Ritterkreuzträger of 98. Infanterie-Division

The 98. Infanterie-Division was mobilized in Wehrkreis XIII during the fifth mobilization wave in September 1939 under Generalmajor Erich Schröck, originally drawing its personnel primarily from Franconia and the Sudetenland. Assigned initially to reserve roles in the west, the division took part in the campaign in France in 1940, advancing through the Somme and Aisne before settling into occupation duties. In June 1941, under Generalleutnant Erich Schröck, the unit was transferred east for Operation Barbarossa, serving under Heeresgruppe Süd in the push across Ukraine toward Kiev. Reassigned to Heeresgruppe Mitte in autumn 1941, the division participated in the advance on Moscow, where it endured heavy casualties, bitter cold, and severe Soviet counteroffensives near Maloyaroslavets and the Vyazma salient. Throughout 1942 and early 1943, under commanders such as Generalleutnant Martin Gareis, the division remained engaged in grueling defensive and anti-partisan operations in central Russia, suffering catastrophic losses among its regiments, Infanterie-Regiment 282, 289, and 290. In spring 1943, it was relocated south to the Kuban bridgehead, fighting stubborn withdrawal actions across the Taman Peninsula before being pushed into the Crimea. By late 1943 and early 1944, elements fought encircled at Kerch and Sevastopol under Generalleutnant Alfred-Hermann Reinhardt; those who evaded capture were evacuated by sea to Romania. Rebuilt in Croatia during the summer of 1944 as a modern division under Generalleutnant Otto-Ernst Flickenschildt, it was transferred to Italy under Heeresgruppe C. There it fought along the Gothic Line, defending the Senio River and the plains around Bologna until finally surrendering to Allied forces near Lake Garda in early May 1945.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


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.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/98th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)