Ritterkreuzträger of 19. Infanterie-Division / 19. Panzer-Division

The 19. Infanterie-Division was formed on 1 October 1934 in Hannover under the cover name Artillerieführer VI within Wehrkreis VI and officially redesignated on 15 October 1935, mobilizing fully on 25 August 1939 with Infanterie-Regiment 59, Infanterie-Regiment 73, Infanterie-Regiment 74 and Artillerie-Regiment 19 before advancing as part of XI. Armeekorps of the 10. Armee during the Polish campaign, fighting on the Bzura and participating in the final assault on Warsaw, then transferring west to take part in the 1940 campaign in Belgium and France where it crossed the Somme, entered the outskirts of Paris and reached the Loire before performing occupation duties along the demarcation line until returning home in late September 1940. On 1 November 1940 the formation was converted into the 19. Panzer-Division by incorporating Panzer-Regiment 27 while transferring Infanterie-Regiment 59 and other elements to the newly raised 20. Panzer-Division, after which it trained in Germany under Generalleutnant Otto von Knobelsdorff until joining Panzergruppe 3 of Heeresgruppe Mitte for Unternehmen Barbarossa in June 1941, advancing through the battles of Białystok-Minsk and Smolensk and later fighting near Velikiye Luki and in the Battle of Moscow where heavy losses forced the disbandment of one tank battalion. Remaining on the central sector until late 1942, the division was then shifted south to support the Italian 8. Armee and the 1. Panzerarmee, taking part in defensive actions after the Stalingrad disaster, the Battle of Kursk under III. Panzerkorps near Belgorod where Generalleutnant Gustav Schmidt committed suicide to avoid capture in August 1943, and the subsequent retreats across Ukraine including the escape from the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket in April 1944. Nearly destroyed by these continuous engagements, the 19. Panzer-Division was withdrawn to the Netherlands in May 1944 for refitting under Generalleutnant Hans Källner before returning by rail to the Eastern Front after Operation Bagration, defending Warsaw, helping suppress the Polish uprising, and contesting the Baranow bridgehead until the Soviet Vistula-Oder offensive forced it westward through Silesia into the Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren, where its remnants finally surrendered to Soviet forces in May 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Generalleutnant Gustav Schmidt (1894-1943) was born on 24 April 1894 in Carsdorf, Kreis Querfurt, in the Province of Saxony, and entered the Königlich Preußische Heer on 1 March 1913 as a Fahnenjunker in the 3. Brandenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment „Graf Tauentzien von Wittenberg“ Nr. 20. Promoted to Leutnant in June 1914, he served throughout the First World War with this regiment as Kompanieoffizier, Kompanieführer and later Ordonnanzoffizier and Adjutant, receiving both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, the Ritterkreuz des Königlichen Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern and the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz. Retained in the Reichswehr after 1919, he advanced steadily through the ranks of the 5. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment and related staff appointments, reaching Oberst by June 1939. At the outbreak of the Second World War he briefly commanded Infanterie-Ersatz-Regiment 216 before taking over Infanterie-Regiment 74 of the 19. Infanterie-Division on 10 October 1939. For the outstanding performance of his regiment during the Westfeldzug—especially the rapid seizure of eleven bunkers on the Maas near Roermond on 10 May 1940 after personal reconnaissance, an action that made the regiment the most successful and least costly of its division—he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 September 1940 as Oberst. Following the conversion of the 19. Infanterie-Division into the 19. Panzer-Division he assumed command of the newly formed 19. Schützen-Brigade and led it into the Ostfeldzug in 1941. On 6 January 1942 he was entrusted with the Führung of the 19. Panzer-Division, was promoted Generalmajor on 1 April 1942 and confirmed as its Kommandeur, receiving the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold the same month. Advanced to Generalleutnant on 1 January 1943, he earned the Eichenlaub (203rd award) on 6 March 1943 for the decisive employment of his division during the defensive battles of the winter of 1942/43; in early December, when Soviet forces sought to rupture the front southeast of Toropez, Schmidt prepared and personally directed a counter-thrust from the foremost line that surprised the enemy, drove far beyond the assigned objectives, closed the gap in the German front and cut off two Soviet corps that had already broken through. After the failure of the Kursk offensive the staff of the 19. Panzer-Division became isolated near Beresowka in the Belgorod area during the subsequent Soviet Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive; with ammunition nearly exhausted, Generalleutnant Schmidt and his Adjutant Oberleutnant Köhne took their own lives on 7 August 1943 to avoid capture.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_Panzer_Division

Ritterkreuzträger of 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend"

The 12. SS-Panzer-Division “Hitlerjugend” was ordered formed in early 1943 from volunteers of the Hitlerjugend born in 1926, with a cadre of experienced officers and NCOs drawn mainly from the 1. SS-Panzer-Division “Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler.” Officially established as a Panzergrenadier-Division on 20 July 1943 and redesignated a full Panzer-Division on 30 October 1943, it trained at Beverloo in Belgium under its first commander SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Witt and reached a strength of over 20,000 men by the spring of 1944. Equipped with Panzer IV and Panther tanks of SS-Panzer-Regiment 12 together with SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 and SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26, the division was transferred to Normandy in March 1944 as part of I. SS-Panzerkorps. It entered combat on 7 June 1944 north-west of Caen, launching determined counter-attacks against Canadian and British forces around Buron, Authie and Putot-en-Bessin. After Witt was killed by naval gunfire on 14 June, command passed to SS-Standartenführer Kurt Meyer, under whom the division fought stubbornly in the defence of Caen and later helped keep the Falaise pocket open long enough for thousands of German troops to escape. Severely depleted, the remnants were withdrawn and rebuilt before taking part in the Ardennes offensive in December 1944 under SS-Brigadeführer Hugo Kraas. In early 1945 the division was transferred to Hungary, where it fought in Operation Frühlingserwachen and the subsequent retreat through Austria, finally surrendering to the 7th US Army on 8 May 1945 near the Enns river. Throughout its existence the division’s youthful but fanatical rank-and-file, led by battle-hardened veterans, earned a reputation for tenacious defence while also being responsible for several war crimes against civilians and prisoners.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


