Friday, July 10, 2020

Ritterkreuz Actions of Adelbert Schulz


Adelbert Schulz (20 December 1903 - 28 January 1944) received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes #226 on 29 September 1940 as Hauptmann and Chef I.Abteilung / Panzer-Regiment 25 / 7.Panzer-Division. Hauptmann Schulz led a company, and later a full battalion, of Panzers over a total of 17 armoured attacks during the Western campaign, where he showed himself to be a fine commander of armour. Over the course of the campaign he particularly distinguished himself on 14 May 1940 during the heavy fighting in the Dinant bridgehead, and later on 23 May 1940 where he helped resolve a critical combat situation near Hersin.

He received the Eichenlaub #47 for his Ritterkreuz on 31 December 1941 as Hauptmann and Kommandeur I.Abteilung / Panzer-Regiment 25 / 7.Panzer-Division. The medal was awarded for distinguishing himself near Klin during the winter of 1941/1942. Despite having only a handful of operational tanks, being outnumbered 8-1 and having to contend with -40 Celsius weather, he nevertheless was able to successfully cover the retreat of friendly German forces. These included a full field hospital with over 4000 wounded men!

He received the Schwerter #33 for his Ritterkreuz on 6 August 1943 as Oberstleutnant and Kommandeur Panzer-Regiment 25 / 7.Panzer-Division. On 11 July 1943 previously, during the attack of the 7. Panzer-Division in the southern sector of the battle of Kursk, Schulz was able to conduct a successful armoured breakthrough south of Scheino. Smashing through Soviet fieldworks, and in spite of enemy probes on all sides, he launched an armoured pursuit with his Kampfgruppe and was able to catch a foot-bound Soviet group in the process of withdrawing. Schulz's men were able to capture almost 600 prisoners, 83 cannons and over 100 heavy machine guns and mortars! In addition to this notable success, Schulz and his regiment were also able to destroy a total of 76 enemy tanks over the course of 11 days of battle in the attempted attack towards Kursk.

Finally, he received the Brillanten #9 for his Ritterkreuz on 14 December 1943 as Oberst and Kommandeur Panzer-Regiment 25 / 7.Panzer-Division. The medal was awarded for the distinguished command of his Panzer-Regiment during the fluid battles around Kiev and Zhitomir in October/November 1943.

Source :
http://pantorijn.blogspot.com/2013/06/tita-binz.html
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/216/Schulz-Adelbert.htm

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