List of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves recipients (1940–1941)

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.^[4] As the war progressed, some of the recipients of the Knight's Cross distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Oak Leaves to the 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 of 3 June 1940.^[5] 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).^[6] 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.^[7]

The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW—Supreme Command of the Armed Forces) 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.^[8] The recipients are ordered chronologically and numbered by the official sequential number assigned by the OKW. The rank listed is the recipient's rank at the time the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves was awarded.

Recipients of 1940

Number	Name	Service	Rank	Role and unit[Note 1]	Date of award	Notes	Image
1	Eduard Dietl+	Heer	19-HGeneralleutnant[9]	Commanding general of Gebirgskorps Norwegen[9][10]	19 July 1940[9]	Awarded 72nd Swords 1 July 1944.[9] At the same time promoted to General der Infanterie, later General der Gebirgstruppen[11]
2	Werner Mölders+	Luftwaffe	15-LMajor[12]	Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 51[10][12]	21 September 1940[12]	Awarded 2nd Swords 22 June 1941 1st Diamonds 15 July 1941[Note 2]
3	Adolf Galland+	Luftwaffe	15-LMajor[13]	Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter"[10][13]	24 September 1940[13]	Awarded 1st Swords 21 June 1941 2nd Diamonds 28 January 1942[13]
4	Helmut Wick	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann[14]	Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen"[10][14]	6 October 1940[Note 3]	—
5	Günther Prien	Kriegsmarine	14-MKapitänleutnant[15]	Commander of U-47[10][15]	20 October 1940[15]	—
6	Otto Kretschmer+	Kriegsmarine	14-MKapitänleutnant[16]	Commander of U-99[10][16]	4 November 1940[16]	Awarded 5th Swords 26 December 1941[16]
7	Joachim Schepke	Kriegsmarine	14-MKapitänleutnant[17]	Commander of U-100[10][17]	1 December 1940[17]	—

