The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest military award in Nazi Germany. Recipients are grouped by grades of the Knight's Cross. During World War II, 23 German sailors and officers of the Schnellboot (Fast Attack Craft) service, which was a part of the Kriegsmarine, received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Of these, 8 officers received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub).[1]
Background
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 of 1 September 1939 instituted the Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz), the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). Article 2 of the enactment mandated that the award of a higher class be preceded by the award of all preceding classes.[2] As the war progressed, some of the recipients of the Knight's Cross distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub), was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 of 3 June 1940.[3] In 1941, two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of 28 September 1941 introduced the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten).[4] At the end of 1944 the final grade, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit goldenem Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten), based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11 of 29 December 1944, became the final variant of the Knight's Cross authorized.[5]
Recipients
The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht kept separate Knight's Cross lists, one for each of the three military branches, Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), Luftwaffe (Air force) and for the Waffen-SS. Within each of these lists a unique sequential number was assigned to each recipient. The same numbering paradigm was applied to the higher grades of the Knight's Cross, one list per grade.[6]
This along with the + (plus) indicates that a higher grade of Knight's Cross was awarded as well.
Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves was based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 of 3 June 1940. The last officially announced number for the Oak Leaves was 843.[7]
| Number | Name | Rank | Unit | Date of award | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 143 | Werner Töniges | Kapitänleutnant[8] | Commander of Schnellboot S-102 in the 1. Schnellbootflottille[8][9] | 13 November 1942[8] | — |
| 226 | Siegfried Wuppermann | Oberleutnant zur See[10] | Commander of Schnellboot S-56 in the 3. Schnellbootflottille[11][Note 1] | 14 April 1943[10] | — |
| 249 | Friedrich Kemnade | Korvettenkapitän[12] | Chief of the 3. Schnellbootflottille[12][13] | 27 May 1943[12] | — |
| 326 | Georg Christiansen | Korvettenkapitän[14] | Chief of the 1. Schnellbootsflottille[14][15] | 13 November 1943[14] | — |
| 361 | Bernd Klug | Korvettenkapitän[16] | Chief of the 5. Schnellbootflottille[16][17] | 1 January 1944[16] | — |
| 362 | Klaus Feldt | Korvettenkapitän[18] | Chief of the 2. Schnellbootflottille[17][18] | 1 January 1944[18] | — |
| 499 | Rudolf Petersen | Kapitän zur See[19] | Leader of the Schnellboote[19][20] | 13 June 1944[19] | — |
| 500 | Götz Freiherr von Mirbach | Kapitänleutnant[21] | Chief of the 9. Schnellbootflottille[20][21] | 14 June 1944[21] | — |
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross is based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573 of 1 September 1939 Verordnung über die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes (Regulation of the renewing of the Iron Cross).
| Number | Name | Rank | Unit | Date of award | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hermann Opdenhoff | Oberleutnant zur See[22] | Commander Schnellboot S-31 in the 2. Schnellbootflottille[23][Note 2] | 16 May 1940[22] | Killed in action 22 March 1945[24] |
| 2 | Heinz Birnbacher | Kapitänleutnant[25] | Chief of the 1. Schnellbootflottille[25][26] | 17 June 1940[25] | — |
| 3 | Rudolf Petersen+ | Korvettenkapitän[19] | Chief of the 2. Schnellbootsflottille[19][27] | 4 August 1940[19] | Awarded 499th Oak Leaves 13 June 1944[19] |
