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Old June 27th, 2022 #61
alex revision
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He was an unknown soldier at the time, this is Johann Baichl tossing a stick grenade.This was to become a famous action photo.



Johann Baichl (who passed into Glory in 1994) worked to help erect a monument to honor the sacrifice made by the warriors of the 33rd Panzergrenadier Regiment.




Friedrich Buck spent much of his service with 8. SS-Kavallerie-Division Florian Geyer. He is one of only 98 men to have received both the Close Combat Clasp in Gold & the Knight's Cross. It is one thing to shoot your enemy from a distance, but It is quite another thing to be successful in hand to hand combat facing a man, with the whites of his eyes, in a struggle to the death with your opponent.

The Infantry Assault Badge, whether attacking or defending, was a separate award, and did not necessarily involve hand to hand combat. If you could do this 50 separate days (doing this multiple times in one day still only counted as one day) you won the Gold (15 for Bronze, 25 for Silver).

Many of the 98 warriors who did this said their Gold Close Combat Clasp meant more to them than their Knight's Cross ! Of interest here, Friedrich Buck was equally proud of being the only German besides the very famous Hans Ulrich Rudel to be awarded the Hungarian Medal For Bravery (for his extreme combat bravery in the defense of Budapest in Hungary against the Soviets.

Buck was a tremendous GLADIATOR of old, wounded seven times and losing two fingers in hand to hand combat duels ! This proud warrior was not ashamed to wear his medals of valor all his days. He passed into the Feldherrnhalle, the Hall of of our Fallen Heroes in 2015.

RUHE IN FRIEDEN - REST IN PEACE.




SS-Sturmbannführer Ernst Haussler. Ernst Haussler, who won his Knight’s Cross on Aug.18.43 for successful actions at and after Unternehmen Zitadelle. He served as the commander of II.Abteilung/SS-Panzer-Regiment3 of 3.SS-Panzer-Division “Totenkopf”.

Last edited by alex revision; June 27th, 2022 at 03:49 PM.
 
Old June 27th, 2022 #62
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Gunter Halm - Wikipedia





Brommann, Karl - TracesOfWar.com












Karl Auer served most of his career with the 8th SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment of the 4th SS-Polizei Panzergrenadier-Division. He is numbered among the 98 gladiators who won the Knight's Cross & the Close Combat Clasp in Gold for 50 different days of defeating an enemy in hand to hand combat. He also won the rare distinction of earning the Tank Destruction Badge for single handed destruction of an enemy tank with a hand held device ! Entered Feldherrnhalle in 1997.





This brave Panzergrenadier was one of few men in the entire German Wehrmacht to be awarded every single bravery medal. He was also the 4th member of the German armed forces to win the prestigious Close Combat Clasp in Gold, eventually recording over 60 "melee days" or days spent in savage close hand to hand combat. In July and August of 1943 alone, this warrior - gladiator recorded 20 days of melee, and remained undefeated looking death in the eyes more than a hundred times ! He was killed in action on 17 November 1944 when he was hit in the back by shrapnel.





Friedrich Holzer distinguished himself in combat numerous times, first in an Infantry Regiment of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich. where he won many of his close combat points in hand to hand combat. Later he transferred to become a Panther Ace, destroying 28 Soviet T-34's from his Panther #101 in one day to stop a Soviet breakthrough in the German line, for which he won the Knight's Cross in December 1943.

Last edited by alex revision; June 27th, 2022 at 03:52 PM.
 
Old June 27th, 2022 #63
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The name comes from the Franconian knight Florian Geyer (about 1490 to June 9, 1525). They battled outstandingly under Vjasma-Briansk-Rzev. Before 1943 the division was subjected to the 2nd Panzer Army. 23 men from this division received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross !





Formed in July 1944 mainly from Hungarians and various nationalities in the former Yugoslavia. These men fought well against the Soviets. On May 8, 1945 they moved towards Pilsen in Czech and surrendered to the US troops, who handed them over to Stalin's Jewish NKVD as part of Operation Keelhaul (turning all east Europeans over to Stalin) who then murdered the 4,000 men who were left of this division after the war was over.



