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Sunday, February 21, 2021

Ritterkreuz Action of Wilhelm Walther

 

Wilhelm Walther (27 January 1910 - 25 November 2010) received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 24 June 1940 as Oberleutnant and Stosstruppführer in 4.Kompanie / Baulehrbataillon z.b.V. 800. The unit were stationed at Brandenburg-Havel and was formed on 15 December 1939. The first units of the company moved to the West in February 1940. Prior to the invasion of the Low Countries, the Brandenburgers were given the task of capturing the Roermund and Buggenum bridges. The railway bridge at Gennep was captured by Oberleutnant Walther personally with eight other members of his squad, Walther and two other members of the group were disguised as Dutch military police and the other six were in German uniforms. To the Dutch side of the frontier the appeatance of nine men on the bridge aroused no suspicion for it seemed that three fully armed Dutch policemen were escorting six disarmed German soldiers. Each of the prisoners were carrying concealed machine pistols strapped to their chest under their unbuttoned overcoats and egg grenades in their pockets. Then they made their assault, succesfully seizing the bridge and disabling the detonators. Minutes later the first of two troop trains carrying units of the 256. Infanterie-Division rolled across the bridge. For this feat, Oberleutnant Wather was the first Brandenburger to receive the Ritterkreuz on 24 June 1940.


Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2014/03/album-foto-brandenburgers-sonderverband.html
https://www.treasurebunker.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1362-the-brandenburgers/

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