Otto Lasch and Festung Königsberg

Königsberg, the capital city of East Prussia, was surrounded by the Soviets in late January 1945 and besieged, although the seaside was still open and usable by the Germans. Since the frontline quickly moved further west in February, the capture of the city was of low priority  to the Soviets, and so the Soviet attack on the city only started on April 6th, and on April 9th, with the Soviets already in the city, the German defenders capitulated.

Otto Lasch (1893-1971) was functioned as Commandant of Königsberg in East Prussia from November 1944 onward. As Fortress Commandant of Königsberg he was responsible for defending the city and maintaining order among the flood of refugees fleeing from the advancing Red Army. Following heavy fighting and a three month siege of the city during the Battle of Königsberg by the 36-division-strong 3rd Byelorussian Front under Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Lasch disobeyed Hitler's orders and surrendered Königsberg to the Red Army on 9 April 1945. As a result of his surrender Hitler sentenced him in absentia to death by hanging, and his family, in Denmark and Berlin at the time, was arrested. Lasch went into Soviet captivity and was convicted as a war criminal in the Soviet Union and sentenced to twenty-five years in a corrective labor camp. He was released in 1955.

Source :
Die Deutsche Wochenschau No. 755 - 22 March 1945
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWxWY4rFhTg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Lasch

First Volkssturm Ritterkreuzträger Ernst Tiburzy

Ernst Tiburzy (1911-2004) was a battalion leader of the Volkssturm and the first Volkssturm soldier to be awarded with the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes. He destroyed 5 or 9 Soviet tanks (sources vary) during the Battle of Königsberg on February 10th, 1945, preventing a breakthrough into the city and was awarded for that. He was one of only four or five Volkssturm soldiers who received the Ritterkreuz.

The following newspaper excerpt (dated 3 March 1945) describes why Tiburzy was awarded the coveted medal:

“First Volkssturm Ritterkreuzträger:

The Bolsheviks had succeeded in achieving a penetration in the Königsberg area. In response a German Volkssturm Bataillon commander, SA-Hauptsturmführer Tiburzy (who had previously been badly wounded during the Eastern campaign), initiated a counterthrust at the head of a small shock troop. The Volkssturm managed to roll up the trench that had been occupied by the enemy with Panzerfausts and hand grenades. In the process Tiburzy destroyed 2 Soviet T-34s with Panzerfausts. Later, as the Soviets launched a new attack against the Volkssturm blocking position two days later with tanks and infantry, Tiburzy launched a counterattack with his Bataillon on his own initiative. In the fighting which followed he personally destroyed another 3 T-34s in close combat, and the situation was restored. For this reason the Hauptsturmführer was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes by the Führer.”

Source :
Die Deutsche Wochenschau No. 755 - 22 March 1945
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWxWY4rFhTg
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/61903/Tiburzy-Ernst.htm

Bomb Disposal Specialist Egon Aghta

Egon August Agtha (1918-1945) was a German bomb disposal specialist in Berlin during World War II. Initially an artillery soldier, he was trained as a bomb disposal specialist from 1939-1941. He was severely wounded by the explosion of a British unexploded ordinance in 1942. He returned to active duty two years later and was made the leader of the Sprengkommando 1 (1st Bomb Disposal Unit) of the Luftwaffe (Air Force) in Berlin sometimes in 1944. He was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knights Cross of the Iron Cross) on February 3rd, 1945, and promoted to Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) by Hitler personally on the same day. He was further awarded the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz (Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross) on March 12th, 1945, and was again promoted by Hitler personally on the same day, this time to Hauptmann (Captain). He died during fighting with Soviet troops in Berlin on May 2nd, 1945.

Source :
Die Deutsche Wochenschau No. 755 - 22 March 1945
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWxWY4rFhTg
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/28059/Agtha-Egon-August-Sprengkommando-1.htm

Award Ceremony of SS Division HJ in Normandy

SS-Standartenführer Wilhelm Mohnke (Kommandeur SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26 / 12.SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend") awarded the Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse and I.Klasse medals at once(!) to one of his brave soldier, SS-Unterscharführer Heinz Degenhardt. The award ceremony, held in Normandy in June 1944, apparently took place shortly after Degenhardt's heroic actions in battle, during which the outstanding soldier had no time to rest, so fatigue and sleepiness were clearly visible on his face! Mohnke's action of patting Degenhardt on the cheek was a symbol of a father's love for his son - as most of the soldiers of the 12th SS Division were young boys - as well as the commander's thanks to his soldiers (the same practice was practiced by Hitler himself). Degenhardt - born May 30, 1925 - would later die in battle against British forces in Arnhem on October 6, 1944, and buried among the unknown.

Source :
Die Deutsche Wochenschau No. 720 - 21 June 1944
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-DzDJmt5F8
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2025/05/upacara-penganugerahan-medali-untuk.html
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/157995002/heinz-degenhardt

Joachim Barth and Georg Scholze in Normandy

This scene from "Die Deutsche Wochenschau" (German Newsreel) shows two Ritterkreuzträger from Panzer-Lehr-Division in Normandy Front, June 1944. From left to right: Major Joachim Barth (Kommandeur Panzerjäger-Lehr-Abteilung 130) and Oberst Georg Scholze (Kommandeur Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment 901).

