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 Severely depleted, the remnants were withdrawn and rebuilt before taking part in the Ardennes offensive in December 1944 under SS-Brigadeführer Hugo Kraas.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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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)

Ritterkreuzträger of Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 (StG 77) / Schlachtgeschwader 77 (SG 77)

Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 was formed on 1 May 1939 with its Stab and II. Gruppe at Breslau-Schöngarten and its I. Gruppe at Brieg, initially equipped with the Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber and later receiving a III. Gruppe formed from elements of Kampfgeschwader 76 in July 1940. The Geschwader first saw combat during the Polish campaign in September 1939, attacking targets such as Lublinitz and Wielun under the command of Oberst Günter Schwartzkopff. It then participated in the Westfeldzug under VIII. Fliegerkorps, supporting the crossings of the Meuse and operations against Allied forces in France and Belgium. During the early phase of the Battle of Britain the unit suffered heavy losses while based in the Cherbourg area. In spring 1941 it took part in the Balkan campaign before transferring to the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa, initially supporting Heeresgruppe Mitte under II. Fliegerkorps and later moving south under Luftflotte 4. Throughout 1941 and 1942 the Geschwader flew intensive close-support missions in the battles of Uman, Kiev, the Crimea, Kharkov, the Caucasus and Stalingrad, reporting its 30,000th combat sortie by July 1942. Under successive Kommodore including Major Clemens Graf von Schönborn-Wiesentheid, Major Alfons Orthofer, Major Walter Enneccerus and from February 1943 Oberst Helmut Bruck, it continued operations in South Russia under VIII. Fliegerkorps of Luftflotte 4. In July 1943 the entire Geschwader supported the southern pincer of Unternehmen Zitadelle at Kursk. On 18 October 1943 Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 was redesignated Schlachtgeschwader 77 as part of the Luftwaffe reorganization of dive-bomber units into ground-attack formations, after which it converted progressively to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 while continuing operations on the Eastern Front until the end of the war.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberst Helmut Bruck (1913-2001) was born on 16 February 1913 in Kittlitztreben in Silesia and after completing his schooling entered the Polizeischule in Bremen before transferring with his entire officer class to the Luftwaffe in 1935. Following pilot training he was posted on 1 April 1936 to the I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 165 at Kitzingen and later took command of the 1. Staffel of Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 on 1 May 1939 as Oberleutnant. He flew combat missions during the Polish campaign, the Western Campaign including support for the attack on Fort Eben-Emael and the Meuse crossings, the Battle of Britain, the Balkan campaign and the invasion of Crete. On 20 August 1940 he became Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 77. On 4 September 1941, while serving as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of the 1./Sturzkampfgeschwader 77, he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for distinguished leadership and successful dive-bombing operations on the Eastern Front. He continued to lead his Gruppe through the battles of Kiev, Moscow and the southern sector, repeatedly landing behind enemy lines to rescue downed crews. By early 1943 he had flown more than 300 combat sorties, and on 19 February 1943, still as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 77, he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz as the 193rd recipient. The following day he assumed command of Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 as Kommodore and was promoted to Major. The unit was redesignated Schlachtgeschwader 77 in October 1943 and he remained its Kommodore until early 1945, later also commanding Schlachtgeschwader 151 and briefly serving as General der Schlachtflieger Nord. He completed a total of 973 operational missions before being taken prisoner in 1945. After his release he worked as a forester and died on 25 August 2001 in Veitlahm near Mainleus at the age of 88.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturzkampfgeschwader_77

Ritterkreuzträger of Aufklärungsgruppe 121

Aufklärungsgruppe 121 was formed on 1 November 1938 in Prenzlau as a Fernaufklärungsgruppe of the Luftwaffe under Luftflotte 1, consisting of a Stab and four long-range reconnaissance Staffeln designated 1.(F)/121 through 4.(F)/121. Initially equipped with Dornier Do 17 aircraft, the Gruppe conducted strategic reconnaissance during the 1939 Polish campaign in support of Luftflotte 1 over northern Poland. In the 1940 Western Campaign the unit operated under Luftflotte 2 and later Luftflotte 3, flying missions over Belgium, northern France and during the Battle of Britain, with elements based in Norway. The Stab was disbanded in mid-1940 or by April 1941, after which the individual Staffeln operated independently and were subordinated directly to various Fliegerkorps according to operational needs. The 1.(F)/121 transferred with X. Fliegerkorps to Italy and the Mediterranean in late 1940, conducting extensive long-range reconnaissance over the sea and North Africa for X. Fliegerkorps and Luftflotte 2 from bases including Catania, Derna, Fuka and El Djem; one of its crews detected increasing Allied convoy traffic toward Gibraltar on 6 November 1942, providing early warning of the impending landings in North Africa. Other Staffeln of the former Gruppe, including 3.(F)/121 and 4.(F)/121, flew missions during the Balkan campaign of 1941 and subsequently on the Eastern Front in the southern and central sectors under IV. Fliegerkorps or V. Fliegerkorps, later converting to Junkers Ju 88 and Ju 188 aircraft. The unit’s reconnaissance work supplied critical intelligence across multiple theaters until the final stages of the war, with remaining elements continuing operations into 1945.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Major Erwin Fischer (1912-1996) was born on 14 August 1912 in Dresden and entered military service in the early 1930s, joining the Luftwaffe after initial police training. He specialized as a long-range reconnaissance pilot and was assigned to Aufklärungsgruppe 121, where he flew with the 1.(F)/Aufklärungs-Gruppe 121. During the early campaigns of the Second World War he conducted reconnaissance missions over Poland, the Western Front, Norway, the Mediterranean and North Africa, providing vital intelligence for higher commands including X. Fliegerkorps and Luftflotte 2. On 21 April 1941, while serving as Oberleutnant and pilot in the 1.(F)/Aufklärungs-Gruppe 121, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes in recognition of his successful reconnaissance flights across multiple theaters that delivered critical information under difficult conditions. He continued operational flying and rose to Staffelkapitän of the 1./Fernaufklärungs-Gruppe 121. By early 1943 he had completed 273 combat sorties, and on 8 February 1943, as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz as the 191st recipient and the first reconnaissance pilot so honored. The award citation highlighted his unit’s recent achievement of its 3000th combat sortie and his consistent leadership in long-range missions over the Mediterranean and North Africa. Fischer later commanded larger reconnaissance formations, including the Nahaufklärungs-Geschwader 102 and 103, and was promoted to Major. He was captured by British forces in May 1945 and released in August of the same year. After the war he lived quietly in Hamburg, where he died on 10 December 1996 at the age of 84.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufkl%C3%A4rungsgruppe_121

