Ritterkreuzträger of Panzerabwehr (Anti-Tank)

German Panzerabwehr during the Second World War evolved rapidly from light towed guns to a layered system of heavy artillery, self-propelled hunters and mass-issued infantry weapons as enemy armour thickened and numbers grew. At the outbreak of war the standard weapon was the 3,7-cm-PaK 36 issued to the Panzerabwehrkompanien of Infanterie-Regimenter and to independent Panzerjäger-Abteilungen; though mobile and easily concealed it proved inadequate against French and British medium tanks and was derisively nicknamed Heeresanklopfgerät after encounters with the T-34 and KW series in 1941. Successive introductions of the 5-cm-PaK 38 and especially the 7,5-cm-PaK 40 from early 1942 restored effectiveness at medium ranges, while the dual-purpose 8,8-cm-FlaK and the dedicated 8,8-cm-PaK 43 provided long-range killing power against the heaviest Allied and Soviet tanks. Tactically the Germans developed the Pakfront, concentrating groups of up to ten guns under a single officer so that coordinated volleys could ambush massed armour, a method later copied by the Red Army. Self-propelled solutions appeared in the Marder series mounting captured or German PaK on obsolete chassis and in the Sturmgeschütz III and IV, which, although designed as assault guns, became the most numerous and successful Panzerjäger on both Eastern and Western Fronts. Infantry close-combat weapons progressed from the limited Panzerbüchse 39 to the single-shot recoilless Panzerfaust family introduced in 1943 and the reusable 8,8-cm-Raketenpanzerbüchse 54, popularly called Panzerschreck or Ofenrohr, which offered greater range and penetration. Late-war doctrine emphasised nested defences combining minefields, obstacles, Pakfronts and Panzerfaust teams in staggered positions to engage tanks from multiple angles at short range, while mobile reserves of Panzerjäger-Abteilungen and Sturmgeschütz-Brigaden counter-attacked breakthroughs. Despite chronic shortages of tungsten-core ammunition and towing vehicles for the heavier guns, German Panzerabwehr remained a formidable and adaptive element of combined-arms defence until the final collapse in 1945.

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HEER


Leutnant der Reserve Georg Rietscher (1918-1991) was born on 3 December 1918 in Schweinerden near Kamenz in Saxony and died on 21 September 1991 in Radibor in Saxony. He entered the Heer in 1940 as a Soldat and served throughout the Second World War with the 14. Kompanie of the III. Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 513, later redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 513, belonging to the 294. Infanterie-Division. Promoted to Gefreiter der Reserve in 1941, he took part in the campaign in the West and then in Operation Barbarossa, fighting at Kiev and in the battles around Kharkov. On 9 October 1941 he received the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse and on 23 May 1942 the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse. As Richtschütze in his Kompanie he earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 27 June 1942 for his actions southeast of Kupjewacha east of Kharkov, where during a Soviet tank-led assault he personally knocked out nine enemy tanks, thereby decisively helping to seal off a breakthrough and allowing German forces to consolidate on the high ground to the west. Promoted to Unteroffizier der Reserve in 1943, he later served as Vorgeschobener Beobachter and received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 14 March 1943 as the 210th recipient for preventing a Soviet breakthrough along the Mius river in early 1943. In his own account of the action, which occurred around Christmas, he described hearing tank engines throughout the night while manning a forward strongpoint; four T-34s were immobilized in a minefield while a fifth continued firing, and after Pak guns proved unavailable he collected jerry cans of fuel, poured their contents over the tanks and into their engines, and placed explosive charges, destroying them one after another so that they burned and exploded with their crews, thereby ending the threat. He was promoted to Leutnant der Reserve in 1944 and also received the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz, the Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen, the Ostmedaille and two Panzervernichtungsabzeichen in Silber before the war’s end.

Source :
https://www.tankarchives.com/2013/12/german-anti-tank-tactics.html

Ritterkreuzträger of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 228

Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 228 was formed on 10 November 1942 in the Luckenwalde-Treuenbrietzen area near Berlin as a Heerestruppe with three Batterien equipped with Sturmgeschütze and was initially earmarked for transfer to North Africa. Due to the deteriorating situation on the Eastern Front the unit was instead dispatched eastward in early December 1942 and unloaded at the Salsk railway station before being subordinated to the 8. Armee for the final phase of the relief attempt toward Stalingrad. Thereafter the Abteilung conducted intensive defensive fighting in the Donets basin against repeated Soviet breakthrough attempts and later took part in the successful counter-offensive that recaptured Charkow in March 1943. During the summer of 1943 it served under III. Panzerkorps within Armee-Abteilung Kempf during the Battle of Kursk and subsequently fought delaying actions around Belgorod, Poltava and Krementschug while withdrawing toward the Dnieper. In early 1944 the unit was heavily engaged inside the Kessel von Tscherkassy. On 14 February 1944 it was redesignated Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 228. The brigade then operated in Romania, suffering catastrophic losses of nearly all its Sturmgeschütze during the Soviet Jassy-Kishinev offensive, before transferring to Hungary where it played a notable role in the defence of the Gran bridgehead near Szolnok. Continuous retreats followed through Slovakia toward the Brno area, with final combat actions conducted alongside the 15. Infanterie-Division in the Wirschau-Kralitz-Mehren sector under 8. Armee of Heeresgruppe Ostmark until the end of the war. Successive Kommandeure included Hauptmann Wilhelm von Malachowski from formation, followed by Friedrich Moraw, Hauptmann Rudolf Knüppel and finally Hauptmann Kurt Teschke.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Major Wilhelm von Malachowski (1914-1980) was born on 6 June 1914 in Rostock and died on 28 October 1980 in Köln. He entered the Wehrmacht in 1935 with Infanterie-Regiment 27 before transferring to Artillerie-Regiment 48, where he was promoted to Leutnant on 20 April 1937. As Oberleutnant from 1 September 1939 he served as Zugführer in the 7. Batterie during the Polish and Western campaigns. On 1 August 1940 he volunteered for the Sturmartillerie and joined Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 189, becoming Batterie-Chef of the 2. Batterie on 1 August 1941. During the winter fighting of 1941/42 near Rzhev his Batterie supported the breakout of XXIII. Armee-Korps and on 23 January 1942 destroyed 18 enemy guns southeast of Bachmatowo; by then he had personally accounted for 35 enemy tanks since the start of Operation Barbarossa. For these achievements he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 January 1942 as Oberleutnant and Chef of 2./Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 189. Promoted to Hauptmann on 1 March 1942, he took command of the newly formed Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 228 at the end of 1942 and led it in the attempted relief of the 6. Armee at Stalingrad. On 14 January 1943, during battles for Novo-Palovski, Ignatviko and Masloff, he independently directed a small force of only seven Sturmgeschütze, two 2-cm anti-aircraft guns and fifty infantrymen, capturing the objectives after heavy fighting against Soviet tanks and advancing along the right flank to the edge of Masloff; his guns destroyed eighteen T-34 tanks and one KV-1, of which he personally knocked out four T-34s and the KV-1. This action earned him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (206th award) on 6 March 1943 as Hauptmann and Kommandeur of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 228, the same day he was promoted to Major. Severely wounded on 9 March 1943, he later served as an Ausbildungs-Offizier at the Sturmgeschütz-Schule in Burg, then at the Waffenschule des Ersatzheeres, and from 1 September 1944 in the Generalstab des Heeres.

