List of Knight's Cross recipients 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
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| Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | |
|---|---|
| Awarded by Nazi Germany | |
| Type | Neck order |
| Eligibility | Military personnel |
| Awarded for | Awarded to holders of the Iron Cross to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership |
| Campaign | World War II |
| Status | Obsolete |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1 September 1939 |
| First awarded | 30 September 1939 |
| Last awarded | 11 May 1945 / 17 June 1945[a] |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Grand Cross of the Iron Cross |
| Next (lower) | Iron Cross 1st Class |
 Divisional Emblem 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend |
|
The 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend was a German Waffen-SS armoured division during World War II. The majority of its junior enlisted men were drawn from members of the Hitler Youth, while the senior NCOs and officers were from other Waffen-SS divisions.
The division committed several war crimes while en route to and during the early battles in Normandy, including Ascq and Ardenne Abbey massacres. It first saw action on 7 June 1944 as part of the German defense of Caen. In December 1944, the division was committed against the US Army in the Ardennes offensive. After the offensive's failure, which became known as the Battle of the Bulge, the division was sent east to participate in the defence of Budapest. On 8 May 1945 the division surrendered to the US Army in Austria. After the war's end, several prominent members of the division, including Kurt Meyer, were put on trial by the Allies and convicted for war crimes.
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573 [1] of September 1, 1939 instituted the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. As the war progressed some of the recipients distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Oak Leaves to Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 [2] of June 3, 1940. In 1941 two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 [3] of September 28, 1941 introduced the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. At the end of 1944 the last and final grade, the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11 [4] of December 29, 1944 concluded the variants of the Knight's Cross.
Contents
Prerequisites
To qualify for the Knight's Cross, a soldier had to already hold the 1939 Iron Cross First Class, though the Iron Cross I Class was awarded concurrently with the Knight's Cross in rare cases. Unit commanders could also be awarded the medal for exemplary conduct by the unit as a whole.
Grades
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was divided into five grades, excluding the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross:
- Knights Cross
- Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and swords
- Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
- Knights Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Knight's Cross with Swords
- Kurt Meyer, 27.08.1944 Oberführer Commander 12th SS Panzer Div Hitlerjugend [5]
Knight's Cross with Oakleaves
- Gerhard Bremer, 26.11.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander 12th SS Panzer Reconnaissance Btn
- Max Wünsche, 11.08.1944 Obersturmbannführer Commander 12th SS Panzer Rgt [5]
Knight’s Cross
SS Panzer Regiment 12
- Arnold Jürgensen, 16.10.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander I./12th SS Panzer Rgt
- Karl Heinz Prinz 11.07.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander II./12th SS Panzer Rgt
- Richard Rudolf, 18.11.1944 Oberscharführer platoon commander 12th SS Panzer Rgt
- Hans Siegel, 23.08.1944 Hauptsturmführer Commander 8th Company, 12th SS Panzer Rgt [5]
SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 25
- Werner Damsch, 17.04.1945 Hauptsturmführer Commander I./12th SS Panzergren Rgt
- Siegfried Müller, 19.12.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander 25th SS Panzergren Rgt
- Hans Waldmüller, 27.08.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander I./25th SS Panzergren Rgt [5]
SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 26
- Emil Dürr, 23.08.1944 Unterscharführer Geschützführer, 4th Heavy Company, 26th SS Panzergren Rgt
- Bernhard Krause, 18.11.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander I./26th SS Panzergren Rgt
- Wilhelm Mohnke, 11.07.1944 Obersturmbannführer Commander 26th SS Panzergren Rgt
- Erich Olboeter, 28.07.1944 Sturmbannführer Commander III.(gep.)/26th SS Panzergren Rgt [5]
SS Panzer Artillery Regiment 12
- Oskar Drexler, 06.05.1945 Obersturmbannführer Commander 12th SS Panzer Art Rgt 12 [5]
SS Panzerjäger Battalion 12
- Fritz Eckstein, 18.11.1944 Rottenführer Richtschütze, 1st Battery, 12th SS Pz Jäg Btn
- Georg Hurdelbrink, 16.10.1944 Obersturmführer Commander 1st Battery, 12th SS Pz Jäg Btn
- Rudolf Roy, 16.10.1944 Oberscharführer platoon commander, 1st Battery, 12th SS Pz Jäg Btn [5]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ @ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 1573; 1 September 1939
- ↑ @ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 849; 3 June 1940
- ↑ @ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 613; 28 September 1941
- ↑ @ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11; 29 December 1944
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
References
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de:Liste der Träger des Eichenlaubs mit Schwertern zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes
