Ritterkreuzträger of 299. Infanterie-Division

The 299. Infanterie-Division was established on 9 February 1940 as part of the eighth mobilization wave in Wehrkreis IX, drawing personnel primarily from Hessen and Thüringen. Its initial combat structure consisted of Infanterie-Regiment 528, Infanterie-Regiment 529, Infanterie-Regiment 530, Artillerie-Regiment 299, and divisional support units. During the Western Campaign in May 1940, it operated in northern France under Generalleutnant Willi Moser, who served as its first commander until late 1942. In June 1941, the division joined Operation Barbarossa with Heeresgruppe Süd, advancing through Ukraine, breaching the Stalin Line near Nowograd-Wolynskij, and capturing Kiev. It subsequently redeployed to Heeresgruppe Mitte, participating in exhausting engagements near Orel, Kursk, and Gomel, during which its infantry regiments were redesignated as Grenadier-Regimenter. Commanding officers throughout these bloody Eastern Front campaigns included Generalleutnant Hans Bergen and Generalleutnant Ralph Graf von Oriola. In June 1944, during the Soviet Operation Bagration near Vitebsk and Minsk, the division was annihilated, leading to its remnants being incorporated into Korps-Abteilung G. Officially reconstituted as 299. Infanterie-Division on 1 September 1944, the unit saw action along the Narew River in Poland under Generalmajor Karl Göbel before retreating into Ostpreußen. In February and March 1945, the division was shattered in the Heiligenbeil pocket, with remnants disbanding near Danzig. Dozens of its soldiers earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes and Deutsches Kreuz in Gold, marking its extensive, devastating combat path.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberst Hans Fritsche (1909-1993) was born on 24 June 1909 in Tillowitz, Silesia, and joined the Schutzpolizei in 1928 before transferring to the Wehrmacht as Unterfeldwebel on 1 October 1935. Assigned to Infanterie-Regiment 30 and later Infanterie-Regiment 528, he served as Adjutant of the II. Bataillon during the Westfeldzug and was promoted to Oberleutnant as Chef of the 8. Kompanie in October 1940. From June 1941 he led his company on the Eastern Front and was promoted to Hauptmann in February 1942. On 1 October 1942 he took command of the II. Bataillon of Grenadier-Regiment 528 of the 299. Infanterie-Division. During fighting southeast of Orel near Stara Iwanowka in the Liwny area he was deployed against Soviet forces that had penetrated a neighbouring sector; through swift independent action and repeated counterattacks he held off two Soviet rifle regiments for an entire day, preventing a breakthrough and stabilising the flank. For this achievement he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 10 March 1943 as Hauptmann and Kommandeur of the II./Grenadier-Regiment 528. Promoted to Major and appointed Kommandeur of the I. Bataillon, he distinguished himself again during the summer defensive battles around Orel in 1943 by repeatedly eliminating strong enemy penetrations with small forces while leading from the front. These leadership successes earned him the Eichenlaub on 2 October 1943 as Major and Kommandeur of the I./Grenadier-Regiment 528 (307th award). He later commanded Grenadier-Regiment 528 and from July 1944 Grenadier-Regiment 11, reaching the rank of Oberst in January 1945. Captured by American forces in May 1945 and released in June, he died on 27 May 1993 in Hanau.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/299th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of 98. Infanterie-Division

The 98. Infanterie-Division was mobilized in Wehrkreis XIII during the fifth mobilization wave in September 1939 under Generalmajor Erich Schröck, originally drawing its personnel primarily from Franconia and the Sudetenland. Assigned initially to reserve roles in the west, the division took part in the campaign in France in 1940, advancing through the Somme and Aisne before settling into occupation duties. In June 1941, under Generalleutnant Erich Schröck, the unit was transferred east for Operation Barbarossa, serving under Heeresgruppe Süd in the push across Ukraine toward Kiev. Reassigned to Heeresgruppe Mitte in autumn 1941, the division participated in the advance on Moscow, where it endured heavy casualties, bitter cold, and severe Soviet counteroffensives near Maloyaroslavets and the Vyazma salient. Throughout 1942 and early 1943, under commanders such as Generalleutnant Martin Gareis, the division remained engaged in grueling defensive and anti-partisan operations in central Russia, suffering catastrophic losses among its regiments, Infanterie-Regiment 282, 289, and 290. In spring 1943, it was relocated south to the Kuban bridgehead, fighting stubborn withdrawal actions across the Taman Peninsula before being pushed into the Crimea. By late 1943 and early 1944, elements fought encircled at Kerch and Sevastopol under Generalleutnant Alfred-Hermann Reinhardt; those who evaded capture were evacuated by sea to Romania. Rebuilt in Croatia during the summer of 1944 as a modern division under Generalleutnant Otto-Ernst Flickenschildt, it was transferred to Italy under Heeresgruppe C. There it fought along the Gothic Line, defending the Senio River and the plains around Bologna until finally surrendering to Allied forces near Lake Garda in early May 1945.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


Generalleutnant Alfred-Hermann Reinhardt (1897-1973) was born on 15 November 1897 in Affalterbach, Württemberg, and enlisted as a Kriegsfreiwilliger in the 5. Württembergisches Grenadier-Regiment „König Karl“ Nr. 123 on 7 January 1916. He fought on the Western Front, earning both classes of the Iron Cross and the Württemberg Military Merit Medal, and left the army as Leutnant in 1920 to join the Württembergische Polizei. Transferred to the Heer as Hauptmann in 1935, he rose to Oberstleutnant by 1940 and commanded the III./Infanterie-Regiment 480 during the Battle of France. In July 1941 he took command of Infanterie-Regiment 421 of the 125. Infanterie-Division; for leading the capture of Tarassowka on 20 September 1941 that sealed the Kiev pocket he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 December 1941 as Oberstleutnant. Promoted to Oberst, he later commanded the redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 421. On 25–26 July 1943, during the Kuban bridgehead battles, he counter-attacked a Soviet breakthrough between Dolgaja-Berg and Neberdshajewskaja, restoring the German line along the Kamm river and preventing the collapse of the bridgehead; for this he was awarded the Eichenlaub on 28 September 1943 as Oberst (306th award). Appointed Kommandeur of the 98. Infanterie-Division on 1 February 1944, he led it through the Crimean retreat and its reformation in Croatia, then in the defence of the Adriatic coast near Rimini and Bologna. For the division’s outstanding defensive performance in late summer and autumn 1944 he was promoted to Generalleutnant and received the Schwerter on 24 December 1944 (118th award). Captured in May 1945, he was released in 1948 and died on 15 January 1973 in Öhringen.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/98th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of 9. SS-Panzer-Division "Hohenstaufen"

Formed in February 1943 in France and named after the imperial Germanic Hohenstaufen dynasty, the 9. SS-Panzer-Division "Hohenstaufen" was an elite armoured formation of the Waffen-SS that fought extensively on both the Eastern and Western Fronts of World War II. Initially organized as a Panzergrenadier division under SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm Bittrich before being upgraded to a full Panzer division in October 1943, its ranks were filled by young German conscripts stiffened by a veteran cadre from the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. The division entered combat in March 1944 on the Eastern Front, spearheading the successful relief operation for encircled Axis troops in the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket under the II. SS-Panzerkorps. Rushed to Normandy following the Allied invasion in June 1944, the unit engaged in savage defensive clashes around Caen, Hill 112, and the Falaise pocket under the leadership of commanders including SS-Standartenführer Thomas Müller and SS-Oberführer Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock. While resting and refitting in the Netherlands, it played an instrumental role alongside SS-Obersturmbannführer Walter Harzer in defeating Allied airborne forces during Operation Market Garden at Arnhem in September 1944. Later commanded by SS-Brigadeführer Sylvester Stadler, the division participated in the Ardennes Offensive before being transferred east to Hungary in early 1945 for Operation Frühlingserwachen near Lake Balaton. After suffering heavy attrition against Soviet counter-offensives and staging fighting retreats into Austria, the battered remnants of the division ultimately surrendered to the United States Army near Steyr on 8 May 1945.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