Source :
https://www.balsi.de/Weltkrieg/Einheiten/Heer/Artillerie/Sturmartillerie/Abteilungen/228-StugAbt.htm
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Sturmgeschutzeinheiten/Sturmgeschutzabteilung228.htm

Ritterkreuzträger of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 189

Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 189 was formed on 10 July 1941 at the Truppenübungsplatz Jüterbog with a Stab and three Batterien as an independent Heerestruppe equipped primarily with Sturmgeschütz III assault guns for close infantry support. Under its first Kommandeur Hauptmann Ernst Heß the unit was rapidly transported east and in early August 1941 marched some 950 kilometres to the Vitebsk sector of Heeresgruppe Mitte where it was subordinated to the XXXX. motorisiertes Korps and allocated battery by battery in support of the 110. Infanterie-Division. Between 19 and 26 August 1941 the Abteilung played a significant role in the capture of Velikiye Luki before taking part in the great double encirclement battles of Vyazma and Bryansk, the subsequent fighting around Kalinin and the bitter winter battles in the Rzhev salient. From late December 1942 the unit was permanently assigned to the 78. Sturm-Division and remained organically attached to it for the next year and a half, fighting around Orel in 1943 and later in the Orsha sector. By July 1943 its authorised strength stood at 31 Sturmgeschütz III although combat attrition frequently reduced operational numbers sharply. In June 1944 it was redesignated Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 189 without major organisational change and continued to serve with the 78. Sturm-Division under successive Kommandeure including Hauptmann Walter Dusche, Hauptmann Friedrich Domeyer and finally Hauptmann Wilhelm Kerstein. During the Soviet summer offensive Operation Bagration the Brigade and its parent division were virtually annihilated in the fighting around Orsha and the subsequent retreat across the Berezina. The surviving remnants were withdrawn at the end of July 1944, sent westward for reconstitution and on 8–9 August 1944 redesignated Panzerjäger-Abteilung 70 for service with the 4. Kavallerie-Brigade while the 3. Batterie was detached to help form another Sturmgeschütz unit.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


Major Wilhelm von Malachowski (1914-1980) was born on 6 June 1914 in Rostock and died on 28 October 1980 in Köln. He entered the Wehrmacht in 1935 with Infanterie-Regiment 27 before transferring to Artillerie-Regiment 48, where he was promoted to Leutnant on 20 April 1937. As Oberleutnant from 1 September 1939 he served as Zugführer in the 7. Batterie during the Polish and Western campaigns. On 1 August 1940 he volunteered for the Sturmartillerie and joined Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 189, becoming Batterie-Chef of the 2. Batterie on 1 August 1941. During the winter fighting of 1941/42 near Rzhev his Batterie supported the breakout of XXIII. Armee-Korps and on 23 January 1942 destroyed 18 enemy guns southeast of Bachmatowo; by then he had personally accounted for 35 enemy tanks since the start of Operation Barbarossa. For these achievements he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 January 1942 as Oberleutnant and Chef of 2./Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 189. Promoted to Hauptmann on 1 March 1942, he took command of the newly formed Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 228 at the end of 1942 and led it in the attempted relief of the 6. Armee at Stalingrad. On 14 January 1943, during battles for Novo-Palovski, Ignatviko and Masloff, he independently directed a small force of only seven Sturmgeschütze, two 2-cm anti-aircraft guns and fifty infantrymen, capturing the objectives after heavy fighting against Soviet tanks and advancing along the right flank to the edge of Masloff; his guns destroyed eighteen T-34 tanks and one KV-1, of which he personally knocked out four T-34s and the KV-1. This action earned him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (206th award) on 6 March 1943 as Hauptmann and Kommandeur of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 228, the same day he was promoted to Major. Severely wounded on 9 March 1943, he later served as an Ausbildungs-Offizier at the Sturmgeschütz-Schule in Burg, then at the Waffenschule des Ersatzheeres, and from 1 September 1944 in the Generalstab des Heeres.