SS-Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer (1910-1961) was born on 23 December 1910 in Jerxheim to a working-class family and joined the Hitlerjugend in 1925, the NSDAP in 1930 and the SS in 1931 before transferring to the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler in 1934 as SS-Untersturmführer. He commanded the 14. Panzerabwehr-Kompanie during the Polish campaign, receiving both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, and later led the SS-Aufklärungs-Abteilung of the Leibstandarte through the Western campaign and the Balkans. On 18 May 1941 he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes as SS-Sturmbannführer for the bold capture of the Klisura Pass and the subsequent cutting-off of Greek forces near Kastoria during the Greek campaign. On the Eastern Front his reconnaissance battalion fought in Operation Barbarossa and the Third Battle of Kharkov; for a series of aggressive thrusts that shattered Soviet cavalry formations and blocked enemy withdrawal routes east of Kharkov he received the Eichenlaub on 23 February 1943 as SS-Obersturmbannführer, the 195th award. In mid-1943 he became Kommandeur of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 in the newly formed 12. SS-Panzer-Division “Hitlerjugend”. After the death of SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Witt on 14 June 1944 he assumed command of the division itself, becoming one of the youngest divisional commanders in the German forces. For his determined leadership of the heavily outnumbered division in the bitter defensive battles around Caen and during the breakout from the Falaise pocket he was awarded the Schwerter on 27 August 1944 as SS-Standartenführer, the 91st award, and promoted to SS-Oberführer and later SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS. Captured near Namur on 6 September 1944, he was later convicted of war crimes related to the shooting of Canadian prisoners, had his death sentence commuted, and was released in 1954; he died of a heart attack in Hagen on his fifty-first birthday, 23 December 1961.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_SS_Panzer_Division_Hitlerjugend

Ritterkreuzträger of 5. SS-Panzer-Division "Wiking"

The 5. SS-Panzer-Division „Wiking“ was formed in late 1940 on the orders of Heinrich Himmler as a motorised infantry division intended to incorporate Germanic volunteers from the Netherlands, Flanders, Denmark and Norway alongside German cadres, initially designated SS-Division „Germania“ before being renamed SS-Division „Wiking“ by Führerbefehl of 21 December 1940. Its core consisted of the experienced SS-Regiment „Germania“ drawn from the SS-Verfügungs-Division, together with the newly raised SS-Regiment „Nordland“ and SS-Regiment „Westland“, plus supporting artillery, reconnaissance, pioneer and anti-tank units; command was given to SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner, former commander of the SS-Standarte „Deutschland“. Although propaganda emphasised the foreign contingent, German personnel always formed the large majority of its strength. After training at Truppenübungsplatz Heuberg the division entered combat in June 1941 with Heeresgruppe Süd during Operation Barbarossa, advancing through Galicia and taking part in the encirclements at Uman and Kiev before fighting for the Dnepropetrovsk bridgehead and Rostov, then holding the Mius line through the winter of 1941–42. In summer 1942 it received its first Panzer-Abteilung and participated in Fall Blau, capturing Rostov and advancing into the Caucasus foothills as far as the Terek and Malgobek before the Stalingrad disaster forced a fighting withdrawal covering the retreat of the 1. Panzerarmee. Redesignated SS-Panzergrenadier-Division „Wiking“ on 9 November 1942 and later 5. SS-Panzer-Division „Wiking“ on 22 October 1943, it fought in the Third Battle of Kharkov, served as reserve during Operation Citadel, and suffered catastrophic losses in the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket of early 1944, from which only remnants escaped. After reconstitution it defended at Kovel and Maciejow, where its Panzer-Regiment destroyed hundreds of Soviet tanks, then fought near Warsaw and in the relief attempts of Budapest during Operations Konrad before taking part in Operation Frühlingserwachen in Hungary. Successive commanders after Steiner included SS-Obergruppenführer Herbert Gille, SS-Oberführer Eduard Deisenhofer, SS-Standartenführer Johannes Mühlenkamp and finally SS-Oberführer Karl Ullrich. The division ended the war in Austria, where the bulk of its remaining personnel surrendered to American forces near Radstadt in May 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


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/5th_SS_Panzer_Division_Wiking

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.



SS-BrigadeführerFritz Witt (1908-1944) was born on 27 May 1908 in Hohenlimburg as the son of a textile salesman and worked in the textile trade until losing his position in 1931. He joined the NSDAP and the SS in December 1931, entering the SS-Stabswache Berlin in March 1933 as one of its earliest volunteers and later serving as Zugführer before becoming Kompaniechef of the 3. Kompanie in the SS-Standarte „Deutschland“. During the 1939 campaign in Poland he received both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, and on 19 October 1939 he was appointed Kommandeur of the I. Bataillon of the SS-Infanterie-Regiment „Deutschland“. In the Western campaign of 1940, while holding the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer, his battalion came under attack on the evening of 27 May near Estaires by approximately twenty British tanks advancing without supporting anti-tank weapons available to the defenders; through determined leadership from the front line using only infantry weapons the battalion immobilized nine tanks and repelled the assault, actions for which Witt was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 September 1940. Transferred to the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, he commanded a battalion in the Balkan campaign of 1941, distinguishing himself at the Klidi-Pass and Kleisoura-Pass where his brother Franz was killed, then served on the Eastern Front and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold in February 1942. As SS-Standartenführer and Kommandeur of the SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 1 of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler he led his regiment with notable success during the defensive fighting east of Kharkov, the recapture of the city in March 1943, and engagements between the Donez and Dnjepr, earning the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz (Nr. 200) on 1 March 1943, which was presented personally by Adolf Hitler. In July 1943, promoted to SS-Oberführer, he assumed command of the newly formed 12. SS-Panzer-Division „Hitlerjugend“, rising to SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS in 1944 and becoming one of the youngest officers of that rank. He led the division during the opening phase of the Normandy fighting in June 1944 until, on 14 June 1944, a heavy naval artillery barrage from British warships struck the divisional headquarters at Venoix near Caen and killed him at the age of thirty-six; he was later reinterred at the German war cemetery Champigny-Saint-André.

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

Original Color Photographs of Erwin Rommel by Walter Frentz

Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel (Oberbefehlshaber Panzerarmee "Africa") in a picture taken on 1 October 1942 (some sources said the date is 30 September 1942) by Walter Frentz during award ceremony with Hitler at Neue Reichskanzlei in Berlin, Germany. In this event, Rommel was awarded his Marschallstab (Marshal Baton) and interimstab. He was also received the "Große Urkunde" for his Schwerter (on the same time). On that day a formal ceremony took place in the Reichskanzlei at which Rommel was presented by Adolf Hitler with his Marschallstab, the ornate ceremonial field marshal’s baton that accompanied his promotion to that rank which had been conferred on 22 June 1942 following the capture of Tobruk. In accordance with Wehrmacht custom Rommel also received the simpler Interimstab intended for everyday use, while the richly decorated Marschallstab itself, covered in red velvet and ornamented with the Wehrmachtsadler and Eisernes Kreuz, was reserved for formal occasions. At the same audience Hitler handed over the Große Urkunde, the large official certificate documenting the earlier award of the Schwerter zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub that Rommel had received on 20 January 1942 as General der Panzertruppen and Befehlshaber der Panzer-Gruppe Afrika. The presentation occurred during Rommel’s brief leave in Germany after the summer fighting in North Africa, with senior officers of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, including Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel, present in the study of the Reichskanzlei. Contemporary accounts describe Rommel entering the room, receiving the black leather case containing the glittering baton, and acknowledging the honour in the presence of Hitler’s adjutants and his own aide. Later that day and in the following days Rommel appeared as guest of honour at public events in Berlin, including a rally at the Sportpalast, where he displayed the newly conferred symbols of his rank while the German press and radio celebrated the Desert Fox at the height of his wartime prestige.