Ritterkreuzträger of Aufklärungsflieger (Reconnaissance pilots)

The Aufklärungsflieger of the Luftwaffe formed a vital but often overlooked branch during the Second World War, providing essential visual and photographic intelligence that shaped operational planning across every major theater. Organized primarily into Aufklärungsgruppen and later specialized Fernaufklärungsgruppen for long-range strategic missions as well as Nahaufklärungsgruppen for tactical army cooperation, these units operated under the control of various Luftflotten and Fliegerkorps or as Koluft attached to army groups. Crews typically consisted of a Flugzeugführer and a Beobachter who handled navigation, radio and camera work, flying aircraft such as the Dornier Do 17, Junkers Ju 88, Henschel Hs 126 and later specialized high-altitude or long-range variants. Unlike fighter or bomber formations, Aufklärungsflieger frequently flew alone or in small numbers deep into hostile airspace, relying on speed, altitude and weather to avoid interception while photographing enemy airfields, troop concentrations, supply lines and naval movements. From the Polish campaign through the Battle of France, the Mediterranean, North Africa and the vast Eastern Front, reconnaissance sorties delivered timely reports that influenced decisions by higher commands including X. Fliegerkorps and Luftflotte 2. The demands of these missions required exceptional skill and endurance, and successful pilots such as those serving in units like 1.(F)/Aufklärungsgruppe 121 earned high decorations including the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes and Eichenlaub for completing hundreds of combat sorties under difficult conditions. As the war progressed the organization adapted with the creation of dedicated Fernaufklärungsgruppen and the transfer of many Staffeln to closer army support roles, yet losses remained high due to the solitary nature of the work and growing Allied air superiority. By the final years reconnaissance units continued to operate despite shortages of fuel and aircraft, providing critical information until the collapse of the Luftwaffe in 1945.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Major Erwin Fischer (1912-1996) was born on 14 August 1912 in Dresden and entered military service in the early 1930s, joining the Luftwaffe after initial police training. He specialized as a long-range reconnaissance pilot and was assigned to Aufklärungsgruppe 121, where he flew with the 1.(F)/Aufklärungs-Gruppe 121. During the early campaigns of the Second World War he conducted reconnaissance missions over Poland, the Western Front, Norway, the Mediterranean and North Africa, providing vital intelligence for higher commands including X. Fliegerkorps and Luftflotte 2. On 21 April 1941, while serving as Oberleutnant and pilot in the 1.(F)/Aufklärungs-Gruppe 121, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes in recognition of his successful reconnaissance flights across multiple theaters that delivered critical information under difficult conditions. He continued operational flying and rose to Staffelkapitän of the 1./Fernaufklärungs-Gruppe 121. By early 1943 he had completed 273 combat sorties, and on 8 February 1943, as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz as the 191st recipient and the first reconnaissance pilot so honored. The award citation highlighted his unit’s recent achievement of its 3000th combat sortie and his consistent leadership in long-range missions over the Mediterranean and North Africa. Fischer later commanded larger reconnaissance formations, including the Nahaufklärungs-Geschwader 102 and 103, and was promoted to Major. He was captured by British forces in May 1945 and released in August of the same year. After the war he lived quietly in Hamburg, where he died on 10 December 1996 at the age of 84.