Source :
https://www.balsi.de/Weltkrieg/Einheiten/Heer/Artillerie/Sturmartillerie/Abteilungen/189-StugAbt.htm
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Sturmgeschutzeinheiten/Sturmgeschutzabteilung189.htm

Original Color Photograph of Maximilian von Weichs by Walter Frentz

Generalfeldmarschall Maximilian Reichsfreiherr von Weichs (Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe B) in a picture taken on 1 February 1943 by Walter Frentz, during Generalfeldmarschall promotion ceremony with Hitler at the Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze in Rastenburg, East Prussia. Weichs received his special promotion to the rank of marshall on that day in the immediate aftermath of the catastrophic German defeat at Stalingrad. At that time he held the position of Commander-in-Chief of Army Group B, the formation responsible for the advance toward the Volga during Fall Blau. Heeresgruppe B had included 2. Armee, 4. Panzerarmee, 6. Armee under Friedrich Paulus, as well as the allied 2. Hungarian Army, 8. Italian Army and the Romanian armies whose collapse during Operation Uranus sealed the encirclement. Although Weichs had repeatedly warned of the overstretched flanks and had recommended a timely withdrawal, Adolf Hitler refused, and large parts of Heeresgruppe B were subsequently detached to form Heeresgruppe Don under Erich von Manstein. Despite the destruction of nearly the entire 6. Armee and the effective dissolution of Heeresgruppe B, Weichs was elevated to Generalfeldmarschall together with Paulus, Ewald von Kleist and Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen. The promotion, announced on the same day that Paulus was also made Generalfeldmarschall inside the Stalingrad pocket, served both as a formal recognition of senior command responsibility and as a propaganda gesture intended to mask the scale of the disaster. Weichs retained the rank for the remainder of the war, later serving as Oberbefehlshaber Südost and commander of Heeresgruppe F in the Balkans. The elevation therefore marked the highest point of his military career even as his operational authority on the Eastern Front was simultaneously being reduced. After a brief period in the Führerreserve he returned to active duty later in 1943, carrying the rank of Generalfeldmarschall until his final transfer to reserve status in March 1945. Thus the promotion of 1 February 1943 stands as a paradoxical culmination of his service with Heeresgruppe B amid one of the Wehrmacht’s greatest defeats.

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2018989&hilit=weichs#p2018989
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/35803/Weichs-von-Maximillian.htm
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-t-z/

Ritterkreuzträger of 90. leichte-Infanterie-Division

The 90. leichte Afrika-Division was formed on 26 June 1941 in North Africa as Divisionskommando z.b.V. Afrika from existing Deutsches Afrikakorps elements including Schützen-Regiment 155, Infanterie-Regiment 361 (Afrika-Regiment with former French Foreign Legion personnel), gemischte Aufklärungskompanie 580, Pionier-Bataillon 900 and Nachrichten-Kompanie 190, and was renamed 90. leichte Afrika-Division on 26 November 1941 under initial command of Generalmajor Max Sümmermann. It became the only German combat division largely raised in Africa itself and underwent further redesignations to 90. leichte Infanterie-Division on 1 April 1942 and 90. Afrika-Division on 26 July 1942 as it expanded into a more fully motorized formation with Panzergrenadier-Regiment 155, Panzergrenadier-Regiment 200, Panzergrenadier-Regiment 361, Panzer-Abteilung 190, Panzerjäger-Abteilung 190, Panzeraufklärungs-Abteilung 90, Artillerie-Regiment 190 and Pionier-Bataillon 900. Command passed successively to Generalleutnant Richard Veith, General der Panzertruppen Ulrich Kleemann, Generalleutnant Carl-Hans Lungershausen and finally Generalleutnant Theodor Graf von Sponeck. The division played a major role throughout the Western Desert Campaign, fighting in Operation Crusader around Tobruk and Sidi Rezegh, the Gazala battles including Bir Hakeim, the advance to El Alamein, both Battles of El Alamein, the long fighting retreat through Libya, the Mareth Line defenses in southern Tunisia and the final Enfidaville positions. It earned a reputation among Allied forces, particularly the 2nd New Zealand Division, as a tough and determined opponent capable of stubborn defensive actions even when severely depleted. In the closing stages of the Tunisia Campaign the division resisted successive attacks until it was overrun on 12 May 1943 and formally surrendered the following day near Cap Bon, after which it was dissolved on 30 June 1943.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


Generalleutnant Johann Mickl (1893-1945), born Johann Mikl on 18 April 1893 in Zelting near Radkersburg in Styria to a Catholic peasant family as the twin of Alois, attended the Landwehr cadet school in Vienna from 1908 and the Theresianische Militärakademie in Wiener Neustadt from 1911, graduating as Leutnant in the k.k. Landwehr on 1 August 1914 and joining the k.k. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment 4. During the First World War he fought on the Eastern Front in Galicia and later on the Italian Front in the mountain warfare of the Isonzo battles and Caporetto, receiving multiple wounds and decorations including the Militärverdienstkreuz III. Klasse and the Order of the Iron Crown 3rd Class for personal bravery and leadership of assaults. After the war he served in the Deutschösterreichische Volkswehr defending Radkersburg, then entered the Austrian Bundesheer, rising to Major in 1928 and Oberstleutnant by 1936 while serving as a general staff officer, and changed his name to Mickl in 1922. Following the Anschluss he transferred to the Wehrmacht as Oberstleutnant and commanded the Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 42 of the 2. leichte Division in the Polish campaign and the Battle of France with the 7. Panzer-Division, earning promotion to Oberst on 1 June 1940. In June 1941 he took command of the Schützen-Regiment 155 of the 90. leichte Afrika-Division in the Deutsches Afrikakorps. For extraordinary bravery during Operation Crusader south of Sidi Rezegh near Tobruk on 26 November 1941, when as Oberst he personally led his regimental staff into the attack, rallied the pinned 7. Kompanie and was among the first to storm British positions as the right wing of Kampfgruppe Boettcher, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 13 December 1941. After recovery from wounds he commanded the 12. Schützen-Brigade and then the Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 of the 12. Panzer-Division on the Eastern Front, where for his decisive leadership in fluid defensive and offensive battles around Rzhev during the winter of 1942–43 that crushed multiple heavy Soviet attacks after assuming command of the regiment, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 6 March 1943 as the 205th recipient while still Oberst. Promoted to Generalmajor on 1 March 1943 and briefly leading the 11. Panzer-Division at Kursk, he became Generalleutnant on 1 April 1944 and from August 1943 commanded the 392. (kroatische) Infanterie-Division in operations against Yugoslav partisans, conquering the Velebit range to the Adriatic and covering the withdrawal of Heeresgruppe E. On 9 April 1945 he was shot in the head by partisans during fighting for the Vratnik Pass near Senj and died of his wounds the following day in hospital in Rijeka.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/90th_Light_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/leichte%20Panzerdivisionen/90leDivR.htm