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2021354&hilit=rommel#p2021354
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/201/Rommel-Erwin-Johannes-Eugen.htm
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-n-r/

Ritterkreuzträger of 17. Panzer-Division

The 17. Panzer-Division was formed in November 1940 in Wehrkreis VII around Augsburg through the conversion of the 27. Infanterie-Division, receiving Panzer-Regiment 39 as its armored core along with the redesignated Schützen-Regimenter 40 and 63 that later became Panzergrenadier units. Under its first commander Generalleutnant Hans-Jürgen von Arnim the division prepared for the eastern campaign and in June 1941 crossed into the Soviet Union as part of XXXXVII. Panzerkorps within Panzergruppe 2 of Heeresgruppe Mitte under Heinz Guderian. It took part in the rapid advances of the Battle of Białystok–Minsk, the fighting around Smolensk and the drive toward Moscow, suffering heavy losses during the winter battles of 1941–42. After further defensive actions in the central sector it was transferred south in November 1942 to participate in Operation Wintergewitter, the unsuccessful attempt to relieve the encircled Sixth Army at Stalingrad. In 1943 the division was held in reserve during the Battle of Kursk and thereafter fought a series of delaying actions across Ukraine, including the Korsun-Cherkassy and Kamenets-Podolsky pockets. Continuously reconstituted after severe attrition, it retreated through Poland during the Vistula–Oder Offensive of 1944–45 and conducted final defensive operations in Silesia and Moravia. Commanders such as Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma, Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin and Karl-Friedrich von der Meden led it through these campaigns until the remnants under Generalmajor Theodor Kretschmer surrendered to Soviet forces near Görlitz and Olmütz in early May 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberst Hermann Seitz (1902-1942) was born on 19 April 1902 in Beilngries, Bavaria, and entered military service in 1919 with Schützen-Regiment 43, receiving promotion to Leutnant in 1924. By 1934 he had advanced to Rittmeister and served as Chef of the 2./Aufklärungs-Abteilung 7, later becoming Major and Kommandeur of Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20 in 1939. He took part in the Polish and French campaigns, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 25 September 1939 and the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 2 July 1941. During the early fighting in the Soviet Union he commanded Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20 and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 11 December 1941. In the heavy defensive battles on the Volkhov front from December 1941 into January 1942 he played a decisive role in the weeks-long defense of the town of Kopzy beginning on 17 January 1942, where his active leadership, personal bravery and iron will enabled the German forces to hold the position against fierce Soviet attacks and thereby maintain operational freedom in the sector. For this achievement he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 12 April 1942 as Oberstleutnant und Kommandeur of Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20 (motorisiert). Promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 March 1942, he assumed command of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 63 of the 17. Panzer-Division in April 1942. In August 1942 north of Orel his regiment contributed decisively to the annihilation of strong elements of three Soviet divisions, and in the subsequent defensive fighting Seitz’s men successfully repulsed twenty large-scale enemy attacks over the course of three days within his sector. These actions brought him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 31 October 1942 as the 140th recipient. Seitz was killed in action on 20 December 1942 near Werch Kimsky in the Stalingrad area and was posthumously promoted to Oberst.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17th_Panzer_Division

Ritterkreuzträger of 15. Panzer-Division

The 15. Panzer-Division was formed on 1 November 1940 in Landau and Heidelberg within Wehrkreis XII by converting the 33. Infanterie-Division and incorporating elements including Panzer-Regiment 8 from the 10. Panzer-Division, creating a fully motorized armored formation equipped primarily with Panzer II, III and IV tanks. Transported by sea to Tripolis in Libya between March and May 1941, it joined Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel’s Deutsches Afrikakorps as one of its two core panzer divisions alongside the 21. Panzer-Division and immediately entered combat south of Tobruk, capturing Fort Capuzzo and positions at Sollum while participating in the unsuccessful assaults on the Tobruk fortress in April–May 1941. Throughout the summer of 1941 the division helped defeat British relief attempts during Operations Brevity and Battleaxe, then endured heavy fighting and significant tank losses during the British Operation Crusader in November–December 1941, during which its commander Generalmajor Walter Neumann-Silkow was mortally wounded. After a brief period of refitting it took part in the 1942 summer offensive known as Unternehmen Theseus, outflanking the Gazala Line, contributing decisively to the capture of Tobruk on 21 June, and advancing deep into Egypt until halted at El Alamein. The division suffered catastrophic casualties during the First and especially the Second Battle of El Alamein in July and October–November 1942, after which it conducted a long fighting withdrawal through Cyrenaica, past Tripolis and the Buerat position to the Mareth Line in southern Tunisia. In February–March 1943 it participated in the counter-offensive at Kasserine Pass against American forces before being forced northward; by May 1943 the remnants of the 15. Panzer-Division, short of fuel and ammunition, were destroyed south of Tunis and surrendered with the remaining Axis forces in North Africa, after which the division was never reconstituted as a panzer formation.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberst Johannes Kümmel (1909-1944) was born on 21 July 1909 in Coswig, Saxony, and entered military service in 1928 with Infanterie-Regiment 12 before transferring in 1938 as Feldwebel to Panzer-Regiment 8, with which he took part in the Polish campaign and received promotion to Leutnant on 1 December 1939 and to Oberleutnant on 1 April 1940. After the French campaign the regiment moved to North Africa in January 1941, where Kümmel distinguished himself during the defensive fighting around the Halfaya Pass; on 15 June 1941, as Oberleutnant der Reserve and Chef of 1./Panzer-Regiment 8 of the 15. Panzer-Division in the Deutsches Afrika-Korps, he independently attacked a far larger enemy tank force west of Capuzzo, preventing its northward advance that would have cut off vital German supply columns and thereby enabling the subsequent destruction of the Allied armour, an action that earned him the nickname “Lion of Capuzzo” and the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 9 July 1941. Promoted to Hauptmann, he assumed command of I. Abteilung of the same regiment in early 1942 and led it with decisive effect during the storming of Tobruk on 20 June 1942 as well as in the fighting around Marsa Matruh and at El Alamein, where on 1 September 1942 his unit reached Hill 132 and advanced to within 18 kilometres of the coast in the rear of the British front; for these achievements he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 11 October 1942 as Hauptmann der Reserve and Kommandeur of I./Panzer-Regiment 8. On 1 December 1942 he was promoted to Major and posted to Panzerersatz-Abteilung 7 in Germany, later serving as a tactics instructor at the Panzerschule before being transferred in June 1943 to the XIV. Panzerkorps in Italy, where he was promoted to Oberstleutnant and in September 1943 appointed Kommandeur of Panzer-Regiment 26. Johannes Kümmel met his death in a motor-vehicle accident near Cisterna on 26 February 1944 and was posthumously promoted to Oberst on 20 May 1944.