SS-Brigadeführer Sylvester Stadler (1910-1995) was born on 30 December 1910 in Fohnsdorf, Styria, Austria-Hungary, the son of a miner, and trained as an electrical engineer before joining the NSDAP and SS in May 1933 with SS-Nr. 139.495. After attending the SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz he rose through the ranks of the SS-Verfügungstruppe, serving as a company commander in the early campaigns in Poland, France—where he was wounded near Arras—and the Balkans, then on the Eastern Front. From March 1942 he commanded the II. Bataillon of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment “Der Führer” in the 2. SS-Panzer-Division “Das Reich”. On 1–2 March 1943 near Jefremowka during the recapture of Kharkov he independently launched a night assault with assault guns, capturing the fortified town, destroying twelve tanks and numerous guns, and enabling the encirclement of Soviet forces; for this he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 6 April 1943 as SS-Sturmbannführer. Appointed Kommandeur of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 4 “Der Führer” in May 1943, he distinguished himself again on 22 August 1943 at Korotitsch during the Fourth Battle of Kharkov by holding a key village against repeated tank and infantry assaults, closing a six-kilometre gap and preventing the encirclement of German divisions around Kharkov, earning the Eichenlaub on 16 September 1943 as SS-Obersturmbannführer (303rd award). He later commanded the 9. SS-Panzer-Division “Hohenstaufen” from July 1944 through Normandy, Arnhem, the Ardennes and Hungary, rising to SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS. Although recommended for the Schwerter and claimed to have received it on 6 May 1945, no formal confirmation of the award has been found. He surrendered in Austria in May 1945, was interned until 1948, and died on 23 August 1995 in Königsbrunn.

Source :
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/9._SS-Panzer-Division_%E2%80%9EHohenstaufen%E2%80%9C

Ritterkreuzträger of 7. Flieger-Division / 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division

The 7. Flieger-Division was formed on 1 September 1938 in Berlin under Generalleutnant Kurt Student to consolidate all Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger units for secrecy as Germany’s first airborne division; it was redesignated 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division on 1 May 1943. Initially comprising two Fallschirmjäger-Regimenter and later expanded to three plus supporting artillery, pioneer, anti-tank and flak elements, the division first saw action in Unternehmen Weserübung in April 1940, seizing airfields in Denmark and Norway. In May 1940 during the invasion of the Low Countries its troops captured the fortress of Eben-Emael by glider assault and secured key bridges and airfields in the Netherlands, though the assault on The Hague incurred heavy aircraft and personnel losses. In May 1941 the division spearheaded Unternehmen Merkur, the airborne invasion of Crete, capturing the island after fierce fighting and severe casualties that led Hitler to restrict large-scale parachute operations thereafter. Transferred to the Eastern Front near Leningrad and Smolensk in 1941–42 and later to France for training for a cancelled Malta invasion, elements also fought in North Africa. As 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division under General der Fallschirmtruppe Richard Heidrich it deployed to Sicily in July 1943, then fought throughout the Italian Campaign, distinguishing itself in the defence of Ortona, the Winter Line and especially at Monte Cassino from February to May 1944, where it earned a reputation for tenacious resistance before withdrawing north of Rome. Later engaged along the Adriatic and Senio River, the division retreated toward the Po and the Alps until the German surrender in Italy on 2 May 1945 under Generalmajor Karl-Lothar Schulz.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


Generaloberst Kurt Student (1890-1978) was born on 12 May 1890 in Birkholz in the Prussian province of Brandenburg and died on 1 July 1978 in Lemgo, West Germany. Entering the Prussian Army as a Fähnrich in 1910, he was commissioned Leutnant in 1911, qualified as a pilot in 1913 and during the First World War scored six aerial victories while commanding Jagdstaffel 9. After the war he remained in the Reichswehr, studied gliding and observed Soviet airborne exercises. When the Luftwaffe was re-established he transferred to it and in 1938 was appointed commander of airborne forces and of the 7. Flieger-Division, Germany’s first Fallschirmjäger formation. In the Western Campaign of May 1940 his troops seized the fortress of Eben-Emael with a small glider force and captured vital bridges and airfields in the Netherlands; for these successes Student, then Generalleutnant and Kommandeur of the 7. Flieger-Division, received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 12 May 1940. Wounded in the head at Rotterdam, he returned to duty in 1941 as Kommandierender General of the XI. Fliegerkorps and directed Unternehmen Merkur, the airborne invasion of Crete, the last major German parachute operation of the war. In September 1943, as General der Flieger commanding the XI. Fliegerkorps, he ordered the planning of Unternehmen Eiche, the glider-borne rescue of Mussolini from Gran Sasso, and for the overall performance of his forces in the Mediterranean that summer—including Sicily, the disarmament of Italian units around Rome and the Mussolini operation—he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 27 September 1943 as the 305th recipient. Later he commanded the 1. Fallschirm-Armee and briefly Heeresgruppe H, reaching the rank of Generaloberst in 1944. Captured in 1945, he was tried in 1947 for war crimes committed by his men on Crete, convicted on three counts relating to prisoners of war and sentenced to five years, but released in 1948.

Source :
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Fliegerdivision/Fliegerdiv7.htm

Ritterkreuzträger of Sturm-Division Rhodos

The Sturm-Division Rhodos was a German Army formation of the Wehrmacht established on 31 May 1943 on the Italian-occupied Greek island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese during the Second World War, drawing primarily upon elements of the 22. Infanterie-Division transferred from Crete, remnants of the 164. Infanterie-Division and 999. leichte Afrika-Division that had been unable to reach Tunisia, together with existing fortress troops already stationed on Rhodes and other Aegean islands. Despite its designation as a division, the unit never exceeded brigade strength and was equipped mainly with light weapons, though it incorporated motorized and armoured elements including the Grenadier-Regiment Rhodos (also known unofficially as Sturm-Regiment Rhodos), the Panzer-Abteilung Rhodos with Panzer IV tanks and assault guns, the Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 999, an artillery detachment drawn from the 999. Artillerie-Regiment, a Fla-Kompanie Rhodos, a Pionier-Kompanie and supporting signals and supply units. Command was assumed by Generalleutnant Ulrich Kleemann, who established headquarters at Campochiaro and conducted intensive training near Italian defensive positions. Following the announcement of the Italian armistice on 8 September 1943, Generalleutnant Kleemann ordered a surprise offensive against the larger Italian garrison beginning on 9 September; after brief but intense fighting the Germans secured control of the island by 11 September, disarming and internment of tens of thousands of Italian troops and thereby forestalling British plans to seize Rhodes as the key to the Dodecanese. The division thereafter performed occupation, coastal defence and security duties under the direct subordination of Heeresgruppe E while remaining on constant alert against possible Allied landings. In September 1944 larger portions of the infantry, stripped of heavy equipment, were airlifted by Ju 52 transports via Saloniki to the Belgrade area, where they were incorporated into the newly formed Panzergrenadier-Division Brandenburg and suffered heavy losses in subsequent fighting against Soviet and partisan forces; the divisional staff was used to reconstitute the IV. Panzerkorps. The residual garrison remaining on Rhodes came under the authority of the Kommandant Ost-Ägäis, Generalmajor Otto Wagener, and continued defensive duties until the final capitulation to British forces on 9 May 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