Ritterkreuzträger of 19. Infanterie-Division / 19. Panzer-Division

The 19. Infanterie-Division was formed on 1 October 1934 in Hannover under the cover name Artillerieführer VI within Wehrkreis VI and officially redesignated on 15 October 1935, mobilizing fully on 25 August 1939 with Infanterie-Regiment 59, Infanterie-Regiment 73, Infanterie-Regiment 74 and Artillerie-Regiment 19 before advancing as part of XI. Armeekorps of the 10. Armee during the Polish campaign, fighting on the Bzura and participating in the final assault on Warsaw, then transferring west to take part in the 1940 campaign in Belgium and France where it crossed the Somme, entered the outskirts of Paris and reached the Loire before performing occupation duties along the demarcation line until returning home in late September 1940. On 1 November 1940 the formation was converted into the 19. Panzer-Division by incorporating Panzer-Regiment 27 while transferring Infanterie-Regiment 59 and other elements to the newly raised 20. Panzer-Division, after which it trained in Germany under Generalleutnant Otto von Knobelsdorff until joining Panzergruppe 3 of Heeresgruppe Mitte for Unternehmen Barbarossa in June 1941, advancing through the battles of Białystok-Minsk and Smolensk and later fighting near Velikiye Luki and in the Battle of Moscow where heavy losses forced the disbandment of one tank battalion. Remaining on the central sector until late 1942, the division was then shifted south to support the Italian 8. Armee and the 1. Panzerarmee, taking part in defensive actions after the Stalingrad disaster, the Battle of Kursk under III. Panzerkorps near Belgorod where Generalleutnant Gustav Schmidt committed suicide to avoid capture in August 1943, and the subsequent retreats across Ukraine including the escape from the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket in April 1944. Nearly destroyed by these continuous engagements, the 19. Panzer-Division was withdrawn to the Netherlands in May 1944 for refitting under Generalleutnant Hans Källner before returning by rail to the Eastern Front after Operation Bagration, defending Warsaw, helping suppress the Polish uprising, and contesting the Baranow bridgehead until the Soviet Vistula-Oder offensive forced it westward through Silesia into the Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren, where its remnants finally surrendered to Soviet forces in May 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Generalleutnant Gustav Schmidt (1894-1943) was born on 24 April 1894 in Carsdorf, Kreis Querfurt, in the Province of Saxony, and entered the Königlich Preußische Heer on 1 March 1913 as a Fahnenjunker in the 3. Brandenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment „Graf Tauentzien von Wittenberg“ Nr. 20. Promoted to Leutnant in June 1914, he served throughout the First World War with this regiment as Kompanieoffizier, Kompanieführer and later Ordonnanzoffizier and Adjutant, receiving both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, the Ritterkreuz des Königlichen Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern and the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz. Retained in the Reichswehr after 1919, he advanced steadily through the ranks of the 5. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment and related staff appointments, reaching Oberst by June 1939. At the outbreak of the Second World War he briefly commanded Infanterie-Ersatz-Regiment 216 before taking over Infanterie-Regiment 74 of the 19. Infanterie-Division on 10 October 1939. For the outstanding performance of his regiment during the Westfeldzug—especially the rapid seizure of eleven bunkers on the Maas near Roermond on 10 May 1940 after personal reconnaissance, an action that made the regiment the most successful and least costly of its division—he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 September 1940 as Oberst. Following the conversion of the 19. Infanterie-Division into the 19. Panzer-Division he assumed command of the newly formed 19. Schützen-Brigade and led it into the Ostfeldzug in 1941. On 6 January 1942 he was entrusted with the Führung of the 19. Panzer-Division, was promoted Generalmajor on 1 April 1942 and confirmed as its Kommandeur, receiving the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold the same month. Advanced to Generalleutnant on 1 January 1943, he earned the Eichenlaub (203rd award) on 6 March 1943 for the decisive employment of his division during the defensive battles of the winter of 1942/43; in early December, when Soviet forces sought to rupture the front southeast of Toropez, Schmidt prepared and personally directed a counter-thrust from the foremost line that surprised the enemy, drove far beyond the assigned objectives, closed the gap in the German front and cut off two Soviet corps that had already broken through. After the failure of the Kursk offensive the staff of the 19. Panzer-Division became isolated near Beresowka in the Belgorod area during the subsequent Soviet Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive; with ammunition nearly exhausted, Generalleutnant Schmidt and his Adjutant Oberleutnant Köhne took their own lives on 7 August 1943 to avoid capture.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_Panzer_Division