Oberstleutnant der Reserve Eberhard Zahn (1910-2010) was born on 2 January 1910 in Barmen and after completing his Abitur studied business administration, earning the degree of Diplom-Kaufmann before being awarded a doctorate as Dr. rer. pol. in 1933; he then worked for I.G. Farben AG and later for other industrial firms until the outbreak of war. Upon mobilisation he joined as a reservist the Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 33, took part in the French campaign and was promoted for bravery to Leutnant der Reserve on 1 June 1940. In late April 1941 his unit was transferred to North Africa under Erwin Rommel as part of the 15. Panzer-Division, where the formation was redesignated Panzerjäger-Abteilung 33. On 15 June 1941, during Operation Battleaxe, Leutnant der Reserve Zahn, serving as Zugführer in the 2. Kompanie, single-handedly manned a 5-cm Pak and repulsed a strong British armoured thrust advancing from Capuzzo toward Bardia, destroying six enemy tanks before his gun was knocked out; after offering fierce resistance he was taken prisoner yet soon escaped through determined action and returned to German lines, for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 June 1941. Promoted successively to Oberleutnant der Reserve and then Hauptmann der Reserve, he continued to distinguish himself in the desert fighting, including around El Alamein, and on 6 March 1943 was awarded the Eichenlaub (204th presentation) as Chef of the 2. Kompanie/Panzerjäger-Abteilung 33 for an action in early July 1942 when the southern wing of the division was struck by a sudden armoured assault: he rushed forward under heavy fire, rescued a severely wounded company commander, assumed command himself and, with only three remaining guns, succeeded in bringing the enemy attack to a halt. After the African campaign he commanded the schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 88 on the Eastern Front, later led the Panzer-Brigade 101 and finally the Panzer-Regiment 9, rising to the rank of Oberstleutnant der Reserve. At the end of the war he was captured by Soviet forces during the Prague Offensive, escaped after several weeks, reached American lines and surrendered. In the postwar years he pursued a successful career as an industrial manager, serving among other posts as Vorstandsvorsitzender of the Ruhr-Stickstoff Aktiengesellschaft until his retirement, and he died on 7 February 2010 in St. Wolfgang im Salzkammergut, Austria, at the age of one hundred.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_Panzer_Division

Ritterkreuzträger of 10. Panzer-Division

The 10th Panzer Division of the German Wehrmacht was formed on 1 April 1939 in Prague in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia as a composite armored formation drawing units from existing motorized and light divisions, and it quickly became one of the elite tank formations of the Heer. In the Polish campaign of September 1939 it served in Army Group North reserve, advancing through the Polish Corridor and fighting at the Tuchola Forest and near Brest-Litovsk. During the 1940 Battle of France it belonged to Guderian’s XIX Motorized Corps, crossed the Meuse at Sedan, helped capture Calais, and raced to the English Channel as part of the armored spearhead that sealed the fate of the Allied armies in the north. After reorganization it took part in Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 with Army Group Center’s 2nd Panzer Group, advancing through Minsk, Smolensk and Yelnya, participating in the double battle of Vyazma-Bryansk, and pushing to within striking distance of Moscow before being forced back with heavy losses in the winter of 1941–42. Withdrawn to France in the spring of 1942 for refitting, the division helped repel the Allied Dieppe Raid and later occupied Vichy territory. In late 1942 it was rushed to Tunisia after Operation Torch, joining the 5th Panzer Army; there its Kampfgruppen inflicted severe defeats on inexperienced American forces at Sidi Bou Zid and the Kasserine Pass in February 1943. Commanded successively by Ferdinand Schaal, Wolfgang Fischer (killed in a minefield) and Friedrich Freiherr von Broich, the division fought on until the final Axis collapse in North Africa and surrendered near Tunis on 12 May 1943. Officially disbanded on 30 June 1943 and never reconstituted, the 10th Panzer Division left a combat record that spanned Poland, France, the Soviet Union and Tunisia, and its name was later revived in the West German Bundeswehr in honor of resistance members who had served in its ranks.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


Generalleutnant Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild (1896-1953) was born Bruno Hauenschild on 9 June 1896 in Würzburg and volunteered for service in the Bavarian Army at the outbreak of the First World War, joining the 11. bayerisches Feldartillerie-Regiment as a Fahnenjunker and later serving as Batterieführer. For outstanding leadership in 1918 he received the Ritterkreuz des Militär-Max-Joseph-Ordens on 2 September 1918, an award that conferred personal nobility and allowed him to style himself Ritter von Hauenschild. In the Second World War he rose to Oberst and took command of the 4. Panzer-Brigade within the 10. Panzer-Division of XXXXVI. Panzer-Korps under Armeegruppe Guderian. During the rapid advance from the Berezina to the Dnieper in the summer of 1941 his brigade formed the spearhead, seized vital bridges and corridors, and destroyed large numbers of Soviet tanks, anti-tank guns, artillery pieces and vehicles, actions for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 25 August 1941. Promoted to Generalmajor, he assumed command of the 24. Panzer-Division on 15 April 1942 and led it with distinction during Operation Blau, contributing decisively to the victories near Voronezh, the fighting in the Don bend and the subsequent drive toward Stalingrad. Severely wounded in early September 1942 near Stalingrad, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 27 September 1942 as the 129th recipient while still listed as Kommandeur of the 24. Panzer-Division. Later promoted to Generalleutnant, he held staff and training commands including the Panzertruppenschulen and briefly directed the Berlin defence area in early 1945 before being relieved on grounds of illness. He died in Munich on 10 March 1953.



