Fritz Zängl was a German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 skier and soldier, at last in the rank of a Feldwebel

Feldwebel

Feldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army...

.

Zängl was born in Katzbach, today a borough of Cham

Cham, Germany

Cham is the capital of the district of Cham in the Upper Palatinate in Bavaria in Germany.-Location:Cham lies within the Cham-Further lowland, which is bordered on the south by the Bavarian Forest and on the north by the Oberpfälzer Wald...

. He was a member of the skiing club ASV Cham

ASV Cham

The ASV Cham is a German association football club from the city of Cham, Bavaria. The club's most notable achievement was playing in the second division from 1950 to 1962.-History:...

 and served in the Gebirgsjäger

Gebirgsjäger