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=246704

Ritterkreuzträger of Kampfgeschwader 6 (KG 6)

Kampfgeschwader 6 was a Luftwaffe bomber wing formed officially on 1 September 1942 in the Dinard area of Brittany, although its Stab had been ordered as early as 11 October 1941 by Luftflotte 3. The I. Gruppe was created by redesignating I./Kampfgeschwader 77, the II. Gruppe from Küstenfliegergruppe 106, and the III. Gruppe from III./Lehrgeschwader 1, while a new IV. Ergänzungsgruppe was also raised. Initially equipped primarily with the Junkers Ju 88 and later receiving the Junkers Ju 188, the Geschwader carried out bombing operations against Britain from bases in northern France, including early raids in late 1942. Large parts of the unit transferred to the Mediterranean in late 1942 to support operations in Tunisia and later Italy, flying missions during the fighting in Sicily and on the Italian mainland under Luftflotte 2. In 1943–1944 the Geschwader returned to the Channel front and participated in Unternehmen Steinbock, the series of night raids against England known as the Baby Blitz. During the Normandy campaign in 1944 it flew attacks against Allied beachheads, shipping and ground targets, suffering heavy losses. Under the command of Oberstleutnant Hermann Hogeback, who served as Geschwaderkommodore from 11 September 1943 until the end of the war, the unit withdrew eastward in the autumn of 1944. On 23 November 1944 it was redesignated Kampfgeschwader (Jagd) 6 and began conversion to fighter aircraft, including the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and later the Messerschmitt Me 262. In the final months the remnants operated in the Prague area and under the designation Gefechtsverband Hogeback before the unit was dissolved following the German surrender on 8 May 1945.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCHWERTERTRÄGER


Oberstleutnant Hermann Hogeback (1914-2004) was born on 25 August 1914 in Idar-Oberstein as the son of a tax inspector and grew up in Münster after 1921, completing his Abitur in 1933 before entering military service. On 1 July 1934 he joined the 9. Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment 15 in the Heer and transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1935, receiving his commission as Leutnant in 1936 after bomber pilot training. He volunteered for the Legion Condor in the Spanish Civil War, flying more than 100 operational sorties and receiving the Spanienkreuz in Gold with Swords in 1939. Returning to Germany he served with the III. Gruppe of Lehrgeschwader 1, flying in the Polish and Western campaigns before taking command as Oberleutnant of the 9. Staffel of Lehrgeschwader 1 in North Africa. After 163 combat missions over the Mediterranean, Yugoslavia and North Africa he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 8 September 1941 while serving as Staffelkapitän of the 9.(K)/Lehrgeschwader 1. He later became Gruppenkommandeur of the III. Gruppe of Lehrgeschwader 1 and then of the III. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 6, flying further missions on the Eastern Front including support for the siege of Sevastopol and against England. On 19 February 1943, after completing 416 sorties as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the III. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 6, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz as the 192nd recipient. In June 1943 he was appointed Kommodore of Kampfgeschwader 6 and promoted to Oberstleutnant. After approximately 500 operational sorties he was awarded the Schwerter to the Ritterkreuz with Eichenlaub on 26 January 1945 as Kommodore of Kampfgeschwader 6. He was taken prisoner by American forces at the end of the war and released in September 1945. After the war he studied law and worked in the automobile industry before dying on 15 February 2004 in Dötlingen at the age of 89.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampfgeschwader_6

Ritterkreuzträger of Nachtjagdflieger (Night Fighter Pilots)

The German Nachtjagd during the Second World War represented the Luftwaffe’s specialized night fighter force developed to counter the growing nocturnal bombing campaign of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command against the Reich and occupied territories. Formed in the summer of 1940 after the first British night raids, the organization was placed under the command of Oberst Josef Kammhuber, who established the 1. Nachtjagddivision and later the Kammhuber-Linie, a chain of overlapping radar-controlled defensive zones known as Himmelbett sectors stretching from Denmark to central France. Each sector combined Freya and Würzburg radars with searchlights and assigned Nachtjäger, initially drawn from Zerstörer units and equipped mainly with the Messerschmitt Bf 110. The first dedicated formation, Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 under Oberst Wolfgang Falck, began operations in June 1940, followed by Nachtjagdgeschwader 2, 3 and subsequent Geschwader that expanded the force across the Western and Eastern fronts. Early tactics relied on Helle Nachtjagd, in which searchlights illuminated bombers for visual interception, later supplemented by Dunkel Nachtjagd using ground-controlled radar guidance. From 1942 airborne radar such as the FuG 202 and FuG 220 Lichtenstein systems allowed crews to conduct independent final approaches, while passive devices including Naxos and Flensburg homed on British H2S and Monica emissions. Aircraft evolved to include the Junkers Ju 88, Dornier Do 217 and the purpose-built Heinkel He 219 Uhu. In 1943 Major Hajo Herrmann introduced the Wilde Sau procedure, employing single-engine day fighters of Jagdgeschwader 300 over illuminated target areas, while the complementary Zahme Sau tactic massed radar-equipped twin-engine Nachtjäger into the bomber stream under ground-radar support. A decisive innovation was Schräge Musik, upward-firing 20 mm or 30 mm cannon mounted in the fuselage so that pilots could attack from below, outside the bombers’ defensive arcs. The Nachtjagd reached its peak effectiveness during the raid on Nürnberg on the night of 30–31 March 1944, when coordinated radar-controlled intercepts claimed ninety-five four-engine bombers. Despite these successes and the appearance of jet-powered Me 262 night fighters in the final months, Allied electronic countermeasures, the bomber stream and overwhelming numerical superiority gradually eroded the force, which nevertheless remained one of the most technologically sophisticated air-defence systems of the war until the collapse of the Reich in May 1945.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BRILLANTENTRÄGER