It is amazing how so many Dutch volunteered to join the European Crusade against JEW BOLSHEVISM. They not only had 2 of their own Waffen SS Divisions, but Dutch volunteers were scattered in other Waffen SS divisions as well. This division was rounded out with a significant number of volunteers from Sweden and Switzerland. 20 men from the division received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross !






The name comes from the King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans Karl the Great's (April 2, 742 until January 28, 814) French name Charlemagne, during whose reign the Frank Empire was formed and it included nowadays' Italy, France and Germany. 4 men from this division received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.











 
Old June 30th, 2022 #65
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In August 1943 on the Wolchov Front, the Latvian Sergeant Žanis Butkus led a storm troop into the enemy lines and proceeded to capture a string of communist bunkers without loss. He returned to the German lines with many prisoners and much booty. Butkus was given an officer's commission on the spot. Later, after taking part in 59 close combat engagements, Butkus was awarded the Knight's Cross. After the war he emigrated to the United States where he was arrested in 1981 and charged with war crimes for killing Jewish partisans. Butkus successfully defended himself in court, testifying that partisans were armed and therefore not subject to protection as civilians under the articles of the Geneva Convention.


Finnish SS-Obersturmfuehrer Ulf-Ola Olin, like many Finnish men who served in the Winter War of 1939-40, volunteered for the Waffen-SS in 1941 and decided to stay in the SS until the end. He commanded the 5th Panzer Regiment of the Wiking-SS Division. On the 10 August 1944, Olin destroyed 11 anti-tank guns and two T-34s. He also destroyed five tanks on the 20 October. For his bravery and successful military leadership, Olin was.awarded one of the highest medals of all, the German Cross in Gold. Olin led tanks in many famous battles against the Soviets on the eastern front, never losing his tank. After the war he was a POW in Soviet captivity until 1958. He then decided to live in Germany and married a German woman. He finally visited Finland again in 1968, but returned to Germany, and he stayed loyal and active in the postwar SS soldiers' organization HIAG. He died in 1995 and was buried in Kassel, Germany.


Estonian Waffen SS-Oberscharführer Harald Nugiseks joined the SS in 1941 like many Europeans did, to defend their country and all of Europe against Jew Bolshevism. In 1944 this Estonian Warrior was to distinguish himself at the famous Battle for the Narva Bridgehead. The Soviets reached Nugiseks' position and the Estonians were short of men, fighting along the right bank of the River Narva against superior Soviet forces. Despite being outnumbered, the Estonian SS attacked with great ferocity driving back the Soviets on the front. As the I Battalion Waffen-SS Grenadier Regiment.46 lost all its officers, Nugiseks, who was not an officer at the time, quickly stepped in as the leader of the attack. He immediately changed tactics, loading supplies of hand grenades onto sledges so the Estonians would not have to crawl back for supplies over the minefields. With hand grenades being passed on along the line of trenches, a bridgehead was at last squeezed in from the north by "rolling" tactics. Nugiseks personally led the charge as the Estonians engaged in desperate hand-to-hand fighting using spades, hand grenades and bayonets. Nugiseks received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for this action.

After the war Nugiseks was held in Soviet captivity until 1958. In October 2008, Harald Nugiseks was awarded the Medal of Gratitude by the people of Estonia for his part in the fight against Bolshevism. Like many other World War II Estonians who fought with the Germans, he wore his German medals proudly throughout his life. Revered and honored by his community, a bust of him stands today in his hometown. He was buried with full military honors in 2014 despite protests from Jewish groups.


Russian Wehrmacht General Boris Smyslovsky was able to quickly join the German Army in 1941 as he was a well decorated Russian officer who spoke German. Although well decorated on the battlefield for bravery, he was even more valuable for his excellent leadership in battle and in recruiting his fellow Russians. The Ostvolk Medal with Swords was given for bravery in combat and was given to members of the Eastern People's Units as well as to Germans who served in these units, and equates to an Iron Cross. These awards were held in high esteem by the Germans who won them, and won the respect from Germans for the Eastern people who won the Ostvolk awards. Boris Smyslovsky organized the First Russian National Army in the closing months of the war in 1945, and was able to avoid Soviet captivity or death by escaping to Liechtenstein with several hundred of his men where he lived out the rest of his days.

