Adolf "Adi" Adam August Peichl
Date of Birth: 08.12.1917 - Wien (Austria-Hungary)
Date of Death: 04.06.1969 - Wien (Austria)
Buried: Friedhof Hernals, Wien (Austria), Group 2, Number 128
Battles and Operations: Invasion of Poland (1939), Battle of Belgium (1940), Battle of France (1940), Operation Barbarossa (1941), Battle of Smolensk (1941), Battle of Kiev (1941), Battle of Roslavl (1941), Battle of Istra (1941), Battle of Gomel (1941), Battle of Moscow (1941), Battle of Rzhev (1942), Battle of Dnjestr Bridgehead (1942), Battle of Kharkov (1943), Battle of Kursk (1943), Kamenez-Podolsk Pocket (1943), Battle of Normandy (1944)
Spouse: Martha Peichl
Children: Adolf Peichl and Ursula Peichl
Promotions:
00.07.1940 SS-Unterscharführer
00.01.1943 SS-Oberscharführer
09.11.1944 SS-Untersturmführer der Reserve
Career:
00.00.1938 joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT)
00.01.1943 Zugführer in 12.Kompanie (gepanzerte) / III.Bataillon /
SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment "Der Führer" / SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Das
Reich"
Awards and Decorations:
00.00.1939 Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938
00.00.1939 Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938 mit Spange "Prager Burg"
23.08.1941 Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz
23.08.1941 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
28.10.1941 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
25.12.1941 Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber
30.08.1942 Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42" (Ostmedaille)
00.03.1943 Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber
06.09.1943 Panzervernichtungsabzeichen in Silber (1)
06.09.1943 Panzervernichtungsabzeichen in Silber (2)
16.09.1943 Deutsches Kreuz in Gold
22.10.1943 Nahkampfspange in Bronze
22.10.1943 Nahkampfspange in Silber
24.10.1943 Nahkampfspange in Gold
20.09.1943 Panzervernichtungsabzeichen in Silber (3)
05.11.1943 Panzervernichtungsabzeichen in Silber (4)
05.11.1943 Panzervernichtungsabzeichen in Silber (5)
05.11.1943 Panzervernichtungsabzeichen in Gold. Received for his fifth personally destroyed enemy tank. Uncertain is wether he received first five silver ones that were later replaced by a golden one or that he received the golden for his fifth destroyed tank.
00.00.194_ Ärmelband SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 4 "Der Führer"
16.10.1944 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as SS-Hauptscharführer and Zugführer in 12.Kompanie (gepanzerte) / III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 4 "Der Führer" / 2.SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich". Peichl’s Ritterkreuz recommendation reads as follows: “SS-Hauptscharführer Peichl has already distinguished himself as an outstanding NCO in all campaigns through his outstanding bravery and ruthlessness. While serving as commander of a Panzerjäger-Zug during the fighting in Russia he often had a decisive role in the offensive and especially in the defensive successes of the Bataillon. An example of this was during a very difficult situation in the course of the fighting to contain an enemy bridgehead near Pij (on the Dnieper river). As the Bataillon was being overrun by a massive enemy armoured attack, with much resultant confusion, he destroyed 5 enemy T-34 tanks in close combat. During the heavy fighting against the Allied Invasion Peichl once again displayed outstanding bravery and impressive leadership abilities. In an energetic pursuit the swift American units succeeded in reaching the Westwall at almost the same time as the Bataillon. The individual bunkers and defensive installations had to be fought for in order to properly occupy them. As the Bataillon was very weak, was tasked with taking over an extremely broad sector, and was still waiting for one Kompanie to arrive, a very critical situation posed itself for the completion of the assigned mission. As the Bataillon commander was still briefing another Kompanie, and was still unaware of the situation on the left flank, Peichl assembled elements from his 12. Kompanie and the Bataillon staff and launched a bold counterthrust against the enemy forces that had already penetrated into the defensive fortifications, throwing them back and occupying the bunkers. Only by this independent action was it possible at all to occupy the ordered frontline sector. A short time after this the enemy commenced an attack with tanks and infantry. Several tanks broke through the dragon’s teeth barrier and opened fire at the bunker embrasures from very close range. Several bunkers were disabled by the strong fire. 4 Sherman tanks eventually stood before Peichl’s combat bunker, laying heavy fire on the embrasures and exits. No heavy weapons were available. Peichl recognized that now only decisive action would save the day. Despite the strong enemy bombardment he crawled out of the bunker, worked his way to the closest enemy tank and eliminated it with a Panzerfaust. After this tank went up in flames the 3 others fled, with the enemy infantry retreating with them. Through putting his life on the line like this Peichl saved the situation. The Bataillon was now able to bring heavy weapons into position, and by inserting another Kompanie into the line the defensive front was stabilized.”