General der Panzertruppe Ulrich Kleemann (1892-1963) was born on 23 March 1892 in Langensalza and entered military service in October 1911 as Fahnenjunker in the 2. Badische Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 21. He fought in the First World War as Leutnant, suffering wounds in 1915, and ended the conflict as Oberleutnant and regimental adjutant, receiving both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz. Remaining in the Reichswehr, he advanced through cavalry units, becoming Major in 1933, Oberstleutnant in 1936 and Oberst in 1938 while commanding Schützen-Regiment 3 of the 3. Panzer-Division. In the Second World War he led this regiment in the Polish campaign of 1939 before taking command of the 3. Schützen-Brigade for the 1940 Western campaign and the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. As Oberst and commander of the 3. Schützen-Brigade he earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 13 October 1941 for outstanding leadership south of Smolensk, where his Kampfgruppe successfully crossed the rivers Ssosh, Iput and Desna, forestalling Soviet defensive lines and later helping seal the Kiev pocket near Lochwiza. Promoted Generalmajor, he commanded the 90. leichte Afrika-Division in North Africa from April to November 1942, distinguishing himself in operations around El Adem, Marsa Matruh and the First Battle of El Alamein until severely wounded by a mine. After recovery he took charge of the newly formed Sturm-Division Rhodos in May 1943 and was promoted Generalleutnant. Following Italy’s capitulation he directed the rapid disarmament of the far larger Italian garrison on Rhodes, capturing its commander and securing the island within two days against potential Allied intervention; these decisive actions, accomplished despite numerical inferiority and logistical difficulties, prevented British occupation of key Aegean positions and earned him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 16 September 1943 as the 304th recipient. Later he commanded Panzerkorps Feldherrnhalle on the Eastern Front from late 1944, fighting in Hungary until the corps was destroyed at Budapest. Captured by American forces in 1945 and released in 1947, Kleemann reached the rank of General der Panzertruppe and died on 1 January 1963 in Oberursel.

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

Ritterkreuzträger of 340. Infanterie-Division / 340. Volksgrenadier-Division

The 340. Infanterie-Division was formed on 16 November 1940 in the area of Schleswig within Wehrkreis X as a static division of the 14. Aufstellungswelle, drawing personnel and units from elements of the 68. Infanterie-Division, the 170. Infanterie-Division and one battalion of the 290. Infanterie-Division. After initial training near Hamburg it was deployed in June 1941 to northern France around Calais for occupation and coastal defence duties under the 15. Armee. In May 1942 the division transferred to the Eastern Front and was subordinated to Heeresgruppe Süd, taking part in operations with the 4. Panzerarmee near Kiev before fighting under the 2. Armee in the Voronezh sector from August 1942 to January 1943 and later around Kursk in March 1943 as part of the XIII. Armeekorps. Severe losses during the autumn 1943 retreats through the Ukraine from Kiev via Zhitomir to Vinnitsa reduced its strength drastically; remnants of the destroyed 377. Infanterie-Division were absorbed, yet the division still numbered only about 7,200 men, and further incorporation of Divisionsgruppe 327 from the shattered 327. Infanterie-Division occurred in November 1943. By early 1944 trench strength had fallen below 300 men, prompting temporary withdrawal, rebuilding and return to the front in February 1944. Although it escaped one encirclement near Brody in April, the division was largely destroyed during the Soviet Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive in the Brody Pocket in July 1944 and formally dissolved by OKH order in August 1944. Surviving cadres helped form the 572. Volksgrenadier-Division in Wehrkreis XX at Thorn, which on 15 September 1944 was redesignated the 340. Volksgrenadier-Division under Generalleutnant Theodor Tolsdorff. Its organisation comprised Grenadier-Regiment 694, Grenadier-Regiment 695 and Grenadier-Regiment 696 together with Artillerie-Regiment 340, a Divisions-Füsilier-Kompanie, Panzerjäger-Abteilung 340, Pionier-Bataillon 340 and supporting elements; manpower included roughly 1,500 men from the Kriegsmarine, 2,200 from the Luftwaffe, convalescents and limited veterans of the old division. After reaching combat readiness the 340. Volksgrenadier-Division moved west and fought in the Ardennes Offensive of December 1944, participating in the battles around Bastogne as part of the I. SS-Panzerkorps under the LXXX. Armeekorps commanded by General der Infanterie Franz Beyer. Subsequent defensive actions followed with the XIII. Armeekorps in the Eifel and between the Rhine and Ruhr before the division was finally destroyed in the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945, its remaining staff contributing to the short-lived Division Scharnhorst. Earlier commanders of the 340. Infanterie-Division had included Generalleutnant Friedrich-Wilhelm Neumann, Generalleutnant Viktor Koch, Generalleutnant Otto Butze, Generalleutnant Josef Prinner, Generalleutnant Werner Ehrig and Generalmajor Otto Beutler.

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BRILLANTENTRÄGER

Generalleutnant Theodor Tolsdorff (1909-1978), born on 3 November 1909 at Estate Lehnarten in East Prussia, joined the Infanterie-Regiment 1 of the Reichswehr in Insterburg as a Schütze in 1934 and rose rapidly through the ranks of the Wehrmacht Heer. Promoted to Leutnant in 1936 and Oberleutnant in 1938, he commanded the 14. (Panzerjäger-)Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment 22 in the 1. Infanterie-Division during the invasions of Poland and France. On the Eastern Front, as Oberleutnant and acting commander of II./Infanterie-Regiment 22, he earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 December 1941 by leading a counterattack with hastily assembled reserves against a Soviet breakthrough from the Vyborgsskaja bridgehead, regaining the line despite being wounded three times. As Major and Kommandeur of I. Bataillon, Füsilier-Regiment 22, he received the Eichenlaub on 15 September 1943 for holding his sector for fourteen days and restoring neighboring positions during the Third Battle of Lake Ladoga through personal frontline leadership. In July 1944, as Oberstleutnant commanding Grenadier-Regiment 1067 and Kampfgruppe Tolsdorff, he broke through to the encircled garrison of Vilnius, rescued a field hospital with three thousand wounded, defended the city against overwhelming Soviet and Polish forces, and facilitated the breakout, earning the Schwerter on 18 July 1944 and the nickname Löwe von Wilna while being promoted to Oberst. Appointed Kommandeur of the 340. Volksgrenadier-Division, he led it in the Ardennes offensive, seizing and holding a vital river crossing, then conducted an orderly retreat through the Eifel, for which he received the Brillanten on 18 March 1945 as Generalmajor and was promoted to Generalleutnant, one of the youngest in the Heer, later commanding the LXXXII. Armeekorps. Wounded fourteen times in total, Tolsdorff surrendered in May 1945, was released in 1947, and died in Dortmund on 25 May 1978.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/340th_Volksgrenadier_Division

Ritterkreuzträger of Independent Infanterie Units

Independent Wehrmacht Infanterie units comprised various Infanterie-Regimenter and Infanterie-Bataillone operating outside the organic structure of standard Infanterie-Divisionen, frequently as Heerestruppen allocated by higher commands for specialized tasks such as static fortress defense, rear-area security, or temporary operational requirements. While the majority of Infanterie-Regimenter formed the core of Infanterie-Divisionen and typically included three Infanterie-Bataillone each containing three Schützenkompanien and one Maschinengewehr-Kompanie, supplemented by a thirteenth Infanteriegeschütz-Kompanie and a fourteenth Panzerjäger-Kompanie under the overall command of an Oberst, independent formations diverged in composition and employment. Festungs-Infanterie-Regimenter and Festungs-Regiments-Stäbe directed multiple Festungs-Infanterie-Bataillone, which were raised particularly from August 1944 onward and numbered in the 1400 series, consisting of a Stab with Stabs-Kompanie plus three or four Schützenkompanien or three Schützenkompanien with one schwere Kompanie, manned largely by Landesschützen personnel and equipped primarily with Gewehre, Pistolen, schwere Maschinengewehre, and 8-cm Granatwerfer for the defense of fixed positions along the Westwall, coastal sectors, or Eastern Front festungen. Selbständige Infanterie-Bataillone z.b.V., including Bewährungsbataillone such as Infanterie-Bataillon z.b.V. 500 and various Sturm-Bataillone attached to Armeen or Panzer-Armeen, served as flexible Heerestruppen for assault duties or penal service, often under a Major as Bataillonskommandeur with Hauptleute leading the Kompanien. These independent units retained traditional ranks and designations in the original language even after the 1942 redesignation of many Infanterie elements as Grenadier-Regimenter and Grenadier-Bataillone, and they were frequently sub-allotted temporarily to field divisions or corps for specific operations while remaining administratively independent, reflecting the Wehrmacht’s adaptive use of infantry resources amid evolving wartime demands.