The 1993 French movie Vent d'est (East Wind) directed by Robert Enrico, is based on the perambulation of Smyslovsky and his Army. General Smylovsky is played by Malcolm McDowell.


Swedish SS-Obersturmführer Hans-Gösta Pehrsson was a strong outspoken anti-communist. After graduating high school at the top of his class, Hans-Gösta Pehrsson from Sweden voluntarily joined the Waffen-SS in June 1941.

Pehrsson distinguished himself for bravery in combat and as a skilled officer in the 11th Waffen-SS Nordland Division. Other Swedish Waffen-SS officers, such as SS-Untersturmführer Heino Meyer, Rune Ahlgren and Gunnar Eklöf, were also members of this unit, as were hundreds of other Swedes. The Nordland Division contained thousands of European volunteers from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Holland, Estonia, Flanders, Wallonia, France, Latvia and Switzerland who battled against the Soviets in many famous battles.

Almost every day counted as a close combat day for Pehrsson and his European warriors. In the end the Nordland Division battled in Berlin. There Pehrsson led Nordland's 3rd SS Panzer Unit on 25 April 1945 and, among other things, battled in the streets Frantsösiche Strasse, Unter den Linden and Friedrichstrasse. During desperate battles in the capital, Pehrsson's command-SPW was hit by a bomb on 1 May and it burst into flames. After he was captured by the enemy on 3 May, he escaped and hid himself in Berlin. On 2 June 1945 he and his company's Swedish SS-Unterscharführer Erik Wallin began an adventurous journey back to Sweden. Since the soldiers who had returned from the war were not chased nor discriminated against in Sweden, Pehrsson returned to civilian life and found a good job in Stockholm as an engineer.


Danish SS-Hauptsturmfuehrer Johannes Hellmers was one of the most decorated Danish volunteers in the Waffen-SS. Hellmers was company commander of the Dutch 6th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 49 of the famous Waffen 23rd SS-Nederland Division. On April 9th, 1940 the German army occupied Denmark. In Haderslev there were three Danish light guns in position, and they opened fire on the German vehicles and troops. The Danish guns damaged three vehicles. Two of the Danes who were involved in this battle later joined the Waffen-SS, and both reached the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer. These two were Johannes Hellmers and Ole Peter Kure. Hellmers commanded his unit in the violent defensive battles in Estonia around the strong point of Narva. The SS-Nederland Division was part of the III Germanic SS-Corps fought along side many other European volunteers.

The defensive battles that followed in the Baltic and ended at Kurland was the reason for Hellmers winning the Knights Cross. Hellmers was ordered to cover retreating troops and in this process he, along with his men, where caught behind enemy lines. They where chased about the countryside for ten days before they could escape through lines held by strong Soviet armor. For this achievement he was awarded the German Cross in Gold. Back with his unit he was again involved in hard fighting that earned him the Tank Assault Badge (Bronze) and the Close Combat Clasp (Bronze). His Knight Cross was awarded after a counterattack in Kurland. Hellmers troops were dug in and around the City of Kaleti. Here his unit managed to resist strong attacks from large formations of Soviet infantry and armor. Hellmers, armed with a machine gun, was leading the counterattacks personally and led his men to a decisive victory which halted the Soviet offensive. Hellmers with his personal leadership had avoided a major disaster for the hard pressed Germans in the entire area. By the end of the war, 23 men from the 23rd SS-Nederland Division received the Knight's Cross. It was one of the best non-German SS divisions.


Norwegian SS-Untersturmführer Johan Petter Balstad served with 7. / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 23 "Norge". A brave fighter in combat, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class, Black and Silver Wound Badge, and Silver and Gold Tank Destruction Badge for the single-handed destruction of 7 enemy tanks with a hand held device, getting the nickname of «Panzerknekkern» (meaning the «Panzerdestroyer» in English). Balstad fought until he was extremely wounded, having 17 grenade pieces inside of him, also with damage in his torso. Balstad is considered one of the most successful Norwegian Waffen-SS soldiers in WW2. After the war he went home, and the new Norwegian authorities sentenced the Norwegian warrior Johan Petter Balstad to 3 years in prison for his heroism.


