Ritterkreuzträger with Schlesischer Adler (Silesian Eagle)

The Schlesischer Adler, also known as the Silesian Eagle or Schlesisches Bewährungsabzeichen, was a Freikorps decoration instituted on 19 June 1919 by Generalleutnant Friedrich von Friedeburg of the VI. Armee-Korps to recognize service by German paramilitary volunteers during the turbulent early years of the Weimar Republic. It was awarded primarily to members of units such as Freikorps Oberland who fought in the Silesian Uprisings against Polish forces seeking control of Upper Silesia after the First World War. The decoration existed in two classes: the 2nd Class for three months of continuous service and the higher 1st Class for six months of service in the contested region. Following the decisive German success at the Battle of Annaberg in May 1921, the award could be enhanced with crossed swords for outstanding bravery in combat or with an oak-leaf wreath for additional non-combat merit, and both devices could be worn together. Designed by Professor Theodor von Gosen, the badge took the form of the historic Silesian heraldic eagle in black enamel on a silvered or gilt metal base, bearing the inscription “Für Schlesien” on the reverse or obverse depending on the version. The 1st Class was typically worn as a pin-back badge on the left breast pocket, while the 2nd Class was suspended from a black-white-black ribbon resembling the Prussian colours. Although the decoration was unofficial and recipients usually had to purchase it themselves, it became one of the very few Freikorps awards officially permitted for wear on Wehrmacht uniforms after the 1935 ban on unofficial medals. The swords and oak leaves were later prohibited, yet many veterans continued to display them. Highly regarded among interwar German military circles, the Schlesischer Adler remains a scarce and historically significant collector’s item that commemorates the bitter struggle for Silesia in the immediate post-war period.

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HEER


Generalleutnant Hartwig von Ludwiger (1895-1947) was born on 29 June 1895 in Beuthen in Silesia and entered the Preußische Armee on 19 August 1914 as a Fahnenjunker, receiving his commission as Leutnant on 30 July 1915 in the Grenadier-Regiment „König Friedrich III.“ (2. Schlesisches) Nr. 11. During the First World War he served on the Western Front in the battles of Champagne, Arras, the Somme, Flanders and the Meuse-Argonne, earning both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, the Ritterkreuz des Königlichen Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern and the Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber for repeated wounds. Retained in the Reichswehr after 1918, he participated in the suppression of the Silesian Uprisings and advanced steadily through the ranks to Oberstleutnant by 1938 while commanding battalions in various infantry regiments. On 1 March 1940 he assumed command of Infanterie-Regiment 83 of the 28. Infanterie-Division and led it through the campaign in France. Following the start of Operation Barbarossa he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 July 1941 as Oberstleutnant and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 83 for his personal leadership and the regiment’s determined advances during the initial phase of the offensive on the Eastern Front. Promoted to Oberst on 1 September 1941, he continued to command the unit after its conversion into Jäger-Regiment 83 of the 28. Jäger-Division. For his outstanding direction of the regiment during the Crimean campaign, including the fighting for the Kerch Peninsula, and especially for the successful defensive actions near the Sinyavino Heights in September 1942 where his men blunted major Soviet assaults and destroyed several enemy battalions in difficult forest and marsh terrain, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942 as the 163rd recipient. Later promoted to Generalmajor and Generalleutnant, he commanded the 104. Jäger-Division in the Balkans until the end of the war and was executed in Belgrade on 3 or 5 May 1947 after conviction by a Yugoslav military court.



Generalleutnant Hans Mikosch (1898-1993) was born on 7 January 1898 in Kattowitz and volunteered for the Imperial German Army in 1914, serving as a pioneer officer and receiving a commission as Leutnant after two years of combat in the First World War before leaving the military in 1920 to join the police. He returned to the Heer on 15 October 1935 as Hauptmann, was promoted to Major in 1936 and to Oberstleutnant in 1939, and from October 1937 commanded Pionier-Bataillon 51, leading it in the invasion of Poland and later in the Westfeldzug. On 10 May 1940 his battalion advanced through fortified and heavily defended Belgian positions to relieve the Fallschirmjäger who had landed on Fort Eben-Emael, enabling the definitive German capture of the fort; for this action he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 May 1940 as Oberstleutnant und Kommandeur of Pionier-Bataillon 51. Promoted to Oberst in 1942, he commanded Pionier-Regiment 677 and later Pionier-Regiment-Stab z.b.V. 677 while also leading Kampfgruppe Mikosch on the Eastern Front. After the Soviet Operation Uranus, his Kampfgruppe retreated from the Kalatsch bridgehead to the Chir railway station on 24 November 1942 and was subordinated to the 384. Infanterie-Division, holding positions near Werch-Tschirskij in the Chir-Don triangle for four weeks against repeated Soviet tank and infantry assaults. On 14 December 1942 the Soviet 7th Tank Corps broke through with thirty tanks into the village itself, yet Kampfgruppe Mikosch destroyed twenty enemy tanks despite losing nearly all its anti-tank weapons and thereby prevented the Soviets from rolling up the entire Chir defensive front westward, actions for which he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 6 March 1943 as Oberst und Kommandeur of Pionier-Regiment-Stab z.b.V. 677 und Führer einer Kampfgruppe im Raum Stalingrad. He later temporarily commanded the 10. Panzergrenadier-Division from October to December 1943, then the 13. Panzer-Division until May 1944, receiving promotion to Generalmajor in January 1944, served as commandant of Boulogne and Higher Pionier Commander, and ended the war as Generalleutnant responsible for fortifications in East Prussia and leader of another Kampfgruppe Mikosch near Königsberg. Captured by Soviet forces on 8 April 1945, he remained a prisoner until 1955 and died on 18 January 1993 in Reichshof.