Ritterkreuzträger of 93. Infanterie-Division

The 93. Infanterie-Division was formed on 17 September 1939 at the Truppenübungsplatz Jüterbog in Wehrkreis III as a unit of the 5. Welle and initially equipped with captured Czech matériel, consisting primarily of Infanterie-Regiment 270, Infanterie-Regiment 271 drawn largely from the SA-Standarte Feldherrnhalle, Infanterie-Regiment 272, and Artillerie-Regiment 193 under the long-term command of General der Pioniere Otto Tiemann. During the Phoney War the division manned positions near the Maginot Line in the Saarbrücken sector, then on 15 June 1940 broke through French defenses south of the city, crossed the Seille and Meurthe rivers, and advanced into the Moselle region before remaining in France for occupation and coastal duties until mid-1941. Transferred to Heeresgruppe Nord for Unternehmen Barbarossa, the division marched through Latvia and Estonia toward Leningrad, taking part in the siege operations around the Oranienbaum pocket until April 1942 and then shifting to the Volkhov front for prolonged defensive fighting. In August 1942 Infanterie-Regiment 271 received the honorary title Feldherrnhalle for its distinguished service in France and the Soviet Union; the regiment was detached in February 1943 to help form the Panzergrenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle, after which the 93. Infanterie-Division was reorganized as a Division neuer Art with Grenadier-Regiment 270 and the newly created Grenadier-Regiment 273. From late 1943 the division conducted stubborn defensive actions in the Newel and Pleskau sectors, withdrew through Latvia into the Courland Pocket in 1944 under successive commanders including Generalleutnant Karl Löwrick and Generalleutnant Erich Hofmann, and was evacuated by sea early in 1945 to the Samland peninsula in East Prussia. There the remnants of the 93. Infanterie-Division, now under Generalmajor Kurt Domansky, were destroyed by the Red Army in March 1945 during the final battles for Königsberg and the Hela peninsula, with survivors entering Soviet captivity.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberst Walter Scheunemann (1909-1949) was born on 26 March 1909 in Bankau, West Prussia, and entered the Preußische Schutzpolizei on 4 October 1930 before transferring on 1 August 1935 as Unteroffizier into the Heer and assignment to Infanterie-Regiment 50, with which he took part in the Poland campaign. Promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 February 1940, he joined Infanterie-Regiment 272 of the 93. Infanterie-Division and from 20 May 1940 served as Chef of the 9. Kompanie in its III. Bataillon. On 5 August 1940 he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for his decisive role, together with Oberstleutnant Löwrick, in capturing Werk 789 in the Maginot Line obstacle zone south of Cappel, an action that enabled German penetration of the fortified belt and compelled the local French forces to withdraw. After further service on the Eastern Front he was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 April 1942 while near Leningrad and later to Major. As Kommandeur of the I. Bataillon of Grenadier-Regiment 272 he distinguished himself repeatedly in the heavy fighting of the I. Armee-Korps at the Wolchow, completing a special mission in exemplary fashion, leading an improvised formation of more than Bataillon strength that earned special recognition from the commanders of the 291. Infanterie-Division and the I. Armee-Korps, and fighting effectively with his battalion at Urizk near Leningrad on 22 July 1942, as well as in the battles south of the Ilmensee. These achievements led to the award of the 202nd Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 6 March 1943. From December 1943 he commanded Grenadier-Regiment 270 near Cholm, rose to Oberstleutnant and then Oberst on 1 September 1944, and spent the final months of the war in the OKH-Reserve, briefly leading elements of Infanterie-Division “Döberitz.” He died in Göttingen on 29 December 1949.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/93rd_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of Independent Pionier Units

 PIONIER-BATAILLON 51

The Pionier-Bataillon 51 was raised on 12 October 1937 as a Korps-Pionier-Bataillon with its peacetime garrison at Rosslau, drawing personnel from the Pionier-Bataillon 13 of the 4. Infanterie-Division, the Pionier-Bataillon 19 of the 19. Infanterie-Division, and the Pionier-Bataillon 16 of the 16. Infanterie-Division. Under the command of Oberstleutnant Hans Mikosch the unit took part in the Anschluss of Austria and later carried out fortification work on the Westwall. During the Polish campaign of 1939 the battalion served as an army troop performing bridging, obstacle clearance and assault pioneer tasks. In the Western campaign of May 1940 it played a decisive role in the reduction of the Belgian fortress of Eben-Emael; Oberstleutnant Mikosch led the battalion through heavily defended positions to relieve the airborne troops who had landed on the fort, an action for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 May 1940. Motorized and equipped for rapid river crossings, the battalion opened Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941 by seizing the Bug bridge at Sokal and clearing Soviet bunker lines on the heights east of the river while attached to the 57. Infanterie-Division, employing assault boats, flamethrowers and explosive charges with support from Sturmgeschütze. On 21 May 1942 the formation was redesignated Panzer-Pionier-Bataillon 51, absorbing a newly raised Panzer-Pionier-Kompanie of the 23. Panzer-Division and becoming the organic pioneer unit of that division. Thereafter it followed the 23. Panzer-Division through France, the second battle of Kharkov, the Caucasus offensive, the defensive fighting on the Mius and Dnieper, the southern Ukraine, Poland and finally Hungary in 1944–45, continuously performing the full range of panzer pioneer duties: bridge construction under fire, mine clearance, obstacle demolition and close assault in support of armoured spearheads until the final collapse of the front.



Generalleutnant Hans Mikosch (1898-1993) was born on 7 January 1898 in Kattowitz and volunteered for the Imperial German Army in 1914, serving as a pioneer officer and receiving a commission as Leutnant after two years of combat in the First World War before leaving the military in 1920 to join the police. He returned to the Heer on 15 October 1935 as Hauptmann, was promoted to Major in 1936 and to Oberstleutnant in 1939, and from October 1937 commanded Pionier-Bataillon 51, leading it in the invasion of Poland and later in the Westfeldzug. On 10 May 1940 his battalion advanced through fortified and heavily defended Belgian positions to relieve the Fallschirmjäger who had landed on Fort Eben-Emael, enabling the definitive German capture of the fort; for this action he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 May 1940 as Oberstleutnant und Kommandeur of Pionier-Bataillon 51. Promoted to Oberst in 1942, he commanded Pionier-Regiment 677 and later Pionier-Regiment-Stab z.b.V. 677 while also leading Kampfgruppe Mikosch on the Eastern Front. After the Soviet Operation Uranus, his Kampfgruppe retreated from the Kalatsch bridgehead to the Chir railway station on 24 November 1942 and was subordinated to the 384. Infanterie-Division, holding positions near Werch-Tschirskij in the Chir-Don triangle for four weeks against repeated Soviet tank and infantry assaults. On 14 December 1942 the Soviet 7th Tank Corps broke through with thirty tanks into the village itself, yet Kampfgruppe Mikosch destroyed twenty enemy tanks despite losing nearly all its anti-tank weapons and thereby prevented the Soviets from rolling up the entire Chir defensive front westward, actions for which he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 6 March 1943 as Oberst und Kommandeur of Pionier-Regiment-Stab z.b.V. 677 und Führer einer Kampfgruppe im Raum Stalingrad. He later temporarily commanded the 10. Panzergrenadier-Division from October to December 1943, then the 13. Panzer-Division until May 1944, receiving promotion to Generalmajor in January 1944, served as commandant of Boulogne and Higher Pionier Commander, and ended the war as Generalleutnant responsible for fortifications in East Prussia and leader of another Kampfgruppe Mikosch near Königsberg. Captured by Soviet forces on 8 April 1945, he remained a prisoner until 1955 and died on 18 January 1993 in Reichshof.