00.00.194_ Verwundetenabzeichen in Gold
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Adolf Peichl was born the son of a fireman in the Austro-Hungarian capital of Vienna on 8 December 1917. He was employed as a waiter before he entered the SS-Verfügungstruppe in 1938 at the age of 21. Given hard training, “Adi” was a member of the SS-Verfügungs-Division when the war started and participated in the fighting in Poland, Belgium and France. He was promoted to SS-Unterscharführer in July 1940. The man from Austria also experienced the initial hard fighting on the Eastern Front in the very front lines and by August 1941, he had received the Iron Cross, Second Class. By October of the same year, he was a recipient of the Iron Cross, First Class as well.
Peichl was assigned to SS-Regiment (mot.) “Der Führer” and fought at Smolensk, Kiev, Roslawl, along the Istra and outside of Gomel. During the fighting outside of Moscow during the winter, the division’s famous commander, SS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser, was badly wounded and lost an eye. The former general in the Reichswehr eventually returned to frontline service as the commander of the first SS-Panzerkorps to be formed. He later received the Swords to the Knight’s Cross and ended the war as one of the highest-ranking general officers of the Waffen-SS. Peichl’s regimental commander at the time was no less an officer than Otto Kumm, who went on to the rank of SS-Brigadeführer and became a division commander. It was under Kumm’s command that the regiment survived even the heavy losses sustained in the fighting for the Rzhev bend in 1942.
Although Adolf Peichl was just a noncommissioned officer, by then he was looked up to in his company the same as men like Kumm and Hausser. The powerfully built man from Vienna stood out for his bravery in combat as well as his death-defying individual feats-of-arms. By January 1943, Peichl had been promoted to SS-Oberscharführer and was a platoon leader in the 12./SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment “Der Führer”. He was also already wearing the newly created Close Combat Clasp in Silver, since he was awarded 30 days of close-combat retroactively for the period from June 1941 to January 1942. That this amount was higher than officially allowed was not known by the brave soldier.
In March 1943, Peichl received the Wound Badge in Silver after he was wounded in the arm by shrapnel received when he destroyed three Soviet ammunition trucks. Despite his wounds, he remained at the front. It was not until he was badly wounded by fragments from an antitank-gun round that he allowed himself to be admitted to a hospital against his will.
In one of the first operations he led upon his return, Peichl eliminated two Soviet machine-gun nests at the head of his patrol. In the Dnjestr Bridgehead at Pij, he and some volunteers went after the T 34’s that were always attacking the combat outposts of the division. Within a few minutes, the SS-Oberscharführer was able to knock out five tanks, armed only with hand grenades and Teller mines! This resulted in the first Gold Tank Destruction Strip on his uniform. It would appear that Peichl’s somewhat corpulent appearance posed no obstacle on the battlefield.
At Poltava, the fighting around Kharkov and the subsequent engagements at Kursk, Peichl and his comrades participated in some of the toughest and most terrible fighting of the war in the east. Artillery fire—defending against attacks—destroying tanks with handheld weapons—strafings from the air—minefields—snipers: all of these were part of the routine of life at the front. When Peichl received the German Cross in Gold in the fall of 1943 for knocking out three T 34’s with an antitank gun, he had already enjoyed the reputation of being one of the hardest combatants in the battalion, which was commanded at the time by Vinzenz Kaiser, who also later received the Close Combat Clasp in Gold and the Knight’s Cross. Another member of this brotherhood of highly decorated soldiers was the new regimental commander, SS-Obersturmbannführer Sylvester Stadler, who, like Peichl and Kaiser, was a fellow Austrian. In the winter of 1943/1944, Peichl celebrated his 26th birthday as well as being the 11th member of the German armed forces to receive the Close Combat Clasp in Gold. The 50th day of close combat had occurred during a patrol in the woods at Nikitowka; the 59th day occurred in the fall of 1943 at Grebeny. This was later the source of some confusion and after-the-fact changes, as we shall soon read.
Peichl, who had been promoted to SS-Hauptscharführer, fought with the division at Schepetowka and then during the risky breakout attempt from the Kamenez-Podolsk Pocket. Despite the difficulties of daily life at the front, “Adi” never lost his sense of humor. When enemy artillery starting hammering away at Peichl’s company’s positions just before an old friend from another company was due to arrive, Peichl said the following to his comrade when he finally showed up: “I knew you were coming. With such a racket going on, you couldn’t be far away…”
On 5 November 1943, Peichl proved that he was also not only good with words. In the course of a defensive engagement, he knocked out three T 34’s with magnetic mines!
In the summer of 1944, the 2. SS-Panzer-Division “Das Reich” was sent to the Invasion front, where it fought against American, Canadian and British forces. Based on the high losses in officers, “Adi” Peichl was given acting command of the 12. (schwere)/SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment “Der Führer”, where he distinguished himself again and again.