Generalleutnant Alfred-Hermann Reinhardt (1897-1973) was born on 15 November 1897 in Affalterbach, Württemberg, and enlisted as a Kriegsfreiwilliger in the 5. Württembergisches Grenadier-Regiment „König Karl“ Nr. 123 on 7 January 1916. He fought on the Western Front, earning both classes of the Iron Cross and the Württemberg Military Merit Medal, and left the army as Leutnant in 1920 to join the Württembergische Polizei. Transferred to the Heer as Hauptmann in 1935, he rose to Oberstleutnant by 1940 and commanded the III./Infanterie-Regiment 480 during the Battle of France. In July 1941 he took command of Infanterie-Regiment 421 of the 125. Infanterie-Division; for leading the capture of Tarassowka on 20 September 1941 that sealed the Kiev pocket he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 December 1941 as Oberstleutnant. Promoted to Oberst, he later commanded the redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 421. On 25–26 July 1943, during the Kuban bridgehead battles, he counter-attacked a Soviet breakthrough between Dolgaja-Berg and Neberdshajewskaja, restoring the German line along the Kamm river and preventing the collapse of the bridgehead; for this he was awarded the Eichenlaub on 28 September 1943 as Oberst (306th award). Appointed Kommandeur of the 98. Infanterie-Division on 1 February 1944, he led it through the Crimean retreat and its reformation in Croatia, then in the defence of the Adriatic coast near Rimini and Bologna. For the division’s outstanding defensive performance in late summer and autumn 1944 he was promoted to Generalleutnant and received the Schwerter on 24 December 1944 (118th award). Captured in May 1945, he was released in 1948 and died on 15 January 1973 in Öhringen.

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LUFTWAFFE

Generalmajor Dr. Ing. Ernst Bormann (1897-1960) was born on 5 November 1897 in Kirchbrak and joined the German army as a Fahnenjunker in Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 82 on 17 August 1915 during the First World War. After transferring to aviation and completing pilot training with Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 7 and related units, he served as a pilot with Feldflieger Abteilung 42 before joining the prestigious Jagdstaffel 2 “Boelcke” on 4 May 1918, where as a Leutnant he achieved 17 aerial victories by the war’s end. Demobilized in 1919 and leaving active service as Charakter als Oberleutnant in 1920, he earned a doctorate in engineering and worked as a flying instructor at the secret German aviation school in Lipetsk in the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1930. Reactivated in the Luftwaffe as Hauptmann in 1934, he commanded a Staffel in Kampfgeschwader Boelcke, later led III. Gruppe of Lehrgeschwader 1, and on 26 February 1941 became Geschwaderkommodore of Kampfgeschwader 76, rising to Oberst. He received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 5 October 1941 as Oberstleutnant and Kommodore of Kampfgeschwader 76 for the unit’s successes during the Battle of Britain and the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa, including the first attacks on Moscow and the Leningrad-Moscow railway. The Eichenlaub followed on 3 September 1942 as Oberst and Kommandeur of the Gefechtsverband Bormann (an augmented Kampfgeschwader 76) for further bomber operations on the Eastern Front, notably during the Briansk-Vyazma pocket battles, the Dnieper crossing east of Cholm, strikes against the Rybinsk aircraft factory, the fighting of 9. Armee near Rzhev, and actions on the southern sector. Subsequent postings included Fliegerführer Krim and, as Generalmajor from 1 October 1944, Flughafen-Bereichskommandant in Mähren. Captured by Soviet forces on 10 May 1945, he remained a prisoner until his release on 9 October 1955 and died in Düsseldorf on 1 August 1960.

Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2012/11/album-foto-tokoh-third-reich-peraih.html