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VERSTÄRKTES GRENADIER-REGIMENT 1067


Generalleutnant Theodor Tolsdorff (1909-1978), born on 3 November 1909 at Estate Lehnarten in East Prussia, joined the Infanterie-Regiment 1 of the Reichswehr in Insterburg as a Schütze in 1934 and rose rapidly through the ranks of the Wehrmacht Heer. Promoted to Leutnant in 1936 and Oberleutnant in 1938, he commanded the 14. (Panzerjäger-)Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment 22 in the 1. Infanterie-Division during the invasions of Poland and France. On the Eastern Front, as Oberleutnant and acting commander of II./Infanterie-Regiment 22, he earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 December 1941 by leading a counterattack with hastily assembled reserves against a Soviet breakthrough from the Vyborgsskaja bridgehead, regaining the line despite being wounded three times. As Major and Kommandeur of I. Bataillon, Füsilier-Regiment 22, he received the Eichenlaub on 15 September 1943 for holding his sector for fourteen days and restoring neighboring positions during the Third Battle of Lake Ladoga through personal frontline leadership. In July 1944, as Oberstleutnant commanding Grenadier-Regiment 1067 and Kampfgruppe Tolsdorff, he broke through to the encircled garrison of Vilnius, rescued a field hospital with three thousand wounded, defended the city against overwhelming Soviet and Polish forces, and facilitated the breakout, earning the Schwerter on 18 July 1944 and the nickname Löwe von Wilna while being promoted to Oberst. Appointed Kommandeur of the 340. Volksgrenadier-Division, he led it in the Ardennes offensive, seizing and holding a vital river crossing, then conducted an orderly retreat through the Eifel, for which he received the Brillanten on 18 March 1945 as Generalmajor and was promoted to Generalleutnant, one of the youngest in the Heer, later commanding the LXXXII. Armeekorps. Wounded fourteen times in total, Tolsdorff surrendered in May 1945, was released in 1947, and died in Dortmund on 25 May 1978.

Source :
https://ww2-history.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Heer_Units

Ritterkreuzträger of Artillerie (Artillery)

German artillery formed the backbone of Wehrmacht fire support throughout the Second World War, remaining the primary cause of battlefield casualties despite the popular focus on Panzers and aircraft. At the outbreak of hostilities each Infanterie-Division fielded an Artillerie-Regiment consisting of three leichte Abteilungen equipped with the 10,5 cm leFH 18 light field howitzer and one schwere Abteilung armed with the 15 cm sFH 18 heavy field howitzer, for a total of thirty-six light and twelve heavy pieces. These guns, horse-drawn in most formations, provided the continuous barrage needed to break enemy resistance during the Polish campaign of 1939 and the rapid advances through France in 1940. On the Eastern Front from 1941 onward the same Artillerie-Regimenter faced immense challenges of distance, mud and extreme cold; batteries under the command of an Oberst or Oberstleutnant were frequently attached to individual Infanterie-Regimenter for close support, while Heeresartillerie units of the general headquarters pool reinforced critical sectors with additional 10 cm Kanone 18 and 21 cm Mörser 18 batteries. During the defensive battles around Voronezh in 1942 and the subsequent retreat to the Dnjepr, General der Artillerie Ernst-Eberhard Hell, commanding the VII. Armee-Korps, concentrated the fire of several Artillerie-Abteilungen to destroy nearly one thousand Soviet tanks and break through successive encirclements. In Normandy in 1944 Heeresküstenartillerie-Regimenter such as the 1261 under Oberst Gerhard Treipel and independent Abteilungen under Majore employed a mixture of German leFH 18, captured French and Soviet pieces to shell the invasion beaches for days after D-Day. Although outranged by certain Soviet guns and increasingly short of ammunition and prime movers, the crews of the Artillerie-Regimenter continued to deliver devastating concentrations until the final collapse in 1945, demonstrating the enduring tactical importance of well-directed field howitzer fire in both offensive Blitzkrieg and prolonged defensive warfare.

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HEER


General der Artillerie Siegfried Thomaschki (1894-1967) was born on 20 March 1894 in Miswalde, East Prussia, as the third child of Protestant pastor Paul Thomaschki and Elisabeth née Schucht. After graduating from the Collegium Fridericianum he entered the Imperial German Army on 4 March 1913 as Fahnenjunker in the 2. Ostpreußisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 52, was commissioned Leutnant in 1914 and served throughout the First World War as battery officer and adjutant, earning the Iron Cross Second and First Class while being wounded three times. Remaining in the Reichswehr he advanced through artillery staff and command posts, becoming Oberst and commander of Artillerie-Regiment 3 by 1939. He led the regiment in the Polish and French campaigns, then as Artillerie-Kommandeur 123 on the northern sector of the Eastern Front, receiving the German Cross in Gold. On 26 January 1942 he assumed command of the 11. Infanterie-Division, being promoted Generalmajor on 1 March 1942. Under his leadership the division stubbornly defended the Kirishi bridgehead on the east bank of the Volkhov River, a narrow foothold only four kilometres wide and two kilometres deep, against 154 Soviet assaults between 5 June and 5 September 1942; this epic defence, later nicknamed the “Verdun of the North,” earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 1 November 1942. Further masterful defensive fighting around Sinyavino in July–August 1942, during which the division was again mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht, led to the award of the Eichenlaub on 11 September 1943 while he was Generalleutnant and still commander of the 11. Infanterie-Division. He subsequently served as Höherer Artillerie-Kommandeur 303, briefly commanded Kampfgruppe Thomaschki, and from December 1944 led the X. Armeekorps in the Courland Pocket, rising to General der Artillerie on 1 March 1945. He surrendered to Soviet forces on 8 May 1945, was convicted as a war criminal and held until 1955. Thomaschki died on 31 May 1967 in Bad Neuenahr.