By then, Peichl’s battalion was commanded by the well-known daredevil and future Oakleaves recipient, Heinz Werner. One time, when Peichl’s battalion had to pull back from its positions in the face of a tank attack supported by infantry, Peichl found himself cut off from his men. He sought cover in an earthen bunker. A few minutes later, he was surrounded by four English tanks. The crews did not realize that there was a single German in their midst—let alone that he was an accomplished tank “killer” such as Peichl. Peichl crawled out unnoticed from his hidden position, knocked out the barrel of one of the tanks with a shaped charge and safely made it out of the mousetrap. When he reported back to his regimental headquarters a short while later, he discovered he had been awarded the Knight’s Cross for his repeated bravery at the head of his mechanized infantrymen in both the East and the West.
During the defensive fighting that raged in September along the so-called “Siegfried” Line, the acting company commander knocked out his 11th tank with a Panzerfaust. Shortly afterwards, he and his men landed in another dangerous situation. Surprised by a tank advance and cut off in a bunker with a few other comrades, Peichl saw no other way out of the situation than to call artillery on his own position! The bunker withstood the friendly artillery rounds, but the Americans pulled back immediately. When the patrol sent out to relieve the encircled soldiers arrived, a visibly relieved Peichl was beaming from ear to ear and offered the patrol leader a “reward”—a drink from his wine-filled canteen.
On 9 November 1944, Peichl was promoted to reserve SS-Untersturmführer. By that point, the brave front-line veteran had two golden Tank Destruction Strips and a silver one on his uniform—a total of 11 tanks destroyed altogether! He had more of these awards than almost anyone else in the German armed forces.
After many years of hard and dangerous service at the front, Peichl had the good fortune to be taken prisoner by the Americans instead of the Soviets. He returned to his beloved Vienna after the war. He got divorced and started a new life as a hotel porter. He died in 1969, however, at the age of only 52 as a result of liver problems. He left behind two children, and his son later became a well-known theater actor.
As mentioned earlier, there are contradictory documents concerning the number of close-combat days for SS-Untersturmführer Peichl. The first list maintained and submitted by the division, which can be seen in the request for the award, contains 30 days that were retroactively certified from the period 1941/1942. In the summer of 1943, numbers 31–50 were noted and, at the time of the award of the Close Combat Clasp in Gold, the 59th day was recorded. Since the close-combat days submitted for 1941/1942 was too high in accordance with the regulations prescribing the conditions for the award but no one was willing to revoke it, a “new” list of close-combat days was prepared!
This second list contains only 5 days for the period 1941/1942 and none for 1942. February 1943 lists the 12th close-combat day. The 13th through 30th days are recorded for the summer of 1943, so that there were really only 37 days recorded at the time of the actual award of the Close Combat Clasp in Gold. This means, of course, that the list was “improved” after-the-fact so that it corresponded with the directives for the award. In the second list, it is interesting to see close-combat days 38–54 for the summer of 1944 on the Western Front, whereby the list ends in September at the time of Peichl’s promotion to SS-Untersturmführer.
In summary, there were at least 66 close-combat days by comparing the lists.
Adolf Peichl as SS-Unterscharführer.
SS-Oberscharführer Adolf Peichl was a highly decorated noncommissioned officer even before he was awarded the Ritterkreuz.
Eastern Front: SS-Oberscharführer Adolf Peichl (left, Zugführer in 12.Kompanie / III.Bataillon / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 4 "Der Führer" / 2.SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich") congratulates SS-Oberscharführer Hans Soretz (with arm sling, Kommandant Tiger S11 and Zugführer in 8.Kompanie / II.Abteilung / SS-Panzer-Regiment 2 / 2.SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich") for having scored the division's 2,000th tank kill near the Dniepr river (according to author Ernst-Günther Krätschmer, Peichl himself was credited with achieving the division's 1,000th tank kill using hand-held weapon). The picture was taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Willi Merz on 1 November 1943. The Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger "S22" in the background shows the symbol of the 8th Company, the Chyort ("little devil" in Slavic culture) and the "Inverted letter Fu" (倒福 taofu / dàofú), believed to bring good luck in Chinese culture. Other pictures from this occasion can be seen HERE.
Adolf Peichl in the post-war period with his family: wife Martha and children Adolf and Ursula.
Traueranzeige (Funeral Notice).
Source :
"Face of Courage, The 98 Men Who Received the Knight's Cross and the Close-Combat Clasp in Gold" by Florian Berger
https://www.andreas-thies.de/auctions/49-749098
https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Peichl,_Adolf_(1917)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/158411403/adolf-peichl
https://forum.axishistory.com/search.php?keywords=adolf+peichl&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sr=topics&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/13760/Peichl-Adolf-SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment-4-DF.htm
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