| 4 | Kurt Fimmen | Oberleutnant zur See[28] | Commander of Schnellboot S-26 in the 1. Schnellbootflottille[28][29] | 14 August 1940[28] | — |
| 5 | Götz Freiherr von Mirbach+ | Oberleutnant zur See[21] | Commander of Schnellboot S-21 in the 1. Schnellbootflottille[30][Note 3] | 14 August 1940[21] | Awarded 500th Oak Leaves 14 June 1944[21] |
| 6 | Werner Töniges+ | Oberleutnant zur See[8] | Commander of Schnellboot S-102 in the 1. Schnellbootflottille[31][Note 4] | 25 February 1941[8] | Awarded 143rd Oak Leaves 13 November 1942[8] |
| 7 | Bernd-Georg Klug+ | Kapitänleutnant[16] | Commander of Schnellboot S-28 in the 1. Schnellbootflottille[16][32] | 12 March 1941[16] | Awarded 361st Oak Leaves 1 January 1944[16] |
| 8 | Klaus Feldt+ | Oberleutnant zur See[18] | Commander of Schnellboot S-30 in the 2. Schnellbootflottille[18][33] | 25 April 1941[18] | Awarded 362nd Oak Leaves 1 January 1944[18] |
| 9 | Georg Christiansen+ | Oberleutnant zur See[14] | Commander of Schnellboot S-101 in the 1. Schnellbootflottille[14][34] | 8 May 1941[14] | Awarded 326th Oak Leaves 13 November 1943[14] |
| 10 | Siegfried Wuppermann+ | Oberleutnant zur See[10] | Commander of Schnellboot S-60 in the 3. Schnellbootflottille[35][Note 5] | 3 August 1941[10] | Awarded 226th Oak Leaves 14 April 1943[10] |
| 11 | Niels Bätge | Kapitänleutnant[36] | Chief of the 4. Schnellbootflottille[36][37] | 4 January 1942[36] | Killed in action 12 December 1944[38] |
| 12 | Friedrich Kemnade+ | Kapitänleutnant[12] | Chief of the 3. Schnellbootflottille[12][39] | 23 July 1942[12] | Awarded 249th Oak Leaves 27 May 1943[12] |
| 13 | Hermann Büchting | Kapitänleutnant[40] | Commander of Schnellboot S-27 in the 1. Schnellbootflottille[41][Note 6] | 22 April 1943[40] | — |
| 14 | [Dr.] Horst Weber[Note 7] | Oberleutnant zur See of the Reserves[42][Note 8] | Commander of Schnellboot S-55 in the 3. Schnellbootflottille[42][Note 8] | 5 July 1943[43] | — |
| 15 | Karl Müller | Kapitänleutnant[44] | Commander of Schnellboot S-52 in the 5. Schnellbootflottille[45][Note 9] | 8 July 1943[44] | — |
| 16 | Karl-Ehrhart Karcher | Oberleutnant zur See[46] | Commander of Schnellboot S-87 in the 4. Schnellbootflottille[46][47] | 12 August 1943[46] | — |
| 17 | Karl-Friedrich Künzel | Oberleutnant zur See[48] | Group leader and commander of Schnellboot S-28 in the 1. Schnellbootflottille[48][49] | 12 December 1943[48] | — |
| 18 | Albert Müller | Kapitänleutnant[50] | Commander of Schnellboot S-59 in the 3. Schnellbootflottille[51][Note 10] | 13 December 1943[50] | — |
| 19 | Klaus-Degenhard Schmidt | Oberleutnant zur See[52] | Commander of Schnellboot S-54 in the 10. Schnellbootflottille[53][Note 11] | 22 December 1943[52] | Killed in action 22 December 1944[54] |
| 20 | Kurt Johannsen | Kapitänleutnant[55] | Chief of the 5. Schnellbootflottille[55][56] | 14 June 1944[55] | Killed in action 14 June 1944[24] |
| 21 | Heinz Haag | Oberleutnant zur See[57] | Commander of Schnellboot S-60 in the 3. Schnellbootflottille[57][58] | 25 November 1944[57] | — |
| 22 | Felix Zymalkowski | Korvettenkapitän[59] | Chief of the 8. Schnellbootflottille[59][60] | 10 April 1945[59] | — |
| 23 | Ingwer(Jens) Matzen | Korvettenkapitän[61] | Chief of the 6. Schnellbootflottille[61][62] | 2 May 1945[61] | — |
Notes
References
- Specific
- General
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer [in German] (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Kurowski, Franz (2007). Korvettenkapitän Werner Töniges—Der erste Eichenlaubträger der Schnellbootwaffe [Corvette Captain Werner Töniges—The First Oak Leaves Recipient of the Speedboat Force] (in German). Flechsig Verlag. ISBN 978-3-88189-737-2.
- Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Navy]. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-87943-355-1.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
External links
- "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes". Lexikon der Wehrmacht (in German). Retrieved 2 January 2011.
- "Das Bundesarchiv". Military Archive - Freiburg im Breisgau. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2011.