Oberst Helmut Lent (1918-1944) was born on 13 June 1918 in Pyrehne, Landsberg an der Warthe, into a devoutly Lutheran family as the fifth child of a minister; after primary schooling and private tutoring he passed his Abitur in December 1935, completed Reichsarbeitsdienst, and against his father’s wishes entered the Luftwaffe as a Fahnenjunker on 1 April 1936, training at Luftkriegsschule 2 Gatow where he earned his wings and was commissioned Leutnant on 1 March 1938 before converting to the Messerschmitt Bf 110 with I./Zerstörergeschwader 76. He claimed his first victories during the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and further successes over the North Sea, including two confirmed Wellingtons in the Battle of the Heligoland Bight on 18 December 1939, then flew ground-support missions during the Norwegian Campaign in April 1940, force-landing at Fornebu after engine damage while helping secure the airfield. Transferred to the newly formed Nachtjagdgeschwader 1, he scored his first nocturnal victory on 12 May 1941 and, as Staffelkapitän of 6./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 with 8 day and 14 night victories, received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 August 1941. Promoted Hauptmann and appointed Kommandeur of II./Nachtjagdgeschwader 2, he continued to accumulate night victories against RAF bombers and was awarded the Eichenlaub on 6 June 1942 after 35 nocturnal kills; later as Kommandeur of IV./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 he received the Schwerter on 2 August 1943 after 66 night victories. On the night of 15–16 June 1944, by then Oberstleutnant and Geschwaderkommodore of Nachtjagdgeschwader 3, he became the first night-fighter pilot to claim his 100th nocturnal victory, for which he was awarded the Brillanten on 31 July 1944; overall he was credited with 110 aerial victories (102 at night, including 61 four-engined bombers) in 507 sorties. On 5 October 1944, while flying a Junkers Ju 88 on a routine transit flight from Stade to Nordborchen near Paderborn, an engine failed on approach and the aircraft struck power lines; Lent succumbed to his injuries two days later on 7 October 1944 and was posthumously promoted to Oberst.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Hauptmann Reinhold Knacke (1919-1943) was born on 1 January 1919 in Strelitz Alt in Mecklenburg-Strelitz and entered the Luftwaffe in 1937, completing pilot training before serving initially with Zerstörergeschwader 1. In the autumn of 1940 he was transferred to the night-fighter arm and assigned to Nachtjagdgeschwader 1, where he flew the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and claimed his first nocturnal victory on the night of 9 March 1941 while serving with the 2. Staffel. He later transferred to the 3. Staffel of the I. Gruppe and steadily increased his score against RAF Bomber Command over the Western Front. On 14 April 1942 he received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold as Oberleutnant in the 2. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1. For achieving approximately thirty night victories, including several multiple successes such as three bombers destroyed on the night of 30/31 May 1942, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 1 July 1942 while still an Oberleutnant and Flugzeugführer in the 3. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1. Appointed Staffelkapitän of the 3. Staffel of the I. Gruppe, he continued to add to his tally and reached his fortieth victory near the end of 1942. On the night of 2/3 February 1943 Knacke shot down two further bombers, bringing his total to forty-four confirmed night victories in roughly 160 combat missions, before his Bf 110 F-4 “G9+DK” was fatally damaged in combat with an RAF four-engined bomber over the Netherlands. His Bordfunker, Unteroffizier Kurt Bundrock, managed to parachute to safety, but Knacke was killed when the aircraft crashed near Achterveld. He was posthumously promoted to Hauptmann and on 7 February 1943 received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz as the 190th recipient for his outstanding record as Staffelkapitän of the 3. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1.