Source :
https://www.junobeach.org/canada-in-wwii/articles/artillery/german-artillery/

Ritterkreuzträger of 31. Infanterie-Division "Löwen-Division"

The 31. Infanterie-Division, nicknamed the Löwen-Division due to its emblem displaying the Brunswick lion, was established in October 1936 in Braunschweig within Wehrkreis XI. Mobilized in late August 1939 under Generalleutnant Rudolf Kaempfe, the formation originally consisted of Infanterie-Regiment 12, Infanterie-Regiment 17, Infanterie-Regiment 82, and Artillerie-Regiment 31. During the Polish campaign in September 1939, it breached frontier fortifications as part of XVI. Armeekorps under 10. Armee, before being transferred west in 1940 to participate in the invasion of Belgium and France through XI. Armeekorps. In June 1941, reassigned to Panzergruppe 2 under Heeresgruppe Mitte for Unternehmen Barbarossa, the division crossed the Soviet border under Generalmajor Kurt Kalmuekoff, engaging in encirclement actions around Bialystok, Minsk, and Smolensk before driving toward Moscow. Over the following winters, command shifted through several distinguished officers, including Generalmajor Gerhard Berthold, Oberst Friedrich Hoßbach, and later Generalleutnant Kurt Pflieger. The division endured brutal attritional fighting in the Rzhev salient, Orel, and Gomel, suffering heavy casualties while its subordinate infantry regiments were reorganized as Grenadier-Regimenter. In the summer of 1944, during the Soviet Operation Bagration, the unit found itself surrounded near Mogilev and was virtually annihilated alongside the remnants of 4. Armee; its commander, Generalmajor Willifrank Ochsner, went missing and fell into Soviet captivity. Officially disbanded in July 1944, its remnant personnel formed the nucleus of the newly created 31. Grenadier-Division, which fought in Courland and Prussia until final surrender.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


General der Infanterie Friedrich Hossbach (1894-1980), born on 21 November 1894 in Unna, entered the Prussian army as Fähnrich in the 2. Kurhessische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 82 on 29 October 1913 and was promoted to Leutnant in 1914. He served throughout the First World War, ending as Oberleutnant on the staff of the XVIII. Armee-Korps. Remaining in the Reichswehr after the war, he rose through the ranks and from 1934 to 1938 served as Adjutant der Wehrmacht bei Adolf Hitler, during which he authored the famous Hossbach-Niederschrift recording Hitler's expansionist plans of 5 November 1937. Dismissed in the Blomberg-Fritsch crisis for warning Werner von Fritsch of accusations against him, Hossbach returned to troop command as Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 82. During the Westfeldzug, as Oberst, on 12 June 1940 near Dieppe he personally led a rapid intervention against Allied troops embarking by sea, bringing up a Pak-Zug that forced the transports to flee and enabled the capture of about 4200 British and French soldiers along with substantial materiel; later he secured a bridgehead over the Loire. For these and other successes in the French campaign he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 7 October 1940. Promoted to Generalleutnant, he took acting command of the LVI. Panzerkorps in August 1943 and distinguished himself in defensive fighting near Spass-Demensk, along the Desna river and at Gomel, earning the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 11 September 1943 as the 298th recipient. Advanced to General der Infanterie and Kommandierender General of the LVI. Panzerkorps, he later commanded the 4. Armee from July 1944 until dismissed by Hitler in January 1945 for ordering a breakout from East Prussia against explicit orders. Surviving an assassination attempt in April 1945, he was captured by American forces, released in 1947, and died in Göttingen on 10 September 1980.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/31st_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of 10. SS-Panzer-Division "Frundsberg"

The 10. SS-Panzer-Division "Frundsberg" was a German Waffen-SS armoured division formed in early 1943, initially as SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 10 and briefly titled "Karl der Große" before receiving its permanent honor name in October 1943 after the 16th-century Landsknecht commander Georg von Frundsberg. Raised mainly from young conscripts drawn from the Reichsarbeitsdienst, the division trained in occupied France under successive commanders including SS-Standartenführer Michael Lippert, SS-Gruppenführer Lothar Debes and SS-Gruppenführer Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld. Its first combat came in April 1944 near Tarnopol in Ukraine, where it helped relieve German forces trapped in the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket. Transferred westward, the division joined the II. SS-Panzerkorps alongside the 9. SS-Panzer-Division "Hohenstaufen" and fought in Normandy from late June 1944, opposing British Operation Epsom around Caen, defending Hill 112 during Operation Jupiter, and later participating in the chaotic battles of Operation Bluecoat and the Falaise pocket, suffering heavy losses before withdrawing through Belgium. Reconstituted near Arnhem, it played a key defensive role during Operation Market Garden in September 1944, particularly around Nijmegen, again under SS-Brigadeführer Heinz Harmel, who commanded from April 1944 until late April 1945. After further fighting in Alsace during Operation Nordwind in January 1945, the division returned to the Eastern Front, engaging Soviet forces in Pomerania and Saxony. Encircled in the Halbe Pocket, remnants under SS-Obersturmbannführer Franz Roestel broke out, retreated through Moritzburg and reached the Teplice area in Czechoslovakia, where the division surrendered to American forces in May 1945. Its order of battle centred on SS-Panzer-Regiment 10, SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 21 and SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 22, supported by reconnaissance, artillery, pioneer and anti-tank units typical of a late-war SS Panzer formation.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


SS-Brigadeführer Heinz Harmel (1906-2000) was born in Metz in the German Empire as the son of a military physician and pursued a career in the armed forces from an early age, volunteering for the SS-Verfügungstruppe in 1935 as an SS-Oberscharführer in the SS-Standarte „Germania“ before becoming a company commander in the SS-Standarte „Der Führer“, with which he fought in the Battle of France in 1940, earning both classes of the Iron Cross; in 1941 he took part in the Balkans Campaign and Operation Barbarossa, assuming command of the SS-Infanterie-Regiment „Deutschland“ of the SS-Division „Das Reich“ in December of that year and receiving the German Cross in Gold on 29 November 1941 for distinguished service. As SS-Obersturmbannführer and commander of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment „Deutschland“, Harmel was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 31 March 1943 for his outstanding leadership during the fighting south of Kharkov in February 1943, when on his own initiative he personally led a reinforced battalion with a Panzer-Kompanie in a daring night assault through Pereschtschepino, annihilating a surprised Soviet regiment that left some 1500 dead, then expanding the bridgehead by capturing Dimitrijewka-Golubowka after hard combat while directing operations from an armoured radio car under anti-tank fire, actions that halted the enemy advance and enabled the subsequent attack of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division „Das Reich“ on Pawlograd. Promoted to SS-Standartenführer, he received the Eichenlaub on 7 September 1943 for his conduct on 30 July 1943 during the assault against the Soviet Mius bridgehead, where, fighting from the foremost line despite heavy minefields and flanking fire that disabled several Sturmgeschütze, he repeatedly inspired his men to capture Hill 203.9 near Stepanowka and then immediately ordered the I. Bataillon into the heavily defended village itself, continuing the advance on foot after his vehicles struck mines and ensuring a vital penetration that prevented far greater casualties. In April 1944 Harmel took command of the newly formed 10. SS-Panzer-Division „Frundsberg“, becoming one of the youngest divisional commanders in the Waffen-SS; after fighting in Normandy and the Falaise Pocket he led the division in the successful defence against the Allied airborne Operation Market Garden around Nijmegen and Arnhem in September 1944, for which, as SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS, he was awarded the Schwerter on 15 December 1944. Subsequently engaged in Alsace, Pomerania and the Oder front, he was later dismissed from command but formed an ad hoc battle group before surrendering to British forces in Austria in May 1945; after release he lived quietly in Krefeld until his death at the age of 94.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_SS_Panzer_Division_Frundsberg

Ritterkreuzträger of Nachtjagdgeschwader 100 (NJG 100)

