HEER
Major Helmut Hudel (1915-1985) was born on 4 July 1915 in Raunheim and died on 11 March 1985 in Frankfurt am Main. He joined the Reichswehr in 1934, initially serving with Kraftfahr-Abteilung 5, and later transferred to the Panzertruppe, rising through the ranks of the Heer. By the time of Operation Barbarossa he was serving with Panzer-Regiment 7 of the 10. Panzer-Division on the Eastern Front, where he earned the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse on 2 July 1941, the Panzerkampfabzeichen, and the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse on 21 July 1941. As Hauptmann and Chef of the 1./Panzer-Regiment 7 he distinguished himself in the heavy defensive fighting around Vyazma during the Soviet winter counter-offensive of early 1942, displaying exceptional leadership and personal bravery while temporarily attached to a Kampfgruppe of the 20. Panzer-Division. For these actions he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 27 May 1942. Later that year the 10. Panzer-Division was transferred to North Africa. As Kommandeur of the I./Panzer-Regiment 7 he led Kampfgruppe Hudel in the battles around Tebourba in early December 1942, conducting skilful counter-attacks with approximately fifty tanks that halted the Allied advance and contributed decisively to the German success in that sector. For his outstanding leadership and bravery during the Tunisian campaign he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (219th award) on 2 April 1943 while still holding the rank of Hauptmann. Evacuated from Tunisia before the final surrender, he later commanded schwere Panzer-Abteilung 508 in Italy and other armoured formations before being captured by American forces in the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LUFWAFFE
Leutnant Wilhelm Crinius (1920-1997) was born on 2 December 1920 in Hohenhausen in Kalletal and joined the Luftwaffe in January 1940 after completing basic training, becoming a fighter pilot and being posted in February 1942 to 3./Jagdgeschwader 53. Initially operating from Sicily against Malta without recorded victories, he transferred with I./Jagdgeschwader 53 to the Eastern Front, where his combat career accelerated dramatically during the summer of 1942. He claimed his first aerial victories in June and rapidly built his score, achieving the 15th on 1 August, the 25th by 25 August, and the 49th on 27 August, which also marked the 1,000th victory for I./Jagdgeschwader 53. Promoted to Feldwebel on 1 September after his 55th victory, Crinius then scored with exceptional intensity, claiming approximately 40 victories in August and another 46 between 1 and 22 September. On 22 September 1942 he reached his 100th aerial victory, becoming the 22nd Luftwaffe pilot to achieve this milestone. For this outstanding performance as Flugzeugführer in 3./Jagdgeschwader 53, Feldwebel Crinius was awarded both the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes and the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on the same day, 23 September 1942, the only German fighter pilot to receive the two decorations simultaneously, and was promoted to Leutnant. He subsequently moved with I./Jagdgeschwader 53 to Tunisia, where he claimed a further 14 victories before being shot down by a Spitfire over the sea on 13 January 1943, surviving a day in a dinghy before capture as a prisoner of war. Credited with 114 aerial victories in roughly 400 combat missions, predominantly on the Eastern Front, Crinius survived the war and later worked in private industry as a senior manager until his death on 26 April 1997 in Stuhr-Fahrenhorst.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WAFFEN-SS
SS-Oberscharführer Franz Staudegger (1923-1991) was born on 12 February 1923 in Unterloibach near Völkermarkt in Carinthia, Austria, the son of an innkeeper, and volunteered for the Waffen-SS at the age of seventeen in 1940, joining the SS-Infanterie-Ersatz-Bataillon of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. He served initially as an infantryman with the LSSAH on the Eastern Front, where he was wounded near Zhytomyr in November 1941 and received the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz, later being promoted through the ranks of SS-Schütze, SS-Oberschütze, SS-Sturmmann and SS-Rottenführer before completing tank commander training. By late 1942 he returned to the LSSAH as a Panzerkommandant, first of a Panzer III and then, after promotion to SS-Unterscharführer on 30 January 1943, of a Tiger I in the 13. (schwere) Kompanie of SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 during the fighting at Kharkov, for which he earned the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse and the Panzerkampfabzeichen in Silber. On 8 July 1943 during Unternehmen Zitadelle near Teterevino, while his damaged Tiger was among the few available in the town, Staudegger took up a firing position against a large Soviet armoured force of some fifty to sixty T-34s, destroying seventeen of them in the initial engagement and then pursuing the remnants into a gully to destroy a further five, continuing to fire with high-explosive rounds after his armour-piercing ammunition was exhausted, thereby completely breaking the Soviet attack despite his tank being hit dozens of times. For this action as SS-Unterscharführer and Panzerkommandant in the 13. (schwere) Kompanie / SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 / SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 10 July 1943, becoming the first Tiger commander of the Waffen-SS and the first recipient of the award from the Battle of Kursk. He was later promoted to SS-Oberscharführer, continued serving with heavy panzer units including the schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101, and survived the war, working afterwards as a railway official and insurance clerk until his death on 16 March 1991 in Frankfurt am Main.
Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2009/10/10-prajurit-third-reich-paling-tampan.html
No comments:
Post a Comment