Source :
https://www.ww2today.com/p/23-08-13-nachtjagd-defenders-of-the-reich

Ritterkreuzträger of 76. Infanterie-Division

The 76. Infanterie-Division was formed on 26 August 1939 in Potsdam as a division of the 2. Aufstellungswelle under the Infanterie-Kommandeur 23, drawing personnel and cadres from the 23. Infanterie-Division and initially comprising Infanterie-Regiment 178, Infanterie-Regiment 203, Infanterie-Regiment 230, Artillerie-Regiment 176, Pionier-Bataillon 176, Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 176, Aufklärungs-Abteilung 176 and the Infanterie-Divisions-Nachrichten-Abteilung 176. Under its first Kommandeur, General der Artillerie Maximilian de Angelis, the division took part in the Westfeldzug of 1940, attacking in the Verdun sector alongside the 36. Infanterie-Division and 299. Infanterie-Division before moving to occupation duties. In 1941 it transferred to Romania and entered the campaign against the Soviet Union with Heeresgruppe Süd, advancing through the Ukraine via Poltawa, Charkow and Belgorod into the area of Artemowsk, where it remained in defensive fighting until the summer of 1942. During the German summer offensive the division crossed the Don near Akimowskij, reached the heights of Kotluban and took up positions in the northern corridor between the Don and the Volga as part of the VIII. Armee-Korps of the 6. Armee. Under Generalleutnant Carl Rodenburg, who assumed command on 26 January 1942, the division repeatedly repelled Soviet attacks south of Kotluban in September 1942 and held its sector until the Soviet counter-offensive of November closed the Stalingrad Kessel; the bulk of the division was destroyed in the ensuing fighting and ceased to exist by February 1943. On 17 February 1943 the Oberbefehlshaber West ordered the reformation of the 76. Infanterie-Division, incorporating the verstärkten Grenadier-Regimenter 876 and 877. The rebuilt division served briefly in Italy before returning to the Eastern Front, where it fought heavy defensive battles in the Ukraine and eastern Romania, particularly around Letcani and Iaşi during the Soviet Jassy-Kishinev offensive of 1944, suffering severe losses that required further refitting in September and October. Successive commanders after Rodenburg included General der Infanterie Erich Abraham and Generalleutnant Siegfried von Rekowski. The remnants of the 76. Infanterie-Division finally surrendered to the Red Army in May 1945 near Deutsch-Brod in Slovakia.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Generalleutnant Carl Rodenburg (1894-1992) was born on 17 May 1894 in Geestemünde and entered the army on 1 October 1913 as an Einjährig-Freiwilliger in the 5. Badische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 113, serving in the First World War as a platoon and company commander and rising to Oberleutnant by 1918 while receiving both classes of the Iron Cross. After the war he continued in the Reichswehr as a company commander and later, already in the Wehrmacht as Oberstleutnant from 1937, commanded the Lehrstab of the Infanterieschule Döberitz. In the Second World War he led Infanterie-Regiment 203 through the western campaign and into the east, earning the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 7 March 1942 as Oberst. Appointed Kommandeur of the 76. Infanterie-Division on 26 January 1942 and promoted to Generalmajor on 1 April 1942, he directed the division in the fighting between the Don and the Volga from 24 August 1942, holding critical high ground south of Kotluban and repeatedly repelling Soviet assaults, particularly on 18 and 23 September, during which the division and its attached units destroyed 227 enemy tanks. For this leadership he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 8 October 1942 while still a Generalmajor and Kommandeur of the 76. Infanterie-Division under the VIII. Armee-Korps of the 6. Armee. Promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 December 1942, Rodenburg continued to command the division after it was encircled at Stalingrad; his forces’ steadfast defence northeast of Verkhnyaya Yelshanka from 22 to 28 November 1942 blocked a Soviet thrust toward the Don bridges and enabled counter-moves by neighbouring corps, while later actions included the use of his artillery regiment as infantry in an assault at the Bolshaya Rossoshka collective farm on 18 January 1943. These achievements earned him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 31 January 1943 as the 189th recipient. On the same day he surrendered with the remnants of his division and went into Soviet captivity, from which he was released only in 1955. Rodenburg died on 5 November 1992 in Greven.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/76th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of 297. Infanterie-Division

The 297. Infanterie-Division was formed on 31 January 1940 in the area of Bruck an der Leitha in Wehrkreis XVII as a division of the 8. Welle, drawing its cadres largely from Austrian personnel of earlier formations, and consisted of Infanterie-Regiment 522, Infanterie-Regiment 523, Infanterie-Regiment 524, Artillerie-Regiment 297 and the usual divisional support units. It served only as a reserve during the western campaign of 1940 and spent the following year on occupation duties in the Generalgouvernement before being committed to the Eastern Front with Heeresgruppe Süd at the start of Unternehmen Barbarossa in June 1941. Under successive corps of the 6. Armee it advanced through Ukraine, taking part in the capture of Schitomir, the Uman pocket, the battle for Kiev and the subsequent fighting around Charkow and the Donets basin. In the summer of 1942 the division joined the advance of Fall Blau, fighting in the great bend of the Don and moving south of Stalingrad while temporarily subordinated to the 4. Panzerarmee. From November 1942 it formed part of the IV. Armeekorps within the 6. Armee and was trapped in the Stalingrad pocket, where it conducted bitter defensive operations until its remnants, commanded by Generalmajor Moritz von Drebber after General der Artillerie Max Pfeffer had been captured, surrendered on 25–26 January 1943. A new 297. Infanterie-Division was ordered into existence in March 1943, first assembled as a Kampfgruppe near Bordeaux and then fully reconstituted in Serbia under Generalleutnant Friedrich-Wilhelm Deutsch. From September 1943 the reformed division served in Albania under the XXI. Gebirgs-Armeekorps of the 2. Panzerarmee, combating partisans and securing the coast against possible Allied landings. In late 1944 it withdrew through Montenegro and Bosnia with Heeresgruppe E, fighting continual rearguard actions against Yugoslav forces, and continued the retreat into Croatia. The division finally laid down its arms in the area of Cilli and Radkersburg in May 1945 and passed into Yugoslav captivity.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Major Willy Riedel (1909-1982) was born on 10 November 1909 in Liegnitz in the Province of Silesia and after an apprenticeship as a joiner joined the police in 1929 before transferring to the Wehrmacht where he initially served as a Zugführer in Infanterie-Regiment 84 during the Polish campaign and later as an Oberleutnant and Kompaniechef in the same regiment during the western campaign. Toward the end of 1941 he was posted to Infanterie-Regiment 524 of the 297. Infanterie-Division and by the autumn of 1942 had become Kommandeur of its III. Bataillon. For his leadership during the division’s advance on Stalingrad, when he repeatedly placed himself at the head of his battalion and continued to direct operations even after being wounded twice, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 8 October 1942 while still holding the rank of Hauptmann. In the subsequent fighting south of Stalingrad he again distinguished himself by preventing an imminent enemy breakthrough; despite having already been wounded twice he formed a Stoßtrupp that threw Soviet troops back from the vicinity of his command post and later, at the end of November 1942, led his Kampfgruppe in clearing numerous resistance nests and closing a dangerous gap in the front line. These actions earned him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 25 January 1943 as the 186th recipient, still as Hauptmann and now Kommandeur of the redesignated III. Bataillon of Grenadier-Regiment 524, and he was simultaneously promoted to Major. Severely wounded by a grenade splinter shortly afterward, Riedel was taken prisoner by Soviet forces on 28 January 1943 in a field hospital near Stalingrad; while in captivity he joined the Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland in 1944. Released in 1947 he returned to Germany and entered the Volkspolizei of the German Democratic Republic, later serving in the Kasernierte Volkspolizei and rising to the rank of Oberst in the Nationale Volksarmee, where he briefly commanded the 6. motorisierte Schützendivision from October 1956 to December 1957 before transferring to the Institut für Deutsche Militärgeschichte in Potsdam. Riedel died in Potsdam on 10 February 1982 and was buried at the Neuer Friedhof.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/297th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of Kampfgeschwader 27 (KG 27) "Boelcke"