General der Panzertruppe Wolfgang Fischer (1888-1943) was born on 11 December 1888 in Carolath, Silesia, and entered the Königlich Preußische Armee on 18 March 1910 as a Fahnenjunker in the 5. Niederschlesische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 154. He served through the First World War, rising to Hauptmann by September 1918 after assignments that included platoon and company leadership as well as staff duties with Landwehr formations on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. Retained in the Reichswehr after the war, he advanced steadily through regimental and battalion commands, becoming Oberst in 1937 and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 69 in February 1938. During the Polish campaign of 1939 he led this regiment before taking command of the 10. Schützen-Brigade of the 10. Panzer-Division on 27 October 1939. In the Western campaign of 1940, fighting always at the head of his brigade with exemplary bravery, he achieved a breakthrough through the challenging and heavily fortified Ardennes, captured Sedan, forced the crossing of the Maas and established a strong bridgehead, then contributed decisively to the capture of the naval fortress of Calais; for these actions he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 3 June 1940 as Oberst and Kommandeur of Schützen-Brigade 10. Promoted to Generalmajor on 1 August 1941, he assumed command of the 10. Panzer-Division the following day and led it through the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa, the battles around Vyazma and Bryansk, and the advance toward Moscow before the division was withdrawn for refitting in France. Elevated to Generalleutnant on 1 November 1942, he took the division to Tunisia, where in the fighting near Tebourba on 2–3 December 1942 his energetic leadership resulted in the capture of 1 100 prisoners and over 40 guns, the destruction of more than 70 enemy tanks, the shattering of the British 11th Brigade and the loss of most of the tanks of US Combat Command B, thereby preventing an Allied breakthrough between Bizerta and Tunis and securing the bridgehead that allowed Rommel’s forces to withdraw toward Tunis; for this achievement he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 9 December 1942. On 1 February 1943, while conducting a reconnaissance near the Mareth Line west of Kairouan (Sbikka), his staff car entered a poorly marked Italian minefield, struck a mine and exploded; Fischer lost his left arm and both legs and bled to death within minutes while attempting to write a farewell letter to his wife. He was posthumously promoted to General der Panzertruppe with effect from 1 April 1943 and buried at the German war cemetery near Tunis.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Panzer_Division_(Wehrmacht)

Ritterkreuzträger of 1. Kavallerie-Division / 24. Panzer-Division

The 1. Kavallerie-Division was formed in November 1939 by expanding the 1. Kavallerie-Brigade, drawing on East Prussian cavalry traditions, and under General der Kavallerie Kurt Feldt it took part in the 1940 campaign in the Netherlands and France before serving as an occupation force and later advancing with Heeresgruppe Mitte during Operation Barbarossa in 1941. After heavy use of its horses and mounting losses, the formation was withdrawn and on 28 November 1941 converted at the Truppenübungsplatz Stablack into the 24. Panzer-Division, retaining the yellow cavalry facing colour and the leaping horseman emblem known as the springender Reiter. Following further organisation and training in France, the division returned to the Eastern Front in June 1942 under the 4. Panzer-Armee of Heeresgruppe Süd and, commanded successively by Generalleutnant Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild and Generalleutnant Arno von Lenski, participated in the summer offensive of Case Blue, the capture of Voronezh, and the drive across the Don toward Stalingrad. Its Panzer-Regiment 24, Schützen-Regimenter 21 and 26 (later redesignated Panzergrenadier-Regimenter), and supporting units fought in the open steppe and then in the brutal urban combat inside the city, where strength dwindled rapidly amid continuous attrition. By late 1942 the division was encircled with the 6. Armee and was effectively destroyed in the Kessel by early February 1943, with only a few survivors escaping captivity. Reformed in March–April 1943 in France under Generalleutnant Maximilian Freiherr von Edelsheim and later commanders including Generalmajor Gustav-Adolf von Nostitz-Wallwitz, the new 24. Panzer-Division served briefly in Italy before returning to the Eastern Front, where it endured further heavy fighting around the Dnieper, in the Balkans, and finally in East Prussia until the remnants surrendered to Soviet forces in May 1945.
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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


General der Panzertruppe Maximilian Reichsfreiherr von Edelsheim (1897-1994) was born on 6 July 1897 in Berlin and entered the Imperial German Army in August 1914 as a Fahnenjunker in the 2. Garde-Ulanen-Regiment, receiving his commission as Leutnant in December 1915 and serving on the Western Front where he earned both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz. After the war he continued in the Reichswehr in various cavalry appointments and by November 1938 had assumed command of Radfahr-Abteilung 1 of the 1. Kavallerie-Brigade, which he led as Oberstleutnant through the Polish and Western campaigns. At the opening of Operation Barbarossa his Abteilung served as the Vorausabteilung of the 1. Kavallerie-Division, advancing through Hwoznice, Maloriyta, Mekrany and Dywin while seizing vital bridges and breaking through successive enemy resistance, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 July 1941. He next took command of Reiter-Regiment 22, later redesignated Schützen-Regiment 26 and then Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26 of the 24. Panzer-Division. As Oberst he directed the regiment during the breakthrough to Voronezh from 28 June to 8 July 1942, the prolonged fighting in the great Don bend from 9 July to 21 August 1942, and the September battles inside Stalingrad, earning the Eichenlaub on 23 December 1942 as the 162nd recipient before being flown out of the pocket to help rebuild the division in France. Promoted to Generalmajor and then Generalleutnant, he commanded the reformed 24. Panzer-Division through the defensive battles of the Dnieper bend, the Nikopol bridgehead, Cherkassy, the sectors between the Dnieper and Ingulez and between the Ingulez and Bug, the fighting around Targul-Frumos and Jassy, the actions between the San and Vistula, and the defence of the Dukla Pass. For this sustained and outstanding leadership he received the Schwerter to the Ritterkreuz with Eichenlaub on 23 October 1944 as the 105th recipient. Later appointed Kommandierender General of the XXXXVIII. Panzerkorps and promoted to General der Panzertruppe, he negotiated the surrender of German forces west of the Elbe to the Americans near Tangermünde in early May 1945, was released from captivity in 1947, and died in Konstanz on 26 April 1994.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Generalleutnant Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild (1896-1953) was born Bruno Hauenschild on 9 June 1896 in Würzburg and volunteered for service in the Bavarian Army at the outbreak of the First World War, joining the 11. bayerisches Feldartillerie-Regiment as a Fahnenjunker and later serving as Batterieführer. For outstanding leadership in 1918 he received the Ritterkreuz des Militär-Max-Joseph-Ordens on 2 September 1918, an award that conferred personal nobility and allowed him to style himself Ritter von Hauenschild. In the Second World War he rose to Oberst and took command of the 4. Panzer-Brigade within the 10. Panzer-Division of XXXXVI. Panzer-Korps under Armeegruppe Guderian. During the rapid advance from the Berezina to the Dnieper in the summer of 1941 his brigade formed the spearhead, seized vital bridges and corridors, and destroyed large numbers of Soviet tanks, anti-tank guns, artillery pieces and vehicles, actions for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 25 August 1941. Promoted to Generalmajor, he assumed command of the 24. Panzer-Division on 15 April 1942 and led it with distinction during Operation Blau, contributing decisively to the victories near Voronezh, the fighting in the Don bend and the subsequent drive toward Stalingrad. Severely wounded in early September 1942 near Stalingrad, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 27 September 1942 as the 129th recipient while still listed as Kommandeur of the 24. Panzer-Division. Later promoted to Generalleutnant, he held staff and training commands including the Panzertruppenschulen and briefly directed the Berlin defence area in early 1945 before being relieved on grounds of illness. He died in Munich on 10 March 1953.