Recipients of 1941

Number	Name	Service	Rank	Role and unit[Note 1]	Date of award	Notes	Image
8	Martin Harlinghausen	Luftwaffe	16-LOberstleutnant[18]	Chief of the general staff of the X. Fliegerkorps[18][19]	30 January 1941[18]	—	—
9	Walter Oesau+	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann[20]	Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Jagdgeschwader 3[19][20]	6 February 1941[20]	Awarded 3rd Swords 15 July 1941[Note 4]	—
10	Erwin Rommel+	Heer	19-HGeneralleutnant[19][Note 5]	Commander of the 7. Panzer-Division[19][21]	20 March 1941[21]	Awarded 6th Swords 20 January 1942 6th Diamonds 11 March 1943[21]
11	Hermann-Friedrich Joppien	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann[22]	Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Jagdgeschwader 51[19][22]	23 April 1941[22]	—
12	Joachim Müncheberg+	Luftwaffe	13-LOberleutnant[23]	Staffelkapitän of the 7./Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter"[19][23]	7 May 1941[23]	Awarded 19th Swords 9 September 1942[23]
13	Heinrich Liebe	Kriegsmarine	14-MKapitänleutnant[24]	Commander of U-38[19][24]	10 June 1941[24]	At the same time promoted to Korvettenkapitän[19]
14	Engelbert Endrass	Kriegsmarine	13-MOberleutnant zur See[19][Note 6]	Commander of U-46[19][25]	10 June 1941[25]	—
15	Herbert Schultze	Kriegsmarine	14-MKapitänleutnant[26]	Commander of U-48[19][26]	12 June 1941[26]	—
16	Herbert Ihlefeld+	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann[27]	Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Jagdgeschwader 77[19][27]	27 June 1941[27]	Awarded 9th Swords 24 April 1942[27]	—
17	Wilhelm Balthasar	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann[28]	Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen"[19][28]	2 July 1941[28]	—	—
18	Siegfried Schnell	Luftwaffe	12-LLeutnant[Note 7]	Pilot in the 9./Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen"[19][Note 7]	9 July 1941[29]	—	—
19	Rudolf Schmidt	Heer	20-HGeneral der Panzertruppe[30]	Commanding general of the XXXIX. Armeekorps (motorized)[19][30]	10 July 1941[30]	—
20	Werner Baumbach+	Luftwaffe	13-LOberleutnant[31]	Pilot in the 4./Kampfgeschwader 30[19][31]	14 July 1941[31]	Awarded 16th Swords 17 August 1942[19][Note 8]
21	Oskar Dinort	Luftwaffe	16-LOberstleutnant[32]	Geschwaderkommodore of Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 "Immelmann"[19][32]	14 July 1941[32]	—	—
22	Walter Storp	Luftwaffe	15-LMajor[33]	Geschwaderkommodore of Schnellkampfgeschwader 210[33][34]	14 July 1941[33]	—	—
23	Viktor Schütze	Kriegsmarine	15-MKorvettenkapitän[35]	Commander of U-103[34][35]	14 July 1941[35]	—
24	Heinz Guderian	Heer	21-HGeneraloberst[36]	Commander-in-chief of Panzergruppe 2[34][36]	17 July 1941[36]	—
25	Hermann Hoth+	Heer	21-HGeneraloberst[37]	Commander-in-chief of Panzergruppe 3[34][37]	17 July 1941[37]	Awarded 35th Swords 15 September 1943[37]
26	Dipl.-Ing. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen	Luftwaffe	20-LGeneral der Flieger[38]	Commanding general of the VIII. Fliegerkorps[34][38]	17 July 1941[38]	—
27	Günther Lützow+	Luftwaffe	15-LMajor[39]	Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 3[34][39]	20 July 1941[39]	Awarded 4th Swords 11 October 1941[39]
28	Josef Priller+	Luftwaffe	13-LOberleutnant[40]	Staffelkapitän of the 1./Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter"[34][40]	20 July 1941[40]	Awarded 73rd Swords 2 July 1944[40]	—
29	Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn	Luftwaffe	15-LMajor[41]	Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 53[34][41]	24 July 1941[41]	—
30	Horst Niemack+	Heer	14-HRittmeister[42]	Commander of Divisions-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5[34][42]	10 August 1941[42]	Awarded 69th Swords 4 June 1944[42]
31	Heinrich Bär+	Luftwaffe	12-LLeutnant[Note 9]	Pilot in the 1./Jagdgeschwader 51[34][43]	14 August 1941[43]	Awarded 7th Swords 16 February 1942[43]
32	Hans Hahn	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann[44]	Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen"[34][44]	14 August 1941[44]	—	—
33	Hans Philipp+	Luftwaffe	13-LOberleutnant[45]	Staffelkapitän of the 4./Jagdgeschwader 54[34][45]	24 August 1941[45]	Awarded 8th Swords 12 March 1942[45]	—
34	Ludwig Crüwell	Heer	19-HGeneralleutnant[46]	Commander of the 11. Panzer-Division[34][46]	1 September 1941[46]	—
35	Karl-Gottfried Nordmann	Luftwaffe	13-LOberleutnant[47]	Staffelkapitän of the 12./Jagdgeschwader 51[34][47]	16 September 1941[47]	—
36	Heinrich Hoffmann	Luftwaffe	10-LOberfeldwebel[48]	Pilot in the 12./Jagdgeschwader 51[34][48]	19 October 1941*[48]	Killed in action 3 October 1941[34]	—
37	Kurt-Jürgen Freiherr von Lützow	Heer	17-HOberst[39]	Commander of Infanterie-Regiment 89[34][39]	21 October 1941[39]	—	—
38	Gordon Gollob+	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann[49]	Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Jagdgeschwader 3[34][49]	26 October 1941[34][Note 10]	Awarded 13th Swords 23 June 1942 3rd Diamonds 30 August 1942[49]
39	Erbo Graf von Kageneck	Luftwaffe	13-LOberleutnant[50]	Staffelkapitän of the 9./Jagdgeschwader 27[34][50]	26 October 1941[50]	—
40	Ernst-Felix Krüder	Kriegsmarine	17-MKapitän zur See[51]	Commander of Hilfskreuzer Pinguin (HSK-5)[51][52]	15 November 1941*[51]	Killed in action 8 May 1941[52]	—
41	Josef Dietrich+	Waffen-SS	20-WSS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS[9]	Commander of SS-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" (motorized)[9][52]	31 December 1941[9]	Awarded 26th Swords 14 March 1943 16th Diamonds 6 August 1944[9]
42	Heinrich Eberbach	Heer	17-HOberst[53]	Commander of the 5. Panzer-Brigade[52][53]	31 December 1941[53]	—
43	Franz Scheidies	Heer	17-HOberst[54]	Commander of Infanterie-Regiment 22[52][54]	31 December 1941[54]	—	—
44	Ernst-Georg Buchterkirch	Heer	13-HOberleutnant[55]	Chief of the 2./Panzer-Regiment 6[52][55]	31 December 1941[55]	—
45	Bernhard Rogge	Kriegsmarine	17-MKapitän zur See[56]	Commander of Hilfskreuzer Atlantis (HSK-2)[52][56]	31 December 1941[56]	—
46	Dietrich Peltz+	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann[57]	Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Kampfgeschwader 77[52][57]	31 December 1941[57]	Awarded 31st Swords 23 July 1943[57]	—
47	Adelbert Schulz+	Heer	14-HHauptmann[26]	Commander of the I./Panzer-Regiment 25[26][52]	31 December 1941[26]	Awarded 33rd Swords 6 August 1943 9th Diamonds 14 December 1943[26]
48	Dr. Josef-Franz Eckinger	Heer	15-HMajor[58]	Commander of the I./Schützen-Regiment 113[52][58]	31 December 1941*[58]	Killed in action 17 October 1941[52]	—
49	Günther Hoffmann-Schönborn	Heer	15-HMajor[59]	Commander of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 191[52][59]	31 December 1941[59]	—	—
50	Karl Eibl+	Heer	17-HOberst[60]	Commander of Infanterie-Regiment 132[52][60]	31 December 1941[60]	Awarded 21st Swords 19 December 1942[60]	—
51	Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock	Kriegsmarine	14-MKapitänleutnant[61]	Commander of U-96[52][61]	31 December 1941[61]	—
52	Otto Weiß	Luftwaffe	15-LMajor[62]	Gruppenkommandeur of the II.(Schlacht)/Lehrgeschwader 2[52][62]	31 December 1941[62]	—
53	Georg Freiherr von Boeselager+	Heer	14-HRittmeister[63]	Chief of the 1./Divisions-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 6[52][63]	31 December 1941[63]	Awarded 114th Swords 28 November 1944[63]	—
54	Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach	Heer	18-HGeneralmajor[64]	Commander of the 12. Infanterie-Division[52][64]	31 December 1941[64]	—
55	Josef Harpe+	Heer	18-HGeneralmajor[65]	Commander of the 12. Panzer-Division[65][66]	31 December 1941[65]	Awarded 36th Swords 15 September 1943[65]
56	Reinhard Suhren+	Kriegsmarine	13-MOberleutnant zur See[67]	Commander of U-564[66][67]	31 December 1941[67]	Awarded 18th Swords 1 September 1942[67]	—
57	Hubertus Hitschhold	Luftwaffe	15-LMajor[68]	Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 "Immelmann"[66][68]	31 December 1941[68]	—	—

Citations

Bibliography

• "Das Bundesarchiv". Military Archive - Freiburg im Breisgau. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2011.