Source :
Die Deutsche Wochenschau No. 720 - 21 June 1944
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrwDehP8bzc
https://www.tumblr.com/fallschirmjager/88125302365/panzer-lehr-at-normandy-the-first-engagement

Ritterkreuz Award Ceremony for Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Hoffmann and Victor Rall

Ritterkreuz award ceremony for Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Hoffmann (Chef 5. Torpedobootsflottille) and Korvettenkapitän der Reserve Dr.-ing.Victor Rall (Chef 15.Vorpostenflottille) of the Kriegsmarine.

The following excerpt stands as a written tribute to the Ritterkreuz action of Heinrich Hoffmann: “From the very start of the Invasion Korvettenkapitän Hoffmann and his unit were present in combat against the allied fleet from one night to the next in an area that was heavily guarded by strong enemy naval formations. In this time he led his ships with great bravery and daring. Thanks to his strong will and outstanding naval acumen, he was able to overcome every difficulty and conduct multiple successful attacks with his unit. At least 3 enemy destroyers were torpedoed during these missions, of which one was almost certainly sunk.”

The following press article (dated 10 June 1944) describes why Rall would receive the Ritterkreuz: “The Führer was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes to Korvettenkapitän d.R. Viktor Rall, commander of a VP-Flotille on the Invasion front, for his bravery in the fighting against the enemy landing fleet. Korvettenkapitän Rall launched a raid into the Allied fleet on the first night of the Invasion, leading his own force of converted fishing boats. He fought against enemy landing craft of all types successfully while avoiding enemy 38-cm salvoes. On the second night he and his heroically fighting crews fought in further battles against overwhelming numbers of enemy destroyers and light craft, while still inflicting considerable damage to the enemy landing formations. In the following nights Rall and his Flottille continued to fight in numerous battles in the most intense moments of the fighting. Rall was born on 27 November 1896 in Reutlingen (Württemberg) and has already participated in the First World War as a Seeoffizier. Before the fighting on the Invasion front he operated with his Flottille in the English Channel for a long time, where he protected valuable German convoys in many hard-fought night battles, safely bringing them into their intended destination harbours.”

Source :
Die Deutsche Wochenschau No. 720 - 21 June 1944
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrwDehP8bzc
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/14643/Hoffmann-Heinrich-KM-Torpedoboot.htm
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/15109/Rall-Dr-Ing-Victor.htm

Divisionskommandeur Alexander Conrady with His Men in the Rest Village

German soldiers take recreation leave on Eastern Front. Animated map of Eastern Front from Narva to Jassy. Present lull allows two soldiers to leave trench for few days at Relaxation Camp behind lines. Facilities at log-cabin camp include sauna (sign), showers (End of Reel 1), barber, meals served by girls (Russian?) to Divisionskommandeur Generalmajor Alexander Conrady (36. Infanterie-Division) sitting eating with his men, extra rations and an open-air Variété performance with trapeze artiste, dancers (scanned by one soldier through his artillery periscope) and trick cyclists.

Source :
Die Deutsche Wochenschau No. 720 - 21 June 1944
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-DzDJmt5F8

Ritterkreuz Action of Willy Apitz

Ritterkreuzträger Unteroffizier Willy Apitz recounts his brave exploits beyond the Dnieper. Daily proof that German soldier is best and bravest individual fighter gains substance from first person account by Apitz, over supporting animation, of his experience beyond River Dnieper in being cut of by Soviet armour and calling down his own fire (Artillerie Regiment 81) and tanks to repel nearby Russian forces.

Willy Apitz received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 1 January 1944 as Obergefreiter and Funker in 10.Batterie / Artillerie-Regiment 81 / 97.Jäger-Division. During the autumn of 1943 Obergefreiter Apitz found himself engaged in his Division’s heavy defensive combat along the Lower Dnieper front between the Nikopol and Cherson bridgeheads. In this time, while he was serving as a radio operator at a forward observation post, all of his comrades were killed during a large-scale Soviet attack. When the Soviets proceeded to launch a renewed thrust with tanks and infantry, Apitz decided to personally direct the fire of his attached artillery even though he had no training in this role. However, despite being all alone, he managed to fulfill this role effectively and direct devastating artillery fire onto the attacking Soviet forces.

A unit of Soviet infantry that were passing by suddenly attacked Apitz at his position. He initially held them off with his carbine before ordering his own artillery to bombard his position. He had to repeat the order twice before his stunned comrades proceeded to do just that. Fierce artillery fire was then plastered on Apitz’s position for about a minute. However Apitz survived, and the Soviet infantry took such high losses that they decided to fall back to their jump-off position. With this the Soviet thrust came to an end.

Apitz would be initially decorated with the Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse for this action. Later on he also received the Ritterkreuz at the recommendation of his superiors.

Source :
Die Deutsche Wochenschau No. 720 - 21 June 1944
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060004235
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/28123/Apitz-Willy.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-DzDJmt5F8