Nachtjagdgeschwader 100 (NJG 100) was a Luftwaffe night fighter wing of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War, active from 1 August 1943 until its dissolution on 8 May 1945 following the unconditional surrender. Unlike most Geschwader, it lacked a Stab and Geschwaderkommodore, consisting instead of two independently operating Gruppen that primarily combated Soviet night raids on the Eastern Front, with a brief exception involving Unternehmen Bodenplatte in the West in 1945. The I. Gruppe was formed on 1 August 1943 at Bryansk, Orscha and related bases from elements of II.(Eis)/Nachtjagdgeschwader 5, with its 1. Staffel drawn from 12./NJG 5, the 2. Staffel newly created at Stalino, and the 3. Staffel assembled at Schatalowka from parts of 10. and 12./Zerstörergeschwader 1; successive Gruppenkommandeure included Major Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (1–5 August 1943), Major Rudolf Schoenert (to 31 December 1943), Major Alois Lechner (to 23 February 1944), Hauptmann Kurt Bonow (acting), Hauptmann Theodor Bellinghausen and finally Hauptmann August Fischer until the end. The II. Gruppe was established in June–July 1944 at Nisch in occupied Serbia from three Staffeln of Nachtjagdgeschwader 200, initially under Hauptmann Ulrich von Meien and then Major Paul Zorner from late 1944; its Staffeln operated from bases including Gross Beckereck, Malacky and Prague-Rusin. Equipped mainly with Junkers Ju 88, Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Dornier Do 217 night fighters (also using Bf 109, Fw 189 and others), the unit’s Geschwaderkennung was W7. It relocated frequently across the Eastern Front—Orscha, Baranovitschi, Hohensalza, Gerdauen, Prowehren, Danzig and Greifswald—before remnants concentrated in northern Germany and Bohemia. Notable Ritterkreuzträger included Leutnant Gustav-Eduard Francsi of I./NJG 100, Hauptmann Alois Lechner of 1./NJG 100 and Feldwebel Heinrich Wilke of II./NJG 100. Throughout its existence NJG 100 remained focused on intercepting Soviet night harassment and transport aircraft, contributing to the defence of Army Group sectors until the final collapse.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Major Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (1916-1944) was born on 14 August 1916 in Copenhagen to diplomat Gustav Alexander Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein and Walburga Freiin von Friesen. After schooling in Switzerland, Bavaria and Freiburg, where he obtained his Abitur, he joined the Hitler Youth and completed Reichsarbeitsdienst before entering the 17. Kavallerie-Regiment in Bamberg in 1937. He soon transferred to the Luftwaffe, trained at the Fliegerschule Braunschweig and was commissioned Leutnant in June 1938. As observer and later pilot with Kampfgeschwader 1 Hindenburg and Kampfgeschwader 51 Edelweiss he flew some 150 combat missions in the Battle of France, the Battle of Britain and Operation Barbarossa with Heeresgruppe Nord. In late 1941 he volunteered for the Nachtjagd and became Staffelkapitän of 9./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2. His first nocturnal victory came on the night of 6/7 May 1942. Rapid success followed; after 22 confirmed night victories he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 2 October 1942 as Hauptmann. Posted to the Eastern Front as Gruppenkommandeur of IV./Nachtjagdgeschwader 5, later redesignated I./Nachtjagdgeschwader 100, he achieved multiple victories including seven in one night near Oryol. Awarded the Eichenlaub on 31 August 1943 after 54 victories, he next commanded II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 and II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2. On 1 January 1944 he was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 and promoted Major, already holding 68 victories. On the night of 21 January 1944, flying a Ju 88 near Berlin, he shot down five British bombers, raising his total to 83 and becoming the Luftwaffe’s leading Nachtjäger. Immediately after the fifth success his aircraft was hit, the left wing caught fire and he ordered his crew to parachute; they survived while he was killed near Lübars by Stendal when his parachute failed to open. Posthumously he received the Schwerter on 23 January 1944 as the 44th recipient, in recognition of his 83 night victories.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachtjagdgeschwader_100

Ritterkreuzträger of 328. Infanterie-Division

The 328. Infanterie-Division was formed on 18 December 1941 as a so-called Walküre-Einheit of the seventeenth wave from training and replacement personnel of the Ersatzheer across Wehrkreise I, II and III, assembling initially at Mielau with Infanterie-Regiment 547, Infanterie-Regiment 548 and Infanterie-Regiment 549, each of two battalions, plus Artillerie-Regiment 328 with two detachments and supporting Divisionseinheiten 328. Under successive commanders Generalleutnant Albert Fett, Generalleutnant Wilhelm Behrens and then Generalleutnant Joachim von Tresckow (with a brief interval under Generalleutnant Karl Böttcher in May 1943), the division marched on foot from Suwałki into the rear of Heeresgruppe Mitte and fought around Rzhev and Zubtsov in 1942, suffering heavy losses that led to its temporary withdrawal. In October 1942 the remnants were transferred to occupied France for rebuilding, where the remaining regiments were redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 548 and Grenadier-Regiment 549, each expanded to three battalions, and a new Grenadier-Regiment 569 was raised, bringing the formation to nine infantry battalions while Artillerie-Regiment 328 was strengthened. The division took part in Case Anton, the occupation of Vichy France, and assumed control of the Marseille sector. Redeployed to the Eastern Front in June 1943 under 1. Panzerarmee of Heeresgruppe Süd, it engaged in defensive fighting near Izium, Kharkiv and Kursk before being largely destroyed during the retreat to the Dnieper. On 2 November 1943 the division was dissolved; its remnants formed Divisions-Gruppe 328 attached to the 306. Infanterie-Division and were later redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 549, which was destroyed in Romania in August 1944. A second, short-lived 328. Infanterie-Division „Seeland“ was raised on 9 March 1945 in occupied Denmark from Genesenden-Bataillone D under Generalleutnant Ernst Richter with Grenadier-Regiment 593, 594 and 595, but it never reached combat readiness before the German surrender.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Hauptmann Rolf Rocholl (1918-1943) was born on 8 December 1918 in Berlin and entered military service in 1936 as a Fahnenjunker in Panzer-Regiment 5. Promoted to Leutnant on 1 September 1938 and assigned to the 8. Kompanie, he served with the 3. Panzer-Division during the Polish and French campaigns. Subsequently transferred to the 5. leichten Division, which was sent to North Africa and redesignated the 21. Panzer-Division on 1 August 1941, he distinguished himself in the fighting of 1941–42 and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 25 March 1942. Promoted to Hauptmann on 1 June 1942, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 28 July 1942 as Oberleutnant and Führer of the 2. Kompanie, I. Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 5. During the 21. Panzer-Division’s attack toward the Via Balbia linking Gazala and Tobruk, he led a reinforced force that discovered a strong British position on Hill 201 west of Acroma, heavily defended by artillery and Flak. After a hard fight he captured the height, enabling the division to block the road and complete the encirclement of the Gazala line. Following the retreat to the Mareth Line he returned to Germany in April 1943 and was appointed Kommandeur of the III. Bataillon, Grenadier-Regiment 569 of the 328. Infanterie-Division on the Eastern Front. In the fierce defensive battles along the Donez in August 1943 his personal leadership proved decisive in holding a commanding hill position and preventing a Soviet breakthrough in the sector. On 23 August 1943 near Isjum, while leading a counterattack, he was fatally wounded by two shots to the chest. Posthumously he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 31 August 1943 as the 287th recipient.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/328th_Infantry_Division

Ritterkreuzträger of 21. Panzer-Division

The 21. Panzer-Division was a German armoured formation of the Wehrmacht that played a significant role across multiple theatres of the Second World War, first as a key component of the Deutsches Afrikakorps in North Africa and later, after its destruction and reconstitution, in the defence of Normandy, Alsace-Lorraine, and the Eastern Front. Originally formed in early 1941 as the 5. leichte Division from elements of the 3. Panzer-Division and other army troops in Wehrkreis III, the unit was shipped to Libya to support Italian forces against the British Western Desert Force. Under Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel it participated in the rapid advance that pushed Allied troops back into Egypt in the spring of 1941. On 1 August 1941 the formation was redesignated 21. Panzer-Division. Commanded successively by Generalmajor Johann von Ravenstein, Generalmajor Georg von Bismarck, and others, it fought in Operation Crusader, the capture of Tobruk in June 1942 alongside the 15. Panzer-Division and 90. leichte Division, the First and Second Battles of El Alamein, and the subsequent retreat into Tunisia. Reduced to Kampfgruppen by early 1943, its remnants surrendered on 13 May 1943 near Tunis. The division was reconstituted in France in July 1943 from the Schnelle Brigade West and returning veterans, under Oberst (later Generalleutnant) Edgar Feuchtinger, and equipped largely with converted French vehicles produced by Baukommando Becker, including self-propelled guns of Panzerjäger-Abteilung 200. Stationed near Caen, it was the only Panzer-Division to engage Allied forces on 6 June 1944, counter-attacking toward Sword Beach and opposing British airborne troops at Pegasus Bridge under Major Hans von Luck of Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 125. Throughout the Battle of Normandy it fought around Caen against British and Canadian forces in Operations Epsom, Charnwood, Goodwood, and Bluecoat, suffering heavy losses in Panzer IV tanks before being virtually destroyed in the Falaise Pocket. Reformed again in Lorraine, it contested American advances in Alsace, notably the hard fighting at Hatten and Rittershoffen in January 1945 during Operation Nordwind. Transferred to the Eastern Front, the depleted division under Generalleutnant Werner Marcks fought on the Oder and was finally destroyed in the Halbe Pocket, with survivors surrendering to the Red Army at the end of April 1945.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


