Martin Mitschke
Date of Birth: 10.10.1920 - Crostau, Kreis Bautzen, Sachsen (Germany)
Date of Death: 19.11.2008 - Schongau, Bayern (Germany)
Father: Ernst Mitschke
Civil occupation: Farmer
Promotions:
01.04.1940 Gefreiter
01.01.1942 Obergefreiter
01.03.1942 Unteroffizier
01.07.1944 Feldwebel
01.11.1944 Oberfeldwebel
01.01.1945 Fahnenjunker
01.04.1945 Leutnant
Career:
00.00.1927 - 00.00.1935 Volksschule Crostau
00.00.1935 - 00.00.1939 Worked in "Eisengießerei und Maschinenfabrik EMAG"
01.10.1939 Entered the Wehrmacht in Infanterie-Ersatz-Bataillon 103 (Zittau)
00.00.1940 2.Kompanie / Maschinengewehr-Bataillon 7. Invasion of France
00.00.1940 - 00.00.1941 MG-Bataillon 7 / 14.Panzer-Division
00.00.1941 2.Kompanie / Schützen-Regiment 103. Invasion of Yugoslavia and Soviet Union
00.00.1942 WIA, convalescence in Lazarett Thorn and Graudenz. Afrikakorps Ersatztruppenteil in Küstrin. Ausbilderlehrgang in Weimar, followed by Rekrutenausbilder in Küstrin.
00.00.1943 Truppenübungsplatz Oksbøl in Denmark and 90. Panzergrenadier-Division in Italy
00.00.1944 - 00.05.1945 Zugführer in 2.Kompanie / Panzergrenadier-Regiment 200. Ended the war as Führer 3.Kompanie / Panzergrenadier-Regiment 200
00.05.1945 - 28.10.1945 U.S. POW camp in Florence and Livorno
00.00.1949 Married
Awards and Decorations:
13.04.1939 SA-Sportabzeichen in Bronze
15.05.1940 Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (for the wound received on 15.05.1940)
12.01.1942 Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber (for the wounds received on 25.08.1941 and 16.10.1941)
27.02.1942 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
15.03.1942 Panzerkampfabzeichen in Bronze
20.08.1942 Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42" (Ostmedaille)
25.07.1944 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
31.07.1944 Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Bronze
12.08.1944 Nahkampfspange in Bronze
16.10.1944 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as Feldwebel and Zugführer in 2.Kompanie / I.Bataillon / Panzergrenadier-Regiment 200 / 90.Panzergrenadier-Division. The following letter of commendation (written on the 10.10.1944 by Divisionskommandeur Generalleutnant Ernst-Günther Baade) describes the action that would lead to Mitschke receiving the Knight’s Cross: “On the night of the 27-28.09.1944 Feldwebel Mitschke launched an attack with his Zug on his own initiative against the enemy forces that had penetrated into Savignano. Although the enemy resisted here with heavy fire they were eventually driven out. As a result of his bravery and decisiveness, this key position (of importance to the whole Division) was thereby held.”
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Martin Mitschke finally reached the rank of Leutnant der Reserve.
He served 1940-42 with Schützen-Regiment 108 of the 14. Panzer-Division, March 1941 in Hungary and April 1941 active in Yugoslavia before the unit took part in the campaign against Russia (Cholm. Rostow. Mius).
June 1942 the Division became part of the 6. Armee on its way to Stalingrad, where the Division was destroyed in January 1943. Mitschke did not share the fate of his comrades as he served 1944 with Grenadier-Regiment 200 (motorisiert) of the 90. Panzergrenadier-Division, reformed in July 1943 after its predecessor (90. Afrika-Division) was destroyed in Tunisia.
The Division was in July-September 1943 based on Sardinia, Corsica and Elba, and served the rest of the war in Italy (Adria, Monte Cassino, Rome, Florence, Western Alps, Rimini, Bologna, and Po).
A picture of Martin Mitschke before he receive the Ritterkreuz, from his Soldbuch.
Feldwebel Martin Mitschke (Zugführer in 2.Kompanie / I.Bataillon / Panzergrenadier-Regiment 200 / 90.Panzergrenadier-Division) in a picture taken in October 1944, not long after he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (16 October 1944).
A video of the awarding of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes to two experienced platoon leaders of the Panzergrenadiere, late 1944 in Italy. The general is Schwerterträger Ernst-Günther Baade, who later fell on 8 May 1945. He was the commander of the 90. Panzergrenadier-Division, which was fighting at Rimini and Bologna. He wears a neck decoration of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern and a reversible camouflage jacket with the special insignia on the sleeve. The two decorated men are Oberfeldwebel Hugo Heinkel, a Zugtruppführer in the 15.Kompanie / Grenadier-Regiment 361 (motorisiert), and Feldwebel Martin Mitschke, a Zugführer in 2.Kompanie / Grenadier-regiment 200 (motorisiert). Heinkel formally received the Ritterkreuz on 16 November 1944. He later joined the Bundeswehr and reached the final rank as Hauptmann. In the other hand, Mitschke received the same medal on 16 October 1944. There is an interesting anecdote about this sequence from "Die Deutsche Wochenschau" newsreel: It does not actually show Feldwebel Mitschke receiving the Ritterkreuz, because he received the award one month before Oberfeldwebel Heinkel. When Generalleutnant Baade wanted to hand over the Ritterkreuz to Heinkel, members of a propaganda company were also present, who were filming for the newsreel. Martin Mitschke was also filmed on this occasion. When the sequence was shown in the "Wochenschau" of the 21 December 1944 edition, it was intended to show Heinkel and Mitschke receiving the Ritterkreuz from their division commander at the same time. In reality, Mitschke had already received the award from Divisionskommandeur Baade a month earlier. There are recordings of this. Baade, for example, is wearing different clothing, not this winter jacket. Mitschke had to take off the neck medal again for the "Wochenschau". There was probably only the "new" Ritterkreuz for Heinkel to hand. That's why you can only see him being presented with the medal. Only he wears it on a long ribbon. You can see it very clearly at the end of the sequence. Mitschke wears his Ritterkreuz the way he had made it suitable for daily wear weeks before.... For the "newsreel", two simultaneous Ritterkreuz ceremonies within a division to sub-commanders were apparently much more interesting, so there was a bit of "trickery". Of course, if you know the background, you will notice it!
Source :
https://www.ebay.com/itm/403251940123
https://militariasammlermarkt.de/deutsches-reich/ritterkreuz-des-eisernen-kreuzes-spezial/ritterkreuztraeger-autographen/2598/martin-mitschke-soldbuch-wehrmacht-fuehrerschein-ritterkreuztraeger-rkt-autograph-autogramm
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/40246/Mitschke-Martin-GrenRgtmot-200.htm
https://trauer.merkur.de/traueranzeige/martin-mitschke