Source :
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Pioniere.htm

Ritterkreuzträger of Pioniertruppen (Pioneer)

The German Pioniertruppen of the Wehrmacht in the Second World War formed a specialized branch of combat engineers collectively known as Pioniere, often distinguished as schwarz Pioniere by their black Waffenfarbe, and they operated primarily as assault troops rather than mere construction workers. Each Infanterie-Division typically included an organic Divisions-Pionier-Bataillon consisting of a Bataillonsstab with Nachrichtenzug, three Pionier-Kompanien of which two were usually horsedrawn and one motorized, a motorized Brückenkolonne B for pontoon bridging, and a leichte Pionier-Kolonne. Under the command of a Major or Hauptmann these units supported Blitzkrieg operations by clearing natural and artificial obstacles, repairing roads, and erecting temporary bridges using Schlauchboote and Brückengerät to enable rapid crossings such as those over the Meuse at Sedan or the Bug River in 1941. In the attack the Sturmpioniere advanced alongside the Infanterie employing Flammenwerfer, pole charges, hollow charges, and demolitions to breach fortifications, wire obstacles, and bunkers while laying or clearing Tellerminen and Schützenminen. On the defensive they constructed Feldstellungen, erected barbed-wire entanglements, planted minefields, and maintained supply routes under the direction of Unteroffiziere and Feldwebel who trained Pioniere and Oberpioniere in specialized skills. Specialized formations expanded the branch to include Panzerpioniere for armored support, Fallschirmpioniere attached to Luftwaffe airborne units, Gebirgspioniere for mountain warfare, Eisenbahnpioniere who restored rail networks in occupied territories, and Festungspioniere who built the Atlantikwall and Westwall. Equipment ranged from standard Karabiner 98k rifles and MG 34 machine guns to compressors, assault boats, smoke candles, and substantial stocks of explosives carried in the Pioniersturmgepack. Throughout campaigns from Poland in 1939 through the Eastern Front battles to the final defenses of 1945 the Pioniertruppen remained essential for mobility, countermobility, and survivability, with officers such as Leutnante and Hauptleute coordinating the integration of pioneer efforts into the combined-arms team. Their dual role as elite assault specialists and technical experts ensured that the Wehrmacht could maintain operational tempo even under increasingly adverse conditions until the complete dissolution of these units in 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Generalleutnant Hans Mikosch (1898-1993) was born on 7 January 1898 in Kattowitz and volunteered for the Imperial German Army in 1914, serving as a pioneer officer and receiving a commission as Leutnant after two years of combat in the First World War before leaving the military in 1920 to join the police. He returned to the Heer on 15 October 1935 as Hauptmann, was promoted to Major in 1936 and to Oberstleutnant in 1939, and from October 1937 commanded Pionier-Bataillon 51, leading it in the invasion of Poland and later in the Westfeldzug. On 10 May 1940 his battalion advanced through fortified and heavily defended Belgian positions to relieve the Fallschirmjäger who had landed on Fort Eben-Emael, enabling the definitive German capture of the fort; for this action he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 May 1940 as Oberstleutnant und Kommandeur of Pionier-Bataillon 51. Promoted to Oberst in 1942, he commanded Pionier-Regiment 677 and later Pionier-Regiment-Stab z.b.V. 677 while also leading Kampfgruppe Mikosch on the Eastern Front. After the Soviet Operation Uranus, his Kampfgruppe retreated from the Kalatsch bridgehead to the Chir railway station on 24 November 1942 and was subordinated to the 384. Infanterie-Division, holding positions near Werch-Tschirskij in the Chir-Don triangle for four weeks against repeated Soviet tank and infantry assaults. On 14 December 1942 the Soviet 7th Tank Corps broke through with thirty tanks into the village itself, yet Kampfgruppe Mikosch destroyed twenty enemy tanks despite losing nearly all its anti-tank weapons and thereby prevented the Soviets from rolling up the entire Chir defensive front westward, actions for which he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 6 March 1943 as Oberst und Kommandeur of Pionier-Regiment-Stab z.b.V. 677 und Führer einer Kampfgruppe im Raum Stalingrad. He later temporarily commanded the 10. Panzergrenadier-Division from October to December 1943, then the 13. Panzer-Division until May 1944, receiving promotion to Generalmajor in January 1944, served as commandant of Boulogne and Higher Pionier Commander, and ended the war as Generalleutnant responsible for fortifications in East Prussia and leader of another Kampfgruppe Mikosch near Königsberg. Captured by Soviet forces on 8 April 1945, he remained a prisoner until 1955 and died on 18 January 1993 in Reichshof.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/132294707379067/posts/854112745197256/
https://www.themilitarymark.com/wwii-wehrmacht-heer/blog-post-title-one-2xjjf-7semt-57b3d

Blue Division's Swearing-in Ceremony at Grafenwöhr (1941)

From left to right: Generalleutnant Agustín Muñoz Grandes (Kommandeur 250. Infanterie-Division [spanien]), Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm (Chef der Heeresrüstung und Befehlshaber des Ersatzheeres), Gauleiter Fritz Wächtler (NSDAP-Gauleiter der Bayerischen Ostmark), and Dr.phil. Friedrich von Cochenhausen (Kommandierenden General des Stellvertretenden XIII. Armeekorps in Nürnberg und Befehlshaber vom Wehrkreis XIII). The picture was taken at Truppenübungsplatz Grafenwöhr on 31 July 1941 during swearing-in ceremony of the Spanish volunteers in the Wehrmacht.

In the summer of 1941, as German forces advanced deep into the Soviet Union following the launch of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June, a contingent of Spanish volunteers prepared to join the campaign on the Eastern Front. These men formed what became known as the División Azul, or Blue Division, a unit of volunteers raised in Francoist Spain to fight against Bolshevism. After recruitment and initial organization in Spain, the volunteers travelled by train across France and into Germany, arriving at the large military training ground of Grafenwöhr in Bavaria between 17 and 23 July 1941. There, under German supervision, they underwent rapid reorganization, outfitting, and instruction before formal incorporation into the Wehrmacht as the 250. Infanterie-Division.