Major der Reserve Georg Michael (1917-1944) was born on 10 February 1917 in Hamburg and entered the Wehrmacht in 1936 by joining the 1. Kavallerie-Brigade. During the Polish campaign he served as a Wachtmeister and Zugführer in Reiter-Regiment 2, and on 30 April 1940 he was promoted to Leutnant der Reserve. In the western campaign he led a Zug in the 6. Schwadron of Reiter-Regiment 22 within the 1. Kavallerie-Division and distinguished himself by capturing an entire Senegalese battalion without loss while conducting a bold reconnaissance patrol that prevented a costly engagement with the rest of his advancing force. For this action he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 January 1941 as Leutnant der Reserve and Zugführer of the 6. Schwadron, II. Abteilung, Reiter-Regiment 22, and was simultaneously promoted to Oberleutnant der Reserve. After the 1. Kavallerie-Division was converted into the 24. Panzer-Division, Michael became Chef of the 6. Kompanie of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 24 and at times led the II. Bataillon. On the Eastern Front he took part in the advance across the Bug, the fighting around Briansk and Minia, and the entry into Voronezh that opened the way toward Stalingrad. On 26 July 1942 he again excelled during a night assault on Nishinij Tschirskaja and the large Don bridge, and for his outstanding leadership of the II. Bataillon of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26 he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 25 January 1943 as the 187th recipient while still an Oberleutnant der Reserve. Severely wounded in the Stalingrad fighting, he was evacuated to a homeland hospital and promoted to Rittmeister. After recovery he assumed command in August 1943 of the newly formed II. Bataillon of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 26. On 17 January 1944 near Dujoprovka by Nikopol he was wounded for the eighth time and died of his injuries on 19 January 1944 in the Gehirnchirurgischen Luftwaffen-Sonderlazarett in Odessa; he was posthumously promoted to Major der Reserve.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24th_Panzer_Division

Ritterkreuzträger with Panzer

German tank commanders of the Second World War formed the backbone of the Wehrmacht’s armoured forces and played a decisive role in the early Blitzkrieg victories as well as the prolonged defensive battles on all fronts. Trained at specialised schools such as the Panzertruppenschule in Wünsdorf and later at the Panzertruppenschule in Bergen, these officers and senior NCOs learned to lead from the front in vehicles ranging from the early Panzer I and II to the formidable Panther, Tiger I and Tiger II. They operated within the framework of combined-arms tactics that emphasised speed, radio coordination and concentration of force, allowing formations like the 1., 2., 7. and 13. Panzer-Divisionen to achieve spectacular breakthroughs in Poland, France and the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa. Many rose from company and battalion commanders to regimental or divisional leadership; among the most celebrated were men such as Michael Wittmann, Otto Carius, Kurt Knispel and Hyazinth Graf von Strachwitz, whose personal tallies of destroyed enemy armour became legendary, though often exaggerated in postwar accounts. Commanders were expected to fight dismounted when necessary, direct fire from the turret, and maintain unit cohesion under extreme conditions of mechanical breakdown, fuel shortage and overwhelming numerical inferiority after 1943. Their effectiveness declined as Allied air superiority, improved anti-tank weapons and attrition took their toll, yet individual skill and tactical flexibility continued to extract a high price from opposing forces until the final days of the war. After 1945 many survivors contributed to the reconstruction of the Bundeswehr’s armoured branch, bringing hard-won experience into the new West German army.

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PANZER IV

The Panzerkampfwagen IV, commonly known as the Panzer IV and designated Sd.Kfz. 161, was a German medium tank developed in the mid-1930s by Krupp as the primary infantry-support vehicle to complement the Panzer III. Designed under the codename Begleitwagen, it entered production in 1937 with the Ausf. A and remained in continuous manufacture until 1945, becoming the most numerous German tank of the Second World War with approximately 8,553 vehicles completed. Initially armed with the short-barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 howitzer for high-explosive fire support, the Panzer IV featured a five-man crew, leaf-spring suspension, and a Maybach HL 120 engine producing around 300 horsepower. Early models such as Ausf. A to F1 carried relatively light armour of 15 to 50 mm and served mainly in the close-support role during the Polish, French, and early Eastern Front campaigns. Encountering the superior Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks in 1941 prompted a decisive upgrade: from the Ausf. F2 onward the vehicle received the long-barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 40 L/43 or L/48 anti-tank gun, transforming it into an effective tank-killer. Subsequent versions Ausf. G, H and J added thicker frontal armour up to 80 mm, spaced Schürzen side skirts, and simplified production features while retaining a combat weight of roughly 25 tonnes and a road speed of about 40 km/h. The chassis also formed the basis for numerous specialised vehicles including the Jagdpanzer IV, StuG IV, Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär, Nashorn and Flakpanzer IV variants. Reliable, adaptable and continuously improved, the Panzer IV formed the backbone of German Panzer-Divisions on every front until the end of the war and was exported in limited numbers to several Axis allies.

Oberstleutnant Herbert Gomille (1913-2009) was born on 15 August 1913 in Waldmohr in Bavaria, Germany, and later served as an officer in the Heer during the Second World War. He began his career with Panzer-Regiment 4 of the 13. Panzer-Division and was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 April 1941. On 14 April 1942 he assumed command of the II. Abteilung of Panzer-Regiment 4. For earlier successes he received the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse on 29 September 1939, the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse on 23 May 1940, and the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 14 February 1942 while leading the 5. Kompanie. In September 1942, while his Abteilung operated in the sector of the 111. Infanterie-Division east of Malgobek, it destroyed forty-six enemy tanks and one artillery piece, captured ten mortars and various vehicles, and played a major role in holding the German bridgehead at Mosdok. For these achievements Gomille was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 25 October 1942 as Hauptmann and Kommandeur of the II. Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 4. He was promoted to Major on 1 February 1943 and subsequently served in the Führerreserve OKH, at the Panzertruppenschule Wünsdorf, as Kommandeur of the III. Abteilung of Panzer-Regiment Großdeutschland, and as Inspekteur der Panzertruppen. After the war he lived in Switzerland, where he died on 18 May 2009 in Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country at the age of ninety-five.

