The Stahlhelm, or "steel helmet," became one of the most recognizable symbols of the German military during World War II. First introduced in its modern form during World War I, the design was refined and standardized for the Wehrmacht as the M1935 model, later simplified into the M1940 and M1942 variants to speed up wartime production. Characterized by its distinctive "coal scuttle" shape, flared brim, and side ventilation holes, the Stahlhelm offered excellent protection against shrapnel and glancing blows while maintaining a fearsome, aggressive appearance that perfectly matched the image of the German soldier. Painted in various camouflage patterns or left in its factory gray-green finish, it was issued to nearly every branch of the German armed forces, from the Heer and Luftwaffe ground troops to the elite Waffen-SS. Although later in the war some units received cheaper stamped versions with reduced rims due to material shortages, the Stahlhelm remained an enduring icon of German military engineering and battlefield presence throughout the conflict.
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HEER
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.
Oberst Karl Faulhaber (1896-1972) was born on 11 January 1896 in Gerolzhofen in Unterfranken and served as a German Army officer through both world wars, earning the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse and 1. Klasse as well as the IV. Klasse des Militärverdienstordens during the First World War before receiving the Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer. In the Second World War he advanced through the ranks of the Heer, serving with units of the 98. Infanterie-Division and rising to Major by 1940, when he was awarded the 1939 Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz 2. Klasse and 1. Klasse; later promotions brought him to Oberstleutnant as Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 282, for which he received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 12 November 1942 together with the Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen and the Medaille “Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42”. By late 1943 he had been promoted to Oberst and was Kommandeur of Grenadier-Regiment 282 of the same division, responsible for the coastal sector south of Kertsch on the Crimean peninsula. On the morning of 1 November 1943, under cover of heavy Soviet artillery fire from the Taman peninsula, enemy forces landed near Eltigen; communications failed and the situation remained completely unclear, with the II./Grenadier-Regiment 282 under Hauptmann Dr. Finke cut off and the enemy advancing westward with several hundred men. Oberst Faulhaber immediately drove forward himself, encountered the leaderless and heavily depleted 2./Grenadier-Regiment 282 taking cover under fire south of Kamysch-Burun, and, realizing that further enemy progress would seize critical high ground and open the way to the harbour, decided not to await the divisional reserve. Under intense fire he rallied the company, led it to a safer assembly area north of the road, and personally directed a flank attack that surprised the advancing Soviet troops, drove them back across the road, and secured a series of crests and quarries. When a strong enemy counter-attack developed he moved from position to position, directing individual soldiers and inspiring them by his own example until the key strongpoints were held. This decisive personal intervention halted the enemy breakthrough at the last moment, inflicted heavy losses, freed the threatened 2./Artillerie-Regiment 198, restored contact with the encircled battalion command post, and created the conditions for containing the Eltigen beachhead with limited forces, thereby enabling the continued defence of the Kertsch peninsula. For this action he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 December 1943 as Oberst and Kommandeur of Grenadier-Regiment 282. He later received the Romanian Ordinul Mihai Viteazul Clasa 3 on 29 April 1944 and the Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Gold on 9 February 1945 while still serving with the Stab of Grenadier-Regiment 282. Karl Faulhaber died on 11 March 1972 in Munich, Bavaria.
Oberstleutnant Hans-Dieter von Basse (1916-1945) was born on 16 June 1916 in Hagen in Westfalen and entered military service in 1936 as a Schütze with the 1./Infanterie-Regiment 47 in Lüneburg, where he was appointed Fahnenjunker in 1937. After attending the Kriegsschule in Dresden and a Waffen-Lehrgang for Oberfähnriche at the Infanterieschule Döberitz in 1938, he was posted to Infanterie-Regiment 51 as a Zugführer. In 1940 he served as Bataillonsadjutant and took part in the campaign in France, receiving the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 17 June 1940, followed by the Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber on 4 December 1940 and the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 18 July 1941. He later earned the Ostmedaille on 23 July 1942. In 1943 he became Chef of the 17. (IG)/Füsilier-Regiment "Großdeutschland" and simultaneously assumed leadership of the I. Bataillon. As Major and Kommandeur of the I. Bataillon of the Panzer-Füsilier-Regiment "Großdeutschland", he was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 12 March 1944. During the operations around Schaulen in August 1944, after the men of the Panzer-Grenadier-Division "Großdeutschland" had captured Kuziai on 19 August, the Füsilier-Regiment advanced southwards toward a designated stream obstacle. West of Schaulen near Kursenai, where the danger of an enemy breakthrough threatened the last land connection between Heeresgruppe Nord and Heeresgruppe Mitte, von Basse led a handful of his men in a daring assault, storming and securing the last intact bridge over the stream and capturing the Soviet defensive positions and trench system on the eastern bank, thereby establishing a vital bridgehead that enabled further German operations. For this action he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 10 September 1944. On 20 December 1944 he took command of the Panzer-Füsilier-Regiment "Großdeutschland". In 1945 he was ordered to a Regimentsführer-Lehrgang at the Panzertruppenschule Bergen but remained with his unit due to the front situation and was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 April 1945. On 16 April 1945 he was fatally wounded by a headshot at Godnicken in the Samland region of Ostpreußen and was posthumously confirmed in the rank of Oberstleutnant; he is buried at the German War Cemetery Germau/Russkoe.