Kampfgeschwader 27 “Boelcke” was formed on 1 May 1939 from the earlier Kampfgeschwader 157 “Boelcke” with its Stab and I. Gruppe at Hannover-Langenhagen, II. Gruppe at Wunstorf and III. Gruppe at Delmenhorst, equipped primarily with the Heinkel He 111 medium bomber and authorised to wear the Ärmelstreifen “Geschwader Boelcke” in honour of the First World War fighter pilot Oswald Boelcke. Under its first Geschwaderkommodore Oberst Hans Behrendt the unit took part in the invasion of Poland in September 1939, flying from bases in eastern Germany against Polish airfields, railways and troop concentrations. During the Phoney War it conducted armed reconnaissance over France before participating fully in the Western Campaign of May–June 1940 and subsequently in the Luftschlacht um England from bases in France. From June 1941 the Geschwader was transferred to the Eastern Front under Luftflotte 4, supporting the advance into the Ukraine and southern Russia with attacks on Soviet airfields, bridges, supply lines and troop concentrations. It remained heavily engaged on the southern sector throughout 1942–43, flying from bases such as Focsani, Kirovograd, Kursk and Millerovo, and suffered steady attrition while supporting operations around Stalingrad and the subsequent retreats. A specialised 14. (Eis) Staffel was formed in 1943 for railway interdiction missions. In late 1944 the surviving elements were withdrawn westwards, redesignated Kampfgeschwader (J) 27 on 23 November 1944 and converted to single-seat fighters (Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190) for Reichsverteidigung duties. Notable commanders included Oberst Hans-Henning Freiherr von Beust (1942–43) and the final Geschwaderkommodore Major Rudolf Kiel. The unit was disbanded in April–May 1945 after the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberstleutnant Reinhard Günzel (1907-1970) was born on 2 February 1907 in Posen and joined the Luftwaffe in the mid-1930s, serving with the Legion Condor in the Spanish Civil War where he earned the Spanienkreuz in Bronze on 6 June 1939. At the outbreak of the Second World War he flew with Kampfgeschwader 27 “Boelcke” and received the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 16 September 1939 followed by the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 23 June 1940 for operations over Poland and the Western Front. As Hauptmann and Kommandeur of the II. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 27 “Boelcke” he led numerous successful bomber missions against targets in Britain and later on the Eastern Front, completing approximately 150 combat sorties by the time he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 17 September 1941 for his distinguished achievements as a bomber pilot and formation commander. Continuing to fly intensive operations against Soviet transport routes, railways and troop concentrations, he was promoted to Major and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 24 September 1942 while still with the II. Gruppe. By early 1943 his mission total had risen to around 320, and for his continued outstanding leadership and personal flying skill on the Eastern Front he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 21 January 1943 as Major and Kommandeur of the III. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 27 “Boelcke”, becoming the 184th recipient of this decoration. Günzel ultimately completed more than 500 combat missions during the war and rose to the rank of Oberstleutnant. After the conflict he worked as a police officer and died on 5 December 1970 in Eiche near Berlin at the age of 63.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampfgeschwader_27