Grafenwöhr was a major Truppenübungsplatz with extensive facilities capable of accommodating large formations. The Spanish contingent, numbering roughly 18,000 men, was placed under the overall administration of the camp authorities, which operated from the Kommandantur. German instructors oversaw the issue of Wehrmacht uniforms, equipment, and weapons, including the distinctive MG 34 machine gun that the Spaniards quickly came to admire. The only outward marks distinguishing the Spaniards from German personnel were a silk arm shield in the Spanish national colours bearing the word “España” on the right sleeve and, in many cases, the continued wearing of the blue Falange shirt or the red Carlist beret beneath or in place of standard headgear. The division was restructured from the Spanish four-regiment model to the standard German three-regiment organization to facilitate integration into the Wehrmacht supply system. The infantry regiments received the designations 262., 263., and 269. Infanterie-Regiment, supported by an artillery regiment and various independent units and services. Spanish military justice and certain internal police functions remained under Spanish control, in accordance with agreements reached between the two governments.

Training was intensive but abbreviated. German expectations of rapid deployment, combined with the high proportion of veterans of the Spanish Civil War among the volunteers, led to a compressed schedule of roughly two to five weeks rather than the longer period originally envisaged. The men adapted to German drill, marching discipline, and weapons handling while living in the camp’s two-storey barracks built in a style reminiscent of Bavarian architecture.

The formal swearing-in ceremony that sealed the division’s incorporation into the Wehrmacht took place on 31 July 1941 on the instruction field known as Kramemberg (sometimes rendered Kramerbrg in contemporary accounts). The entire division formed up for the occasion, accompanied by a German company of honour. Presiding over the event were the Spanish commander, General Agustín Muñoz Grandes, together with his staff; Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm, representing the German high command as Chef der Heeresrüstung und Befehlshaber des Ersatzheeres; and General der Artillerie Dr.phil. Friedrich von Cochenhausen, who acted as the officer in charge of the ceremony. The Spanish and German national flags stood side by side.

The proceedings began with a Catholic field mass, reflecting the predominantly Catholic character of the Spanish volunteers. After the religious service came the central act: the oath of allegiance. At the insistence of the Spanish authorities, the standard Wehrmacht formula of personal loyalty to Adolf Hitler was modified to limit the obligation to the struggle against communism. General von Cochenhausen first read the oath in German:

“Schwörst Du vor Gott und bei Deiner Ehre als Spanier, dem Obersten Befehlshaber der Deutschen Wehrmacht, Adolf Hitler, im Kampf gegen den Kommunismus unbedingten Gehorsam entgegenzubringen und schwörst Du, als tapferer Soldat zu kämpfen, der jederzeit bereit ist, sein Leben in Erfüllung dieses Eides hinzugeben?”

Colonel José María Troncoso then repeated the text in Spanish:

“¿Juráis ante Dios y por vuestro honor de españoles, absoluta obediencia al jefe de las Fuerzas Armadas alemanas, Adolf Hitler, en la lucha contra el comunismo, y juráis combatir como valientes soldados, dispuestos a dar vuestra vida en cada instante por cumplir este juramento?”

The assembled ranks raised their right arms in the Fascist salute and answered with a collective “¡Sí, juro!” or “Yes, I swear.” Muñoz Grandes himself took the oath separately, adding the emphatic Spanish declaration: “Lo que un español jura, lo cumple o muere” (“What a Spaniard swears, he fulfils or dies”).

Contemporary accounts describe the atmosphere as one of solemn intensity. One participant later recalled the emotional impact of thousands of voices answering as one. After the oath, Muñoz Grandes addressed the division, declaring that the volunteers had sworn to die rather than allow Bolshevism to continue its work of destruction, and instructing that the Führer be informed of their readiness and their determination to keep their word.

A second, smaller ceremony took place on 3 August for those who had not yet sworn. With the formalities completed and the brief period of intensive training concluded, the 250. Infanterie-Division was considered ready for active service. Movement toward the front began in the second half of August 1941. The division travelled by rail and then on foot through Poland and into the Soviet Union, eventually being assigned to the northern sector of the Eastern Front near Leningrad and the Volkhov River.

The Grafenwöhr ceremony of 31 July 1941 marked the official transformation of the Spanish volunteer formation into a unit of the German army. It formalized a carefully negotiated arrangement in which Spanish volunteers fought under German operational command while retaining certain national characteristics in justice, pay, and internal administration. The modified wording of the oath underscored the anti-communist motivation that Spanish authorities emphasized, distinguishing the commitment from a broader personal allegiance. In the months and years that followed, the division would see hard fighting in the frozen landscapes of northern Russia, earning a reputation for tenacity even as it operated far from home under foreign command. The events at Grafenwöhr remain a defining moment in the short but intense history of the División Azul.

Source :
https://www.ebay.com/itm/305590004014
https://www.worldmilitariaforum.com/forums/topic/320832-the-m18-helmet-worn-during-the-war/

Ritterkreuzträger of 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend"

The 12. SS-Panzer-Division “Hitlerjugend” was ordered formed in early 1943 from volunteers of the Hitlerjugend born in 1926, with a cadre of experienced officers and NCOs drawn mainly from the 1. SS-Panzer-Division “Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler.” Officially established as a Panzergrenadier-Division on 20 July 1943 and redesignated a full Panzer-Division on 30 October 1943, it trained at Beverloo in Belgium under its first commander SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Witt and reached a strength of over 20,000 men by the spring of 1944. Equipped with Panzer IV and Panther tanks of SS-Panzer-Regiment 12 together with SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 and SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26, the division was transferred to Normandy in March 1944 as part of I. SS-Panzerkorps. It entered combat on 7 June 1944 north-west of Caen, launching determined counter-attacks against Canadian and British forces around Buron, Authie and Putot-en-Bessin. After Witt was killed by naval gunfire on 14 June, command passed to SS-Standartenführer Kurt Meyer, under whom the division fought stubbornly in the defence of Caen and later helped keep the Falaise pocket open long enough for thousands of German troops to escape. Severely depleted, the remnants were withdrawn and rebuilt before taking part in the Ardennes offensive in December 1944 under SS-Brigadeführer Hugo Kraas. In early 1945 the division was transferred to Hungary, where it fought in Operation Frühlingserwachen and the subsequent retreat through Austria, finally surrendering to the 7th US Army on 8 May 1945 near the Enns river. Throughout its existence the division’s youthful but fanatical rank-and-file, led by battle-hardened veterans, earned a reputation for tenacious defence while also being responsible for several war crimes against civilians and prisoners.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


