Ritterkreuzträger of 2. SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich"

The 2. SS-Panzer-Division „Das Reich“ originated in October 1939 when the regiments Deutschland, Germania and Der Führer of the SS-Verfügungstruppe were combined into the SS-Verfügungs-Division under the command of SS-Gruppenführer Paul Hausser. After distinguishing itself in the 1940 Westfeldzug in the Netherlands and France, particularly in the capture of Rotterdam and the clearing of Zeeland, the formation was redesignated SS-Division „Reich“ and later „Das Reich“; the regiment Germania was detached to form the cadre of another division. In April 1941 elements of the division, led by a small detachment under SS-Hauptsturmführer Fritz Klingenberg, accepted the surrender of Belgrade during the Balkan campaign. Assigned to Heeresgruppe Mitte for Operation Barbarossa, it fought in the Battle of Yelnya, the drive on Moscow and the subsequent winter battles, suffering catastrophic losses that reduced some of its regiments to mere handfuls of men. Withdrawn to France in 1942 for conversion into a Panzergrenadier-Division, it returned to the Eastern Front in early 1943, playing a central role in the recapture of Kharkov and in the southern sector of the Kursk salient during Unternehmen Zitadelle. Redesignated 2. SS-Panzer-Division „Das Reich“ in October 1943 to reflect its armoured establishment, the division was transferred to southern France in 1944. Ordered north after the Allied landings in Normandy, it conducted a protracted road march marked by clashes with the French Resistance and by the notorious massacres at Tulle on 9 June and Oradour-sur-Glane on 10 June 1944. In Normandy it fought at Mortain and in the Falaise pocket before withdrawing across the Seine, later participating in the Ardennes offensive and, after transfer eastward, in Operation Spring Awakening in Hungary. Throughout its existence the division was noted both for its combat effectiveness and for repeated war crimes against civilians and prisoners. Remnants of the formation surrendered to American forces in May 1945 near Linz.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner (1896-1966) was born on 23 May 1896 in Stallupönen, East Prussia, and entered the Preußische Armee in March 1914 as Fahnenjunker in the Infanterie-Regiment „von Boyen“ (5. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 41 at Tilsit, serving through the First World War where he was severely wounded, rose to Oberleutnant, and received the Eisernes Kreuz first and second class together with the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz. After the war he joined an East Prussian Freikorps, was absorbed into the Reichswehr, and left active service in 1933 as Major before entering the NSDAP and SA and transferring in 1935 to the SS as Obersturmbannführer, soon commanding the newly formed SS-Standarte „Deutschland“ of the SS-Verfügungstruppe. As SS-Oberführer he led this Standarte through the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the Polish campaign and the Westfeldzug of 1940; for his decisive leadership in the three-day advance that captured the island group of Zeeland from French forces, the rapid thrust to Vlissingen, the storming of strong positions at the Beveland Canal and the causeway to Walcheren Island, and subsequent fighting in northern France, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 August 1940, becoming the first member of the Waffen-SS to receive the decoration. Promoted SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS, he formed and commanded the SS-Division „Wiking“ from December 1940, leading it with marked success yet also harsh methods during the invasion of the Soviet Union; for outstanding performance on the Eastern Front, particularly the fighting along the Terek river, the relief of the 13. Panzer-Division near Gisel and the destruction of a Soviet Guards division that threatened the sole supply road near Tschikola, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942 while holding the rank of SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS. In 1943 he assumed command of the newly created III. (germanisches) SS-Panzerkorps, organising the Division „Nordland“ and the Brigade „Nederland“ under its banner, conducting successful defensive operations against breakout attempts from the Oranienbaum pocket, and preserving the integrity of his forces during the withdrawal from Leningrad and their redeployment on the Narva front, achievements for which he was awarded the Schwerter to the Ritterkreuz on 10 August 1944 as SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS. After illness, brief command of the 11. SS-Panzerarmee and the theoretical Armeegruppe Steiner in the final defence of Berlin—orders he declined to execute—he surrendered to American forces in May 1945, was released in 1948, later helped found HIAG and published apologetic works on the Waffen-SS, dying in Munich on 12 May 1966.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_SS_Panzer_Division_Das_Reich