Norwegian Obersturmführer Fredrik Jensen served with the elite SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt. "Der Führer," attached to the famous 2. SS-Pz.Div. "Das Reich." Fredrik Jensen was one of the few Norwegian soldiers who came close enough to see Moscow as the Germans advanced 5 miles outside of the city in December 1941. Later he was transferred to SS-Panzer Division "Wiking," where he continued to distinguish himself. Wounded 5 times in combat and received the Wound Badge in Black, Silver & Gold. Jensen was a very powerful man for which he received a unique award for his extreme physical fitness, the German Sports Badge. His strength served him very well in deadly hand-to-hand combat kills many times, for which he received the Bronze and Silver Close Combat Clasps.

Jensen was sentenced to three months in jail under "the purge" in Norway after World War II, and was also sentenced to a loss of citizen's rights for ten years - (another fine achievement by the official government "Nazi hunter" thugs, while being over-run by criminal elements from all over the 3rd world) ! After having served his prison sentence, he settled down in Sweden as a foreman and had great success in fabrication machinery. He later lived in Málaga in Spain with other European warriors such as Leon Degrelle. But by 2007 Jews were running out of "Nazi war criminals" to parade in show trials to keep their "holocaust" hoax alive, and stepped up their hunt for any SS veteran who was still alive. As the Spanish government was in a decaying state and began considering Israeli requests to prosecute Jensen, he fled to Sweden, which did not co-operate with such requests. The Norwegian Viking Warrior Fredrik Jensen then lived in Sweden till the end of his days in 2011.


Norwegian SS-Hauptsturmführer Olaf Trygve Lindvig, who was fanatically anti-Communist, joined the Norwegian NS in September 1940. He volunteered for the Waffen-SS in 1941, and served as company commander in both Den Norske Legion and Norwegian Regiment Norge with the famous SS Nordland Division. He also commanded the 1st Company of the Germanske SS Norge and served briefly with the elite SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Division. He was promoted to SS Hauptsturmführer and was seriously wounded in battle five times. He was decorated for bravery in combat many times and received the highly coveted SS Honor Dagger.

The post war Norwegian government had an acute fear of the Jews after WW II and was very harsh on anyone who fought in the European crusade against Jewish Bolshevism. Norwegian hero Olaf Trygve Lindvig was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in 1945. After his release in 1957 he spent his remaining years at Fåvang.


French Légionnaire René Bourg, who held strong anti-communist views, joined the European Crusade against Jew Bolshevism in 1941 with the famous Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (French: Légion des Volontaires Français Contre le Bolchévisme, or simply Légion des Volontaires Français, LVF). Promoted to rank of Sergent 1.Kie I.Bat. 638 IR - with the LVF, he was decorated many times for bravery in combat, both German and Vichy French awards. His unit was ambushed while on reconnaissance in Soviet territory on October 4th, 1942. Despite the fact that his opponents were vastly superior, he refused to surrender even though severely wounded, and fought until the last bullet. The only survivor of his unit, he was rescued and found near death. His right leg was amputated, ending his military service.


French Unterscharführer François Apollot first served as a sailor on board the line ship 'Provence' in july 1940. After the British attack on French Marine Nationale at Mers El Kebir in Algeria on 3rd July 1940, he left the French Navy and volunteered with the Kriegsmarine.

He was assigned to the Schiffsstammabteilung 28 in Sennheim ("Cernay" in Alsace, France), and later in Duisburg. Apollot served as platoon leader in 4.Kompanie commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Hochhaus.

In September 1944 he joined the Waffen-SS and was appointed Legions-Oberscharführer serving in the Wehrausbildungskompanie, also known as "Compagnie d'Honneur". During the last fightings in Berlin, François Apollot served as a platoon leader in the Divisionskampfschule der 33.Waffen-Grenadierdivision der SS "Charlemagne" (französische Nr.1).

During a Soviet breakthrough on Wilhelmstrasse, he destroyed singlehandedly 6 tanks and temporarily stopped the Soviet attack on the ReichsKanzlerei. He was awarded the Knight's Cross for his actions on 29 April 1945. Awarding has been established through rersearch by the Ordensgemeinschaft der Ritterkreuzträger.


