two Soviet regiments supported by tanks, Katyushas and aircraft broke into the German lines northeast of Troizkoje, Hauptmann Nobis independently assumed command of the hard-pressed I. Bataillon in addition to his own II. Bataillon and successfully prevented a breakthrough, for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 January 1942. Rapid preferential promotions followed to Major i. G. and then Oberstleutnant i. G.; in July 1942 he assumed command of the newly formed Jäger-Regiment 204 of the 97. Jäger-Division, leading Kampfgruppe Nobis during the advance into the Caucasus. On 4 December 1942, recognizing the danger of a strong Soviet battlegroup that had approached close to the German main line of resistance, Oberstleutnant Nobis assembled an ad-hoc force of roughly 400–500 men drawn from the 7. Kompanie z.b.V. 800, small elements of Jäger-Regiment 207, the 1./Pionier-Bataillon 97, his own regimental staff and parts of the Stabskompanie, then attacked and completely shattered the enemy formation under heavy fighting, thereby stopping a Soviet drive toward the Pschisch and preventing the rolling-up of the German defenses west of the river. For this decisive action he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 5 December 1942 as the 151st recipient, and was promoted to Oberst shortly afterward despite severe wounds sustained in the preceding battles. After further staff and attaché duties, including a brief posting as military attaché to Finland in 1944 and command of the Heeresschule für Stabsoffiziere at Güstrow in the final weeks of the war, Nobis spent time as a prisoner of war, later rejoined the rebuilt Austrian Bundesheer in 1956 as a civilian instructor and staff officer, rose to Hofrat, and died of a heart attack in Vienna on 7 March 1963 while still in service.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/97th_J%C3%A4ger_Division

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


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