Ritterkreuzträger of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 667

Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 667 was formed on 24 June 1942 in Jüterbog by expanding the experienced Sturmgeschütz-Batterie 667 into a full Abteilung with three batteries as a Heerestruppe under Wehrkreis III. After completing its establishment the unit was transported by rail in late July 1942 via Dünaburg and Witebsk to the Wjasma area on the Eastern Front and assigned to Heeresgruppe Mitte. Its first combat deployment occurred with the 5. Panzer-Division at the Chleppen bridgehead, followed by heavy fighting at Gredjakino, Cholm and especially in the Rshew–Sulzow sector during the prolonged battles for the Rzhev salient. Serving as a mobile fire-brigade against repeated Soviet attacks the Abteilung claimed the destruction of 468 enemy tanks by 31 January 1943 and produced several highly successful Sturmgeschütz crews, most notably that of Wachtmeister Hugo Primozic. During Unternehmen Büffel in March 1943 it covered the orderly withdrawal of German forces from the salient through Wjasma to the Dnjepr and Dorogobusch, after which it was temporarily subordinated to the 98. Infanterie-Division for the defence of the road southwest of Wjasma. Subsequent operations took the unit through the sectors of Jelnja, Roslawl, Kritschew, Mogilew, Smolensk, Witebsk and Newel. On 14 February 1944 it was redesignated Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 667 and on 10 June 1944 reorganised as Heeres-Sturmartillerie-Brigade 667 with additional Begleitbatterien. Almost completely destroyed during the Soviet summer offensive of 1944 the remnants were withdrawn and rebuilt, later seeing action on the Western Front in the Aachen area and in the Ardennes. Commanders included Hauptmann Vagedes from formation until December 1942, followed by Hauptmann Rudolf Zettler, Hauptmann Joachim Lützow, Hauptmann Max Wölfle and later Major Ludwig Knüppling. The brigade remained active until the final collapse of the Wehrmacht in May 1945.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Leutnant Hugo Primozic (1914-1996) was born on 16 February 1914 in Backnang in Württemberg as the son of a Slovenian father and a German mother and entered the Reichswehr in 1934, serving as a gunner in various artillery units including Artillerie-Regiment 5 and later Artillerie-Regiment 152 during the French campaign. In April 1941 he volunteered for the Sturmartillerie and after training joined Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 667 in May 1942, arriving on the Eastern Front in the central sector around Rzhev as Zugführer of the II. Zug of the 2. Batterie. On 15 September 1942, during heavy defensive fighting against a major Soviet attack, he led his Sturmgeschütze forward and personally destroyed 24 enemy tanks in a single day at close range, helping to prevent a breakthrough and bringing his total to 45 tanks destroyed. For this outstanding achievement he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 September 1942 as Wachtmeister und Zugführer in the 2. Batterie of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 667, becoming one of the first NCOs to receive the decoration for assault-gun actions. Continuing to fight with exceptional skill and coolness, he destroyed a further 15 tanks including seven in one day during a counter-attack on 11 December 1942, raising his confirmed total to 60. On 25 January 1943 he became the first non-commissioned officer of the Heer to receive the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz as Oberwachtmeister und Zugführer of the same unit, the 185th recipient overall. Promoted to Leutnant shortly afterwards he was withdrawn from the front and assigned as an instructor at the Sturmgeschützschule Burg and other training establishments, later serving as Batteriechef in the closing months of the war with Kampfgruppe Burg. Taken prisoner by American forces in May 1945 he was released on 1 August 1945 and lived quietly in postwar Germany until his death in Fulda on 18 March 1996 at the age of 82.

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=160397
https://www.hl-barbara.de/index.php/die-garnison/wehrmacht/sturmartillerie/die-ersten-batterien
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Sturmgeschutzeinheiten/Sturmgeschutzabteilung667.htm

Ritterkreuzträger of 79. Infanterie-Division

The 79. Infanterie-Division was formed on 26 August 1939 as a second-wave division of the Wehrmacht in the area of Idar-Oberstein and Hammelburg within Wehrkreis XII, drawing personnel and cadres from the 33., 34. and 36. Infanterie-Division to create its core regiments of Infanterie-Regiment 208, Infanterie-Regiment 212 and Infanterie-Regiment 226 together with Artillerie-Regiment 179 and the usual divisional support units. Initially deployed along the Westwall for training and fortification work, the division saw limited action on the Saar front before joining the 1940 campaign in France, where it participated in the breakthrough of the Maginot Line south of Saarbrücken and advanced toward the Moselle and Epinal before performing occupation duties. In June 1941 the division was transferred east for Unternehmen Barbarossa under Heeresgruppe Süd, fighting through the Ukraine, breaking the Stalin Line, taking part in the battle for Kiev and later operating in the Kharkov and Donets sectors through the winter of 1941–42. During the 1942 summer offensive it advanced toward the Don and was committed to the assault on Stalingrad on 17 October, receiving the mission to capture the Red October metallurgical works in intense hall-to-hall fighting. Encircled with the 6. Armee in the Kessel after the Soviet counter-offensive of November, the bulk of the division was destroyed; its commander Generalleutnant Alexander von Daniels surrendered with the remaining troops in late January and early February 1943 while elements of the staff, including the Ia Oberst Hans Schwanbeck, were flown out. Reformed in March 1943 near Stalino from survivors, convalescents and new drafts, the division next fought in the Kuban bridgehead, then in defensive battles around Melitopol, the Dnieper bend and Nikopol before moving to the Jassy sector in Romania. In August 1944, during the Soviet Jassy-Kishinev operation and following the Romanian defection, the 79. Infanterie-Division was again encircled near Chitcani on the Berlad River and virtually annihilated, with fewer than one thousand men escaping; its commander Generalleutnant Friedrich-August Weinknecht went into captivity. The remnants were later used to form the 79. Volksgrenadier-Division, which continued the unit’s traditions on the Western Front until the final collapse in 1945, the original formation having borne the motto „Tapfer und Treu“ throughout its hard campaigns on both major fronts of the war.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberstleutnant im Generalstab Günter Goebel (1917-1993) was born on 14 November 1917 in Hagen in Westphalia and entered the officer career of the Wehrmacht in 1936, joining the Infanterie-Regiment 18 and later serving as Adjutant of the III. Bataillon of the Infanterie-Regiment 208 of the 79. Infanterie-Division. Promoted to Leutnant in early 1938 and to Oberleutnant on 1 June 1940, he took part in the campaigns in the West and then on the Eastern Front. On 14 September 1941, as Regimentsadjutant of Infanterie-Regiment 208, he independently assumed command of a temporarily leaderless Radfahr-Bataillon and led it in decisive actions in the area of Kiev that contributed to the German advance, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 18 October 1941 as Oberleutnant. He was also entered in the Ehrenblatt des Heeres on 6 November 1941. Promoted to Hauptmann on 1 February 1942, he later commanded a Kampfgruppe during the fighting around Stalingrad. From 17 December 1942 near Nishnij-Tschirskaja along the Chir river, in the sector of the 384. Infanterie-Division, he held a critical bridgehead over the Don with approximately 3,000 men assembled from scattered and poorly equipped units, sending the radio message that became known throughout the 6. Armee: “Kampfgruppe Hauptmann Goebel hält mit 3000 Mann Donbrücke (Werchne) Tschir(skaja). Haltet den Kopf hoch wie wir!” He maintained this position for weeks against superior Soviet forces until early January 1943, thereby helping to delay the enemy advance westward and southwestward. For this determined defence he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 18 January 1943 as Hauptmann and Führer of the Kampfgruppe. Severely wounded while breaking out westward, he was promoted to Major and later served in staff positions, rising to Oberstleutnant im Generalstab by March 1945. Captured by Soviet forces on 11 May 1945 in Courland, he remained in captivity until October 1955 and died in Hagen on 4 September 1993.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/79th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of 60. Infanterie-Division (mot.)