Hauptmann Rolf Rocholl (1918-1943) was born on 8 December 1918 in Berlin and entered military service in 1936 as a Fahnenjunker in Panzer-Regiment 5. Promoted to Leutnant on 1 September 1938 and assigned to the 8. Kompanie, he served with the 3. Panzer-Division during the Polish and French campaigns. Subsequently transferred to the 5. leichten Division, which was sent to North Africa and redesignated the 21. Panzer-Division on 1 August 1941, he distinguished himself in the fighting of 1941–42 and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 25 March 1942. Promoted to Hauptmann on 1 June 1942, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 28 July 1942 as Oberleutnant and Führer of the 2. Kompanie, I. Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 5. During the 21. Panzer-Division’s attack toward the Via Balbia linking Gazala and Tobruk, he led a reinforced force that discovered a strong British position on Hill 201 west of Acroma, heavily defended by artillery and Flak. After a hard fight he captured the height, enabling the division to block the road and complete the encirclement of the Gazala line. Following the retreat to the Mareth Line he returned to Germany in April 1943 and was appointed Kommandeur of the III. Bataillon, Grenadier-Regiment 569 of the 328. Infanterie-Division on the Eastern Front. In the fierce defensive battles along the Donez in August 1943 his personal leadership proved decisive in holding a commanding hill position and preventing a Soviet breakthrough in the sector. On 23 August 1943 near Isjum, while leading a counterattack, he was fatally wounded by two shots to the chest. Posthumously he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 31 August 1943 as the 287th recipient.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Panzer_Division

Ritterkreuzträger of 198. Infanterie-Division

The 198. Infanterie-Division was formed on 1 December 1939 in the Prague-Pilsen area of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia as part of the 7. Aufstellungswelle from replacement units of Wehrkreis V, initially comprising Infanterie-Regiment 305 and 308 along with leichte Artillerie-Abteilung 235, and expanded in January 1940 by the addition of Infanterie-Regiment 326. Under its first Kommandeur, Otto Röttig, the division took part in Unternehmen Weserübung, occupying Copenhagen and Danish islands on 9 April 1940, with II./Infanterie-Regiment 308 landing by sea and securing key points including Kastellet. After brief occupation duty it moved to France for the final phase of the Westfeldzug and remained on occupation tasks until early 1941, then transferred via Romania and Bulgaria for the invasion of Greece before returning to Romania. From 22 June 1941 it crossed the Prut at Sculeni in Operation Barbarossa with 11. Armee, advanced through the Ukraine toward Dnjepropetrowsk and Rostow, defended the Mius line through the winter of 1941/42, and in 1942 joined Case Blue with 17. Armee, recapturing Rostow, taking Krasnodar and pushing toward Tuapse in the Caucasus. Heavy fighting followed in the Kuban bridgehead, including the battle for the “Little Land” near Noworossijsk where Grenadier-Regiment 305 suffered severe losses in house-to-house combat. After operations at Isjum, participation in Unternehmen Zitadelle and the defence of Charkow, the division was reduced to Kampfgruppe strength during the retreat to the Dnieper and the Korsun-Cherkassy battles of early 1944. Rebuilt in June 1944 with elements of Schatten-Division Böhmen, it was sent to southern France under 19. Armee, endured costly retreats up the Rhône valley after the Allied landings, fought in the Vosges and Alsace, and took part in the failed Unternehmen Sonnenwende against Strasbourg in January 1945. Most of the division was destroyed in the Colmar Pocket in March 1945; the remnants crossed the Rhine, continued token resistance in southwestern Germany and finally surrendered to US forces near Weilheim in Oberbayern in late April 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Generalmajor Paul Schultz (1891-1964) was born on 30 October 1891 in Welzheim and died on 15 September 1964 in Tübingen. He entered military service on 10 July 1912 as Fahnenjunker in the 2. Württembergisches Infanterie-Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm, König von Preußen" Nr. 120, was promoted to Leutnant on 17 February 1914, and served in Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 192 during the First World War as Zugführer, Kompanieführer and Bataillonsadjutant, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. and I. Klasse. After demobilization in 1920 he joined the police, rising to Major der Polizei before transferring to the Wehrmacht in 1935 as Major and Kommandeur of a Bataillon in Infanterie-Regiment 35. On 1 December 1939 he became Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 308 (later Grenadier-Regiment 308) within the 198. Infanterie-Division. He led the regiment in Unternehmen Weserübung against Denmark, the Western Campaign, and from June 1941 on the Eastern Front in southern Russia, receiving the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 18 October 1941. Promoted to Oberst on 1 September 1940, he earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 3 September 1942 for actions at Krasnodar: on the night of 9/10 August 1942, as Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 308, he led an attack past an anti-tank ditch east of the city and, on his own initiative without artillery preparation, stormed the heavily defended suburb of Krasnodar-Pashkovskaya, clearing it block by block and enabling a neighbouring division to enter the northern part of the city. On 26 August 1943 he received the Eichenlaub (284th award) as Oberst and Kommandeur of Grenadier-Regiment 308 for defensive fighting east of Belgorod on 24 July 1943, when Soviet forces penetrated his lines three times; he repeatedly counterattacked, once with two Sturmgeschütze, destroying several tanks and restoring the main battle line with his last reserves. Appointed Kommandeur of the Armee-Waffenschule of the 6. Armee on 1 August 1943 and later of the 8. Armee, he was promoted to Generalmajor on 1 March 1944, surrendered to American forces in May 1945, and was released in 1947.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/198th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of 17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Götz von Berlichingen"

The 17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division „Götz von Berlichingen“ was a Waffen-SS formation raised in October 1943 in southwestern France near Poitiers and Thouars from replacement units, conscripts, Volksdeutsche from Romania and elsewhere, French volunteers, and a cadre drawn from the 10. SS-Panzer-Division „Frundsberg“. Named after the sixteenth-century Imperial Knight Götz von Berlichingen, whose iron prosthetic hand became the divisional emblem, it received its honour title from Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler and was initially commanded by SS-Gruppenführer Werner Ostendorff, with SS-Standartenführer Otto Binge overseeing early organisation. Equipped largely with Sturmgeschütz IV assault guns rather than tanks and still short of vehicles and trained officers by June 1944, the division was ordered north after the Allied landings and first engaged American airborne forces around Carentan and Graignes on 10–13 June. It fought bitterly in the Normandy bocage near Saint-Lô and Coutances, suffered catastrophic losses during Operation Cobra and the Roncey pocket, and was reduced to roughly 8,500 men by late July. Rebuilt with the remnants of SS-Panzergrenadier-Brigaden 49 and 51, it returned to the line in September, contested the Moselle bridgeheads and the Battle of Metz through November, then defended the Saar and Maginot positions. In January 1945 it participated in Operation Nordwind around Rimling under successive commanders including SS-Standartenführer Hans Lingner and Oberst Gerhard Lindner. Driven back across the Rhine in March, the division fought on in Württemberg, at Heilbronn, Nuremberg and along the Danube until its surviving elements surrendered to United States forces near the Achensee in early May 1945.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