Major Gottfried Geißler (1914-2006) was born on October 17, 1914, in Homberg in the Rhineprovince of Germany and later rose to the rank of Major in the Heer, serving primarily with Sturmgeschütz units during the Second World War before his death on July 21, 2006, in Moers in Northrhine-Westphalia. Early in the conflict he received the Deutsches Schutzwall-Ehrenzeichen while with the Stab of Artillerie-Regiment 34 of the 34. Infanterie-Division and the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse while serving with Artillerie-Regiment 70 under Heeresgruppe C. By the summer of 1941 he was Oberleutnant and Chef of the 3. Batterie of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 185, earning the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse, the Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Silber for wounds sustained on 22 and 29 June, and the Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen. The action that brought him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 August 1941 occurred on 28 June 1941, when the Vorausabteilung of the 1. Infanterie-Division advanced on Riga via Bauske with the goal of securing the Daugava bridges. After reaching the edge of the city at 10:30, Oberleutnant Geißler and his Sturmgeschütze raced through the streets, located an intact pontoon bridge, and crossed to the eastern bank on his own initiative together with a squad of flamethrower-equipped Pioniere and three other Sturmgeschütze; almost immediately the pontoon bridge and the nearby railway bridge were demolished behind them. He then formed a small hedgehog position and held it throughout the day against repeated enemy assaults, during which the Pioniere were gradually reduced and the Sturmgeschütze were successively destroyed by anti-tank teams until only his own vehicle remained. Wounded twice, he and his crew abandoned the vehicle as darkness fell and attempted to regain the western bank across the wrecked railway bridge, only to come under machine-gun fire that killed the last three Pioniere and inflicted a third wound on Geißler himself; solely he and three other wounded men ultimately returned to German lines. This determined action created the essential bridgehead that enabled the subsequent capture of Riga, and for it he received the Ritterkreuz. Later that year he was awarded the Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Gold after sustaining a fifth wound on 7 August 1941 while still with Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 185, concluding a career marked by repeated frontline leadership and personal bravery in the early stages of the campaign in the East.
Hauptmann Albert Ernst (1912-1986) was born on 15 November 1912 in Fallersleben and entered the Reichswehr in 1930, serving thereafter with the Panzertruppe of the Wehrmacht from the outbreak of the Second World War. He saw action on multiple fronts and rose through the ranks to Leutnant, later Oberleutnant and finally Hauptmann. In December 1943, while serving as Zugführer of the 1. Kompanie, schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 519, Ernst achieved the feat that earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes. Operating a Panzerjäger Nashorn near Witebsk, he destroyed fourteen Soviet tanks in a single day, an action for which the decoration was conferred on 22 January 1944. This exploit also brought him the nickname “Tiger of Vitebsk” and established his reputation as one of the most successful tank-destroyer commanders of the period. After further service on the Eastern Front, during which he sustained wounds, Ernst transferred in February 1945 as Oberleutnant to the newly formed 1. Kompanie of the schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 512, equipped with Jagdtiger vehicles. His unit took part in the fighting around the Remagen bridgehead and subsequent operations inside the Ruhr pocket. On 16 April 1945, as commander of Kampfgruppe Ernst, he formally surrendered the remaining operational Jagdtiger of his company to the US 99th Infantry Division in a ceremony on the Schillerplatz in Iserlohn, thereby contributing to the bloodless handover of the city. After the war Ernst settled in Iserlohn in 1947, where he ran a driving school and lived until his death on 21 February 1986.