The 60. Infanterie-Division was formed on 15 October 1939 in Danzig from the Gruppe Eberhardt, a special formation drawn largely from the Landespolizei of the Free City of Danzig and SA units under Generalleutnant Friedrich-Georg Eberhardt. It initially consisted of the Infanterie-Regiment 92, Infanterie-Regiment 243 and Infanterie-Regiment 244 together with the Artillerie-Regiment 160 and supporting units, and took part in the 1940 campaign in the West as part of the 1. Armee. In the summer of 1940 the division was motorized, redesignated 60. Infanterie-Division (mot.) in August, reduced to two motorized infantry regiments (Infanterie-Regiment 92 and Infanterie-Regiment 120, the latter formed from the former 244), and received additional motorized elements including a Kradschützen-Bataillon and Panzerjäger-Abteilung. After a period of training and service in Romania it participated in the Balkan campaign of April 1941 against Yugoslavia and Greece. Transferred to the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa, the division advanced under the 1. Panzergruppe through Uman, crossed the Dnieper, took part in the fighting for Rostov and the subsequent withdrawal to the Mius River, and held defensive positions during the winter of 1941–42. In the spring of 1942 it fought in the Second Battle of Kharkov under Generalleutnant Otto Kohlermann and then advanced during Fall Blau across the Donets and Don toward Stalingrad as part of the XIV. Panzerkorps of the 6. Armee. Assigned to secure the northern corridor between the Don and the Volga, the division played a central role in repelling the Soviet Kotluban offensives of September 1942 and later became heavily engaged in the bitter urban and defensive fighting inside and around Stalingrad. Encircled with the rest of the 6. Armee in November 1942, the 60. Infanterie-Division (mot.) was completely destroyed by February 1943. Its remnants were later used to form the Panzergrenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle in 1943.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Major Karl Willig (1908-1977) was born on 31 August 1908 in Niederneisen in Hessen and entered military service in 1927 as a Fahnenjunker in the Infanterie-Regiment 5, later serving as an officer in the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht. Promoted to Oberleutnant and then to Hauptmann on 1 December 1939, he commanded the 10. Kompanie of the Infanterie-Regiment 15 during the campaigns in Poland and France. From June 1941 he led the 11. Kompanie of the Infanterie-Regiment 120 (later redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 120 (mot.)) of the 60. Infanterie-Division (mot.) on the Eastern Front, distinguishing himself in the fighting around Kharkov in the spring of 1942. As Führer of the II. Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 120 he played a key role in the German counter-offensive during the Second Battle of Kharkov; on 17 May 1942 his battalion, operating on the left wing of the regiment, bypassed Soviet resistance nests and stormed the fortified village of Fidlerowo in fierce close combat, relieving the neighbouring 100. Jäger-Division and enabling the continuation of the encirclement of Soviet forces. For this successful combat leadership he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 25 July 1942 as Hauptmann and commander of II./Infanterie-Regiment 120. Promoted to Major on 1 August 1942, he continued to lead the II. Bataillon of Grenadier-Regiment 120 (mot.) during the advance on and fighting inside Stalingrad. After the Soviet encirclement in November 1942 he commanded a Kampfgruppe that defended the key village of Marinowka on the western side of the Stalingrad pocket in a series of hard defensive battles lasting from 28 November 1942 until 10 January 1943. For this prolonged and determined defence under desperate conditions he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 18 January 1943 as Major and Kommandeur of II./Grenadier-Regiment 120 (mot.). Captured at the end of January 1943 when the pocket was liquidated, Willig was one of the few survivors who returned from Soviet captivity in December 1949 and lived thereafter in Germany until his death on 2 December 1977 in Eschwege.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/60th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of 29. Unterseebootsflottille

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


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

Source :
 

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

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

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


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

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

Ritterkreuzträger of 45. Infanterie-Division

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


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

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