SS-Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer (1910-1961) was born on 23 December 1910 in Jerxheim to a working-class family and joined the Hitlerjugend in 1925, the NSDAP in 1930 and the SS in 1931 before transferring to the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler in 1934 as SS-Untersturmführer. He commanded the 14. Panzerabwehr-Kompanie during the Polish campaign, receiving both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, and later led the SS-Aufklärungs-Abteilung of the Leibstandarte through the Western campaign and the Balkans. On 18 May 1941 he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes as SS-Sturmbannführer for the bold capture of the Klisura Pass and the subsequent cutting-off of Greek forces near Kastoria during the Greek campaign. On the Eastern Front his reconnaissance battalion fought in Operation Barbarossa and the Third Battle of Kharkov; for a series of aggressive thrusts that shattered Soviet cavalry formations and blocked enemy withdrawal routes east of Kharkov he received the Eichenlaub on 23 February 1943 as SS-Obersturmbannführer, the 195th award. In mid-1943 he became Kommandeur of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 in the newly formed 12. SS-Panzer-Division “Hitlerjugend”. After the death of SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Witt on 14 June 1944 he assumed command of the division itself, becoming one of the youngest divisional commanders in the German forces. For his determined leadership of the heavily outnumbered division in the bitter defensive battles around Caen and during the breakout from the Falaise pocket he was awarded the Schwerter on 27 August 1944 as SS-Standartenführer, the 91st award, and promoted to SS-Oberführer and later SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS. Captured near Namur on 6 September 1944, he was later convicted of war crimes related to the shooting of Canadian prisoners, had his death sentence commuted, and was released in 1954; he died of a heart attack in Hagen on his fifty-first birthday, 23 December 1961.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_SS_Panzer_Division_Hitlerjugend

Ritterkreuzträger of 57. Infanterie-Division

The 57. Infanterie-Division was formed on 26 August 1939 in Landshut within Wehrkreis VII as a 2. Welle unit, initially consisting of Infanterie-Regiment 179, Infanterie-Regiment 199 (later known as “List”), Infanterie-Regiment 217, Artillerie-Regiment 157 and various supporting Abteilung with the number 157. During the Polish campaign it advanced over the Lupkow and Dukla passes, crossed the San and fought near Lemberg, Sambor and Grodek before being withdrawn as OKH-Reserve to the Hanau area. In the Westfeldzug of 1940 the division advanced through Luxembourg and Belgium, captured Abbeville and held the Somme bridgehead, where it claimed the destruction of 136 enemy tanks, then continued to Le Havre and later performed coastal defence duties in Normandy. Transferred eastward, it crossed the Bug near Sokal on 22 June 1941 as part of Heeresgruppe Süd, fought through the Stalin Line and the Uman pocket, took part in the capture of Kharkov and conducted defensive battles along the Donets. In summer 1942 it advanced to the Don and held the Voronezh bridgehead through the winter of 1942–43 under commanders such as Generalleutnant Oskar Blümm and General der Infanterie Friedrich Siebert. After heavy fighting near Belgorod and during the retreat to the Dnieper the division was encircled in the Cherkassy pocket in early 1944, suffering severe losses during the breakout across the Gniloi Tikitsch under Generalmajor Adolf Trowitz. Partially rebuilt at Debica with elements of Korps-Abteilung B and redesignated units including Grenadier-Regiment 164, Grenadier-Regiment 199 “List” and Grenadier-Regiment 217, it was rushed to the Mogilev sector of Heeresgruppe Mitte. There it was destroyed during Operation Bagration in June–July 1944 while trying to escape the Bobruisk pocket; the remnants were formed into Divisions-Gruppe 57 of Korps-Abteilung G and the division itself was officially dissolved by the OKH on 3 August 1944.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


Oberst der Reserve Alfons König (1898-1944) was born on 29 December 1898 in Munich and served as a Kriegsfreiwilliger in a Bavarian Gebirgs-Infanterie-Bataillon during the First World War before leaving the army in 1928 as a Feldwebel. Reactivated in 1937 as Leutnant der Reserve, he became Chef of the 6. Kompanie in Infanterie-Regiment 199 in 1939 and led it through the Polish and Western campaigns. On 21 December 1940 he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes as Oberleutnant der Reserve for his determined defence against strong enemy armoured attacks directed at the Abbeville bridgehead position in early June 1940. At the start of the campaign in the East he was Hauptmann and Kommandeur of the III. Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 217 (later Grenadier-Regiment 217). During the evacuation of Voronezh in the winter of 1942 his battalion broke through Soviet encirclement attempts three times over nine days of fierce fighting, enabling the Kampfgruppe to rejoin friendly lines after three weeks of combat, for which he was awarded the Eichenlaub on 21 February 1943 as the 194th recipient. Promoted to Oberstleutnant der Reserve by the end of 1943 and appointed Kommandeur of Grenadier-Regiment 199 “List” in November of that year, he distinguished himself in the defensive and withdrawal battles of 1943–44 along the middle Dnieper and in the Cherkassy pocket. In one critical action during a river crossing, when the German security line had already been breached, he formed a new front with his weak forces and held it against every Soviet attack until the entire division had crossed, only then withdrawing with the last remaining men; for this and his overall performance he received the Schwerter on 9 June 1944 as the 70th recipient. König was killed in action on 8 July 1944 near Rogatschew during the fighting in the Bobruisk pocket amid Operation Bagration and was posthumously promoted to Oberst der Reserve.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/57th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)