His men called him "The Knight of Flanders," the Flemish SS-Unterscharführer Remi Schrijnen. He was wounded 5 times in combat and decorated many times for bravery on the battlefield. He was to distinguish himself during the Battle of Narva on 3 March 1944. Schrijnen, then a private, disobeyed the order to retreat with his men and remained at his post. Left alone in a dramatic engagement, he destroyed three Josef Stalin II tanks, and another eight T-34 tanks. His PAK 40 gun was subsequently blown up by another tank. Schrijnen was injured and near death, but was rescued in a counterattack. His action had single-handedly stopped the Soviet attack, for which he received the Knight's Cross.

After the war he was imprisoned by the Belgian authorities in 1945, and served 5 years in prison for being "traitor" (even though the Langemarck Division had fought only against Jewish Bolshevism on the Eastern Front). In 1953 he was arrested again, this time for requesting amnesty for all Belgians who had fought against the Soviet Union in WW II. The fear of the Jews had gripped the Belgian authorities, as Schrijnen then served 2 more years in prison. In 1962 Schrijnen visited Germany to attend an annual SS veterans meeting. He was then warned if he ever returned to Belgium, that he would be imprisoned for the rest of his life. Leaving everything behind, he never returned to Belgium. He stayed in Germany where he eventually became a German citizen and lived out the rest of his days.
 
Old July 7th, 2022 #66
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296. INFANTERIE-DIVISION - Wappenschild 'Puma'

This Division was first used in combat June 1941 during the invasionof the Soviet Union where it fought until it was destroyed in June 1944 near Babruysk USSR.

























Last edited by alex revision; July 11th, 2022 at 01:52 PM.
 
Old July 22nd, 2022 #67
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Last edited by alex revision; July 24th, 2022 at 04:53 AM.
 
Old July 22nd, 2022 #68
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Last edited by alex revision; July 22nd, 2022 at 03:56 PM.
 
Old March 8th, 2023 #70
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✠ Ludwig Kepplinger ✠ 31.12.1911 — 26.08.1944

We have attached a separate meme detailing his incredible heroism that won him the Knights Cross that you can find attached to this tribute. He was murdered by Jewish and Communist partisans southeast of Laval. France in August 1944. His body was found in 1980 west of Villiers-Charlemagne.

UNITS :

✠ 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich
✠ 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen
Ludwig Kepplinger was also the first NCO in the Waffen SS to receive the Knights Cross.

AWARDS :

✠ Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
✠ German Cross in Gold
✠ Iron Cross First Class
✠ Iron Cross Second Class
✠ Wound Badge in Black
✠ Wound Badge in Silver
✠ Panzer Assault Badge
✠ Eastern Front Medal
✠ SS Long Service Award 4th Class
✠ Anschluss Medal


There is no one by that name in the book "Panzergrenadier Aces".
 
Old August 25th, 2023 #72
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We need some new ones !
 
Old November 16th, 2023 #73
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Or maybe some WWI heroes, Richthofen, Boelcke, etc.
 
Old November 24th, 2023 #74
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It is disappointing to see how many mistakes there are on some of these things. Whoever made them doesn't seem to know the difference between an Iron Cross second class (ribbon) and an Iron Cross first class( no ribbon). One guy I saw had three Iron Cross second class. You can only have one. To make it even worse, one of them was hanging from a WWI ribbon instead of a WWII ribbon! Very annoying.
 
Old November 24th, 2023 #75
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It is disappointing to see how many mistakes there are on some of these things. Whoever made them doesn't seem to know the difference between an Iron Cross second class (ribbon) and an Iron Cross first class( no ribbon). One guy I saw had three Iron Cross second class. You can only have one. To make it even worse, one of them was hanging from a WWI ribbon instead of a WWII ribbon! Very annoying.
Quite true. What also irritates me is when some producers of this sort of content call the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross) the 'Iron Cross.' Two different medals, and the Knight's Cross was larger and always worn with a neck ribbon.
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Old December 15th, 2023 #76
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The ones with white backgrounds seem to have more mistakes than the ones with black backgrounds. Almost all the white ones botch the Iron Crosses.
 
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