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PANZER VI TIGER I

The Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E, commonly known as the Tiger I and designated Sd.Kfz. 181, was a German heavy tank of the Second World War that entered operational service in 1942. Developed primarily by Henschel & Son under designer Erwin Aders after competitive trials against a Porsche prototype, it was produced from August 1942 to August 1944 with a total of 1,347 units completed. Weighing approximately 54 to 57 tonnes in combat configuration, the Tiger I featured frontal armour up to 100 mm thick on the hull and 120 mm on the turret mantlet, providing exceptional protection against contemporary Allied anti-tank weapons. Its primary armament was the powerful 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 gun, derived from the famous Flak 36 anti-aircraft gun, capable of destroying most enemy tanks at long ranges, supplemented by two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns. Powered by a Maybach HL 230 P45 V-12 petrol engine delivering around 700 horsepower, it achieved a maximum road speed of about 45 km/h though cross-country performance was limited to 20–25 km/h, with a typical operational range of 100–195 km depending on conditions. The five-man crew consisted of a commander, gunner, loader, driver, and radio operator. First deployed near Leningrad on the Eastern Front in September 1942 and later in North Africa, the Tiger I was normally organized into independent schwere Panzer-Abteilungen attached to army or corps headquarters rather than regular Panzer-Divisionen. Despite its formidable firepower and armour that made it highly feared by Allied forces, the tank suffered from mechanical unreliability, high fuel consumption, complex interleaved road-wheel suspension prone to clogging in mud or snow, and expensive production that limited numbers. It saw extensive combat across the Eastern Front, Italy, and Western Europe until the end of the war, after which production shifted to the Tiger II. Today only a handful of examples survive in museums.

Hauptmann der Reserve Walter Scherf (1917-2003) was born on 21 February 1917 in Giessen and died on 7 April 2003 in Essen at the age of 86. He served as a highly decorated officer of the Reserves in the Heer during the Second World War, eventually reaching the rank of Hauptmann der Reserve. Scherf took part in the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France, and prolonged combat on the Eastern Front. He received the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse on 21 May 1940 and the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse on 22 December 1940. Further decorations included the Panzer Badge in Silver (II and III Grade), the Eastern Front Medal, and the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold awarded on 7 October 1943 while serving as Oberleutnant der Reserve and Chef of the 3. Kompanie of schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503. On 23 February 1944 he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes as Oberleutnant der Reserve and company commander of the 3./schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503, then attached to schwere Panzer-Regiment Bäke. This decoration recognized his leadership during the intense fighting in early 1944 to relieve German forces trapped in the Tscherkassy Pocket near Korsun. At that time the battalion, equipped with Tiger tanks and reduced to roughly eighteen operational vehicles after earlier losses, operated under his temporary command following the wounding of the regular battalion commander. Scherf directed the company’s aggressive employment in the relief attempts mounted by III. Panzer-Korps, contributing to the breakthrough efforts that enabled substantial numbers of encircled troops to escape the Soviet ring. After the regiment was disbanded later that month he continued service with the unit, later leading Kampfgruppe Y of Panzer-Brigade 150 in December 1944 and receiving the Ehrenblattspange des Heeres und Waffen-SS on 5 February 1945. Scherf survived the war and lived until 2003.

Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/09/album-foto-komandan-panzer-dan.html

Ritterkreuzträger of 9. Panzer-Division

The 9. Panzer-Division was a German Army armoured formation of the Wehrmacht that existed from 3 January 1940 until its final dissolution in April 1945, originating from the 4. Leichte Division formed in Vienna after the Anschluss from Austrian Bundesheer mobile units and headquartered in Wehrkreis XVII. Redesignated and expanded into a full panzer division with Panzer-Regiment 33, two panzergrenadier regiments (Panzergrenadier-Regiment 10 and 11), Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 102 and supporting elements including Kradschützen-Bataillon 9 and Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 9, it first saw major action in the Battle of the Netherlands in May 1940 as the sole mechanized force of the 18. Armee, racing to link up with Fallschirmjäger at the Moerdijk bridges and advancing toward Rotterdam and Dordrecht before participating in the subsequent Battle of France under Panzergruppe Guderian, covering more ground than any other German division and reaching Lyon by the French armistice. After refitting it took part in the 1941 Balkans Campaign as the armoured spearhead of the 12. Armee, helping separate Greek and Yugoslav forces, then joined Operation Barbarossa with XIV. Panzerkorps of Heeresgruppe Süd, breaking through the Stalin Line, participating in the Uman and Kiev encirclements that netted hundreds of thousands of Soviet prisoners, capturing the Dnieper dam at Zaporizhia, and later advancing under Panzergruppe Guderian to help encircle Bryansk and seize Kursk in November 1941. It endured the Soviet winter offensives of 1941–42 near Shchigry, counterattacked around Voronezh during Case Blue in July 1942, fought in Operation Mars near Rzhev, and suffered severe losses at the Battle of Kursk in July 1943 as part of XLVII. Panzerkorps of the 9. Armee, losing dozens of tanks in a single air attack and advancing only about 15 km before withdrawing; thereafter it conducted a costly fighting retreat across Ukraine to the Mius front, Bryansk, and the Dnieper, dwindling by early 1944 to a handful of operational tanks. Withdrawn to Nîmes in France for rebuilding and reinforced with elements of the 155. Reserve-Panzer-Division, it was rushed north after D-Day, arriving in time to be nearly annihilated in the Falaise Pocket in August 1944, reduced to roughly 1,500 men and five tanks yet still covering the retreat of Heeresgruppe G. Partially reconstituted, it fought around Aachen, Geilenkirchen and the Peel Marshes, participated in the Battle of the Bulge with XLVII. Panzerkorps of the 5. Panzerarmee (with attached schwere Panzer-Abteilung 301), and later contested the Remagen bridgehead and the approaches to Cologne, by March 1945 reduced to a few hundred men and a dozen tanks; after futile resistance in Cologne its remnants were trapped in the Ruhr Pocket and largely surrendered to American forces in April 1945, with a small surviving Kampfgruppe absorbed into other units of the 11. Armee in the Harz Mountains before the formal disbandment of the division on 26 April 1945.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