SS-Oberführer Otto Baum (1911-1998) was born on 15 November 1911 in Stetten near Hechingen as the son of a merchant and after attending Realgymnasium studied agriculture for two semesters at the University of Hohenheim from 1930 to 1932 before joining the Allgemeine SS in Stuttgart in November 1933 and later attending the SS-Junkerschule Braunschweig. He served initially in the SS-Standarten "Germania" and "Der Führer," then as Kompaniechef of the 7. Kompanie in the SS-Infanterie-Regiment (mot.) "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler," participating in the Polish campaign of 1939 and the Western campaign of 1940. In March 1941 he transferred to the SS-Division "Totenkopf" and assumed command of the III. Bataillon of the SS-Totenkopf-Infanterie-Regiment 3, fighting on the Eastern Front including the Demjansk pocket during Operation Barbarossa. As SS-Sturmbannführer he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 8 May 1942 for successfully defending his sector near Salutschje against overwhelming Soviet attacks from late February 1942, personally leading a counterthrust with hastily assembled men that eliminated enemy penetrations into Schumilkino and Salutschje, restoring the frontline by morning and preventing seizure of the vital Kobylkino–Schubino road that would have enabled the enemy to supply and reinforce forces around Gruppe Eicke, with over 300 Soviet dead counted before the positions. Promoted to SS-Obersturmbannführer he later commanded the SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 5 "Totenkopf" (also referred to as "Thule") and earned the 277th Eichenlaub on 22 August 1943 for bold leadership during the fighting around Kharkov in early 1943, including a decisive thrust across the Ternowka that linked with the SS-Division "Das Reich," aggressive advances that helped encircle elements of the Soviet 3rd Tank Army yielding large captured materiel, and the rapid seizure of Rogan and Tschugujew that closed the ring around Kharkov, as well as further distinguished actions at Beresoff and in the Psel bridgehead during the Kursk offensive where he was wounded yet remained with his troops. After recovery he rose to SS-Standartenführer and in June 1944 took command of the 17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Götz von Berlichingen" in Normandy, distinguishing himself around Saint-Lô, while simultaneously leading the 2. SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich" from late July; he received the 95th Schwerter on 2 September 1944 for success in freeing significant encircled German elements on the Invasion Front during Operation Cobra by halting the American advance and guiding the western portion of the 7. Armee in a breakthrough back to friendly lines east of the Vire. Later commanding the 16. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Reichsführer-SS" in Italy and Hungary, he reached the rank of SS-Oberführer, surrendered near Völkermarkt in May 1945, was interned by the British until December 1948, and died on 18 June 1998 in Hechingen-Stetten.

Source :
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/17._SS-Panzergrenadier-Division_%E2%80%9EG%C3%B6tz_von_Berlichingen%E2%80%9C

Ritterkreuzträger of Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1 "Hermann Göring"

The Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1. Hermann Göring originated in February 1933 as the Polizeiabteilung z. b. V. Wecke under Major der Schutzpolizei Walther Wecke, a special police unit formed by Hermann Göring as Prussian Minister of the Interior to secure loyalty to the new regime and suppress political opponents in Berlin. Expanded into the Landespolizeigruppe General Göring and transferred to the Luftwaffe in September 1935 as the Regiment General Göring, it provided bodyguard and Flak duties while elements underwent parachute training that later formed the core of the first Fallschirmjäger units. Under Oberst Paul Conrath from June 1940, the formation participated in the occupations of Austria, the Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia, then saw limited action in Poland before contributing Kampfgruppen and Flak batteries to the 1940 campaigns in Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, where its 8.8 cm guns proved highly effective against tanks. Motorized as Regiment (mot.) Hermann Göring in 1941, it fought with distinction in Operation Barbarossa attached to the 11. Panzer-Division, notably at Brody, Kiev and in the Uman pocket where Oberleutnant Karl Rossmann’s battery earned the Ritterkreuz. Expanded to Brigade Hermann Göring and then Division Hermann Göring in 1942 with army panzer specialists and Fallschirmjäger remnants, elements of Kampfgruppe Schmid were committed to Tunisia in early 1943 and largely destroyed upon the Axis surrender in May. Rebuilt as Panzer-Division Hermann Göring, it defended Sicily against the Allied landings of July 1943, counter-attacking at Gela before evacuating to the mainland. In Italy the division contested the Salerno beachhead, the Volturno-Termoli line and Anzio, while Oberstleutnant Julius Schlegel organised the evacuation of Monte Cassino’s art treasures. Redesignated Fallschirm-Panzer-Division in February 1944 under Generalmajor Wilhelm Schmalz, it continued fighting until withdrawn in July, thereafter combining with Fallschirm-Panzergrenadier-Division 2 Hermann Göring to form Fallschirm-Panzerkorps Hermann Göring. Transferred to the Eastern Front, the corps engaged at the Vistula, during the Warsaw Uprising and later at Bautzen before surrendering to the Red Army near Dresden on 8 May 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


General der Fallschirmtruppe Paul Conrath (1896-1979) was born on 22 November 1896 in Rudow near Berlin and entered military service on 10 August 1914 as a Kriegsfreiwilliger and Offiziersanwärter in the 4. Garde-Feldartillerie-Regiment in Potsdam, transferring in October 1914 to the Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 44 on the Western Front where he saw action at Verdun, the Somme and in Flanders; promoted to Leutnant on 1 March 1917 he served as Abteilungs-Ordonnanz-Offizier in the 4. Badischen Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 66 until the war’s end. After leaving the army in January 1919 he joined the Prussian Security Police in Berlin in 1920, rising through platoon and Hundertschaft command to Major by the early 1930s, and on 1 April 1935 was transferred as Major into the Luftwaffe, serving as Adjutant to Hermann Göring before commanding batteries in Flak-Regiment 12 and the III. leichte Flakabteilung of the Luftwaffen-Regiment “General Göring.” Reappointed Chefadjutant and promoted to Oberstleutnant in 1938 and Oberst in March 1940, he assumed command of the Luftwaffen-Regiment “General Göring” on 1 June 1940, leading it through the campaign in the West and then, redesignated Regiment (mot.) Hermann Göring, into Operation Barbarossa from 22 June 1941; for his successful leadership of the Flak-Regiment (mot) “General Göring” on the Eastern Front, including actions in the Battle of Brody and the tank fighting at Dubno where one of his Batterien was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht, he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 September 1941 as Oberst. Promoted Generalmajor on 15 June 1942 he expanded the formation into the Luftwaffen-Brigade and then Division “Hermann Göring,” later Panzer-Division “Hermann Göring,” which fought in Tunisia and Sicily; for the division’s achievements there he was awarded the Eichenlaub (276th) on 21 August 1943 as Generalmajor and Kommandeur of the Panzer-Division “Hermann Göring.” Advanced to Generalleutnant on 1 September 1943 he continued to lead the unit, renamed Fallschirm-Panzer-Division “Hermann Göring,” in the Italian campaign including Monte Cassino until relieved on 15 April 1944 and appointed Kommandierender General of the Ausbildungs- und Ersatztruppen of the Fallschirm-Armee and Inspekteur der Fallschirmtruppe; promoted General der Fallschirmtruppe on 1 January 1945, he entered brief American captivity after the capitulation of 8 May 1945 and was soon released, dying in Hamburg on 15 January 1979.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Fallschirm-Panzer_Division_Hermann_G%C3%B6ring