Hauptmann Erich Geppert (1912-1966) was born on 31 December 1912 in Berlin in the province of Brandenburg and served in the German Heer during the Second World War, ultimately attaining the rank of Hauptmann before his death on 8 February 1966 in Neudorf in Schleswig-Holstein. As Oberleutnant and Führer of the 3./Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 209 he distinguished himself in early 1943 while his Abteilung operated in close conjunction with the 19. Panzer-Division amid the desperate fighting that sought to contain Soviet forces advancing through the roughly 350-kilometre gap that had opened between Voronezh and Voroshilovgrad. In mid-January his Batterie helped the encircled 298. Infanterie-Division break free from surrounding enemy units. On 20 January 1943, during the attack on Nowopskoff, Geppert’s Batterie together with the 7./Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 73 seized the vital bridge over the Aire, thereby blocking the principal road the Soviets were using for their westward thrust. Later, in the Nowo Krassnjenka–Shilowka sector, his Sturmgeschütze twice opened escape corridors for trapped elements of the 19. Panzer-Division in the course of a single night, first at Kremenaja and then at Rubeschnaja, enabling their comrades to withdraw under intense pressure. For these successive acts of leadership and personal bravery under fire Geppert was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 14 April 1943. In addition to the Knight’s Cross he received the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse and 2. Klasse, the Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen, the Medaille “Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42” and the Dienstauszeichnung der Wehrmacht 4. Klasse. After the war he lived quietly in northern Germany until his death at the age of fifty-three.
Hauptmann Rudolf Schlee (1913-1979), a highly decorated soldier of the Wehrmacht who was born on 10 November 1913 in Ludwigshafen, Rheinland Provinz (German Empire), served as a platoon leader in the 6./Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 13 during World War II and demonstrated exceptional bravery in various campaigns. He earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 23 October 1941 as Oberfeldwebel for his leadership and courage during intense combat operations, particularly in the mountain warfare contexts following the campaigns in the Balkans and the advance into the Soviet Union. His repeated acts of valor continued to stand out in the harsh fighting in the Caucasus region, where he led his Jäger platoon with outstanding initiative and determination, ultimately leading to the award of the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes as the 222nd recipient on 6 April 1943. Schlee later rose to the rank of Hauptmann and survived the war, becoming one of the notable recipients of these prestigious German decorations for his frontline service.
Oberleutnant Karl Hausmann (1912-1997), born on 10 January 1912 in Neuweistritz-Habelschwerdt, Silesia, rose to prominence during the intense fighting on the Eastern Front. Serving initially with Infanterie-Regiment 28 of the 8. Infanterie-Division and later with Jäger-Regiment 28 of the 8. leichte-Division (redesignated as 8. Jäger-Division), he participated in campaigns in Poland, the West, and Operation Barbarossa before distinguishing himself in the brutal winter battles of 1942. As Oberfeldwebel and Führer of 3.Kompanie / I.Bataillon / Jäger-Regiment 28, Hausmann earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 May 1942 for his outstanding bravery and decisive leadership during Operation Bruckenschlag, the relief effort to break through to the encircled German forces in the Demyansk Pocket. In extreme winter conditions with temperatures below -30 degrees Celsius, deep snow, and fierce Soviet resistance, he personally led his Jäger troops in repeated assaults on fortified enemy positions near the Lovat River and Ramushewo, overcoming machine-gun fire and counterattacks through hand-to-hand combat and determined advances that helped secure the vital corridor, turning a stalled attack into a successful link-up with the trapped troops.
Leutnant Kurt Przyklenk (1912-1943) was born on 2 January 1912 in Deuben, Germany, and served in the Heer during the Second World War as a non-commissioned officer with the 14. Panzer-Division. He was assigned to Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 40, where he held the position of Spähtruppführer in the 1. Kompanie. During the early stages of Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front in the summer of 1941, Przyklenk distinguished himself through repeated acts of bravery while leading reconnaissance patrols deep into enemy territory. On 1 August 1941 he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes while serving as Oberfeldwebel and Spähtruppführer in the 1. Kompanie of Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 40 of the 14. Panzer-Division, the decoration recognizing extreme battlefield courage and successful leadership under combat conditions. He had previously received the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse and Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse for earlier achievements. Przyklenk continued to serve with his unit through the subsequent campaigns of the 14. Panzer-Division, which advanced deep into the Soviet Union and later became embroiled in the fighting around Stalingrad. He was killed in action on 10 January 1943 during the Battle of Stalingrad in the Russian SFSR at the age of thirty-one. His service and decorations reflect the demanding role of armoured reconnaissance troops in the rapid advances and subsequent defensive struggles of the early Eastern Front campaigns.
Leutnant der Reserve Karl-Heinrich Banze (1911-1945) was born on February 24th, 1911 in Hofgeismar near Kassel in Hesse, Germany, and entered military service on October 1st, 1933 with the Artillerie-Regiment 70 in Koblenz. He attended Waffen Lehrgänge der Artillerie from November 11th, 1935, was promoted to Oberwachtmeister on August 1st, 1940, and transferred on December 10th, 1940 to the Artillerie-Lehr-Regiment in Jüterbog. On May 12th, 1941 he joined the newly formed Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 244 and was sent to the Eastern Front, serving as Geschützführer in the 1. Zug of the 1. Batterie. During the defensive battles against Soviet forces in the Kharkov region in May 1942, while supporting the 113. Infanterie-Division near Poltava, Banze distinguished himself on May 14th, 1942 when his unit destroyed numerous enemy tanks; he personally accounted for 13 of them with his Sturmgeschütz, raising his individual total of destroyed Soviet tanks to 24, which later reached 27 by the time of his recommendation. This action was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht of May 15th, 1942, noting that Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 244 had destroyed 36 enemy tanks that day with Oberwachtmeister Banze alone responsible for 13. For these deeds he received the Anerkennungsurkunde des Heeres on May 25th, 1942 and was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on May 27th, 1942 as Oberwachtmeister and Zugführer in the 1. Batterie of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 244. Promoted to Leutnant in June 1942, he continued serving until February 1943 when he was captured during the fighting around Stalingrad and sent to the Soviet POW camp at Dubrovka, where he died on December 31st, 1945, later being officially declared dead by the district court of Hofgeismar.