Generalmajor Walter Gorn (1898-1968) was born on 24 September 1898 in Bieganin near Posen in the Kingdom of Prussia and enlisted as a Kriegsfreiwilliger in the West Prussian Grenadier-Regiment „König Wilhelm I.“ Nr. 7 during the First World War, seeing action on the Western Front before serving with machine-gun units and later joining Freikorps formations in the Baltic; after demobilization he entered the Schutzpolizei in 1920, rising through the ranks to Hauptmann by 1934 and transferring into the Wehrmacht in 1935 as commander of a company in the 3. Kradschützen-Bataillon of the 3. Panzer-Division. In the Second World War he served on the staff of the XIX. Armeekorps during the Polish campaign, then as Major took command of the I. Bataillon of Schützen-Regiment 10 (later redesignated Panzergrenadier-Regiment 10) of the 9. Panzer-Division; on 8–20 April 1941 during the invasion of Yugoslavia he led a mixed Abteilung in a bold advance from Gostivar toward Debar in Macedonia, overrunning strong Yugoslav resistance, capturing seven enemy batteries together with nine further batteries, twelve anti-tank guns and large quantities of matériel, liberating some 800 Italian prisoners whom he promptly rearmed and incorporated into his force, thereby establishing contact with Italian troops and earning the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 20 April 1941. Promoted Oberstleutnant and given command of Kradschützen-Bataillon 59, he fought in the fierce defensive battles around Voronezh in the summer of 1942, where his greatly depleted unit of only about fifty-five combat-effective men repeatedly repulsed heavy Soviet assaults, for which he received the Eichenlaub (113th award) on 17 August 1942. Taking over Panzergrenadier-Regiment 10, he distinguished himself in the winter battles of Rzhev, particularly near Sychyovka along the Vazuza and south of Loshki, where his regiment helped free the encircled 129. Infanterie-Division and destroy cut-off Soviet forces, resulting in the award of the Schwerter (30th award) on 8 June 1943 while he was Oberst. Later promoted Generalmajor, he commanded the 561. Grenadier-Division (subsequently Volksgrenadier-Division) in East Prussia and Lithuania against Operation Bagration and the subsequent Soviet offensives, then briefly the 710. Infanterie-Division in Austria before surrendering to American forces at Steyr on 8 May 1945; released from captivity in 1947, he died in Rosenheim on 10 July 1968.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9th_Panzer_Division_(Wehrmacht)
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=949476&sid=e9a9c21e019f143d69ab9544692a59fb#p949476

Ritterkreuzträger of 6. Panzer-Division

The 6. Panzer-Division of the German Wehrmacht was formed on 18 October 1939 in Wuppertal from the 1. leichte Division after the Polish campaign had exposed organizational weaknesses in the light divisions, and it was initially equipped largely with Czech-built Panzer 35(t) tanks in its Panzer-Regiment 11 along with supporting panzergrenadier, artillery and reconnaissance units. Under its first commander, General der Panzertruppe Werner Kempf, the division took part in the 1940 Western campaign, advancing through Belgium and the Ardennes, crossing the Meuse and Oise, and contributing to the rapid collapse of French and Allied forces in Flanders and northern France before being transferred to East Prussia in September 1940. In June 1941 it joined Operation Barbarossa as part of Panzergruppe 4 under Heeresgruppe Nord, fighting in the Baltic states and toward Leningrad, then transferred to Heeresgruppe Mitte for the drive on Moscow, where heavy losses in the winter battles around the capital and the Rzhev-Vyazma salient reduced it to a remnant that had to be withdrawn to France in spring 1942 for complete reconstitution and re-equipment with modern Panzer III and IV tanks. Returning to the Eastern Front in late 1942 under Generalleutnant Erhard Raus, the division fought with Heeresgruppe Don in the failed relief attempt of Unternehmen Wintergewitter toward Stalingrad, then participated in the recapture of Kharkov in early 1943 and the subsequent Battle of Kursk as part of the southern offensive; thereafter it conducted a long series of defensive and withdrawal actions across Ukraine, through the Korsun-Cherkassy and Kamenets-Podolsky pockets, into Hungary and the Lake Balaton area, and finally into Austria and Czechoslovakia. Successive commanders including Generalleutnant Walther von Hünersdorff (killed at Kursk) and Generalleutnant Rudolf Freiherr von Waldenfels led the division through these later campaigns until, reduced to a Kampfgruppe, it surrendered near Brno in May 1945, after which most of its surviving personnel were handed over to Soviet captivity.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


General der Panzertruppe Werner Kempf (1886-1964) was born on 9 March 1886 in Königsberg, East Prussia, as the son of a Prussian Oberstleutnant, and after education in the Prussian cadet corps he entered the Imperial German Army on 14 March 1905 as Fähnrich in the 6. Westpreußische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 149, being commissioned Leutnant in 1906 and later serving with the II. Seebataillon; during the First World War he fought with the Marinekorps Flandern on the Western Front, rising to Hauptmann by 1916 and performing general-staff duties, after which he continued in the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic in various staff and command posts with motorized and infantry units before taking command of the newly formed 4. Panzer-Brigade in October 1937 and being promoted Generalmajor in January 1939. At the outbreak of the Second World War he commanded the improvised Panzer-Division Kempf (also known as Panzerverband Ostpreußen) during the invasion of Poland, then assumed command of the 6. Panzer-Division with which he took part in the 1940 Western campaign; for his leadership in that offensive, in which his division plunged deep into the enemy on the first day, crossed the Oise River and captured more than 10 000 prisoners in three days of bold advance and pursuit while he personally remained the driving force of the attack even under fire, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 3 June 1940 as Generalleutnant and Kommandeur of the 6. Panzer-Division and was promoted Generalleutnant the following month. In early 1941 he formed and took command of the XXXXVIII. Armeekorps (mot.), being promoted General der Panzertruppe on 1 April 1941, and with this formation participated in Operation Barbarossa as part of Panzergruppe 1 of Heeresgruppe Süd, distinguishing himself in the breakthrough of the Stalin Line, the encirclement battles at Uman and Kiev, and the capture of Kursk in 1941; the following year, still as Kommandierender General of the XXXXVIII. Panzerkorps, he directed the capture of Voronezh and the subsequent thrust that reached the southern outskirts of Stalingrad, for which achievements on the Eastern Front he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (111th award) on 10 August 1942. After temporary transfer to the Führerreserve he commanded the Armeeabteilung Kempf during the Battle of Kursk in 1943, later served briefly as Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Ostland, and ended the war in American captivity in April 1945, from which he was released in 1947; he spent his remaining years in Bad Harzburg until his death on 6 January 1964.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_Panzer_Division