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LUFTWAFFE
Oberstleutnant Karl Roßmann (1916-2002) was born on 23 November 1916 in Kempten im Allgäu, Bavaria, and joined the Luftwaffe on 1 April 1936 as a Fahnenjunker in Flak-Regiment 5, later transferring to the elite Regiment "General Göring" where he rose to Leutnant by 1938 as a Zugführer in the 5. Batterie and served in protective duties near the Führerhauptquartier. Promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 April 1940, he took command of the 16. Batterie of the IV. Gruppe of Flak-Regiment "General Göring" (motorisiert) and participated in the early campaigns including the annexations and the Western Front before deploying to the East for Operation Barbarossa. On 2 August 1941, during the closing phase of the Kesselschlacht bei Uman, as encircled Soviet forces of the 6th, 12th and elements of the 18th Armies attempted a desperate nocturnal breakout between Uman and Slatopol near Swerdlikowo, Roßmann led his Batterie together with a small force of infantry including men from the SS-Division "Wiking" in a determined defense that held against repeated assaults for fourteen hours, thereby contributing decisively to the destruction of the trapped armies and earning him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 12 November 1941 as Oberleutnant und Chef of that Batterie. After further service and transfer to France, he was promoted to Hauptmann in 1942 and later commanded elements of the Panzer-Regiment "Hermann Göring," seeing action in Sicily and the Italian campaign including Operations Shingle before returning to the Eastern Front. Awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 20 March 1944 as Führer of the I. Abteilung of Panzer-Regiment "Hermann Göring," he advanced to Major and in October 1944 assumed command of the Fallschirm-Panzer-Regiment 1 "Hermann Göring," leading it through the fighting in East Prussia against the Soviet advance. For the major role his Panzer-Regiment played in preventing a Soviet breakthrough into East Prussia and in throwing the enemy back across the Rominte river, Roßmann received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 1 February 1945 as Major und Kommandeur of the Fallschirm-Panzer-Regiment 1 "Hermann Göring," becoming the 725th recipient. Promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 March 1945, he guided his remaining forces westward across the Oder and Neiße at the war’s end and surrendered them to American troops in May 1945. After the conflict he studied medicine, practiced as a physician, married and raised a family, and lived quietly until his death on 1 April 2002 in Bad Kreuznach at the age of eighty-five.
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FREIWILLIGEN
Generalleutnant Agustín Muñoz Grandes (1896-1970) was born on 27 January 1896 in Carabanchel Bajo, Madrid, and entered the Toledo Infantry Academy, graduating in 1915 before serving in the Rif War in Morocco, where he participated in the Battle of Alhucemas. During the Spanish Civil War he sided with the Nationalists, leading Spanish Legionnaires in the conquest of Málaga in February 1937 and rising to general rank through successive commands. In 1941, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he was appointed commander of the División Española de Voluntarios, integrated into the Wehrmacht as the 250. Infanterie-Division and popularly known as the Blaue Division, deploying to the northern sector of the Eastern Front near Leningrad and the Volkhov River. As Generalmajor and Kommandeur of this unit he received the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse on 8 September 1941 and the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse on 19 January 1942 for early combat successes. On 12 March 1942 he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes in recognition of the achievements of his Division on the northern sector of the Eastern Front. Promoted to Generalleutnant, he continued to lead the 250. Infanterie-Division through hard fighting until December 1942, when the overall accomplishments of the formation under his command earned him the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz, presented personally by Adolf Hitler on or about 13 December 1942. He was then recalled to Spain, replaced by Emilio Esteban Infantes, and promoted further. In the postwar years he served as Captain General of the I Military District from 1945, Minister of the Army from 1951, Chief of the Defence High Command from 1958, and Deputy Prime Minister from 1962 to 1967 under Francisco Franco. Muñoz Grandes died in Madrid on 11 July 1970.
Source :
https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/
https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/dba/de/
https://bpk-fotoarchiv.de/node/390
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stahlhelm
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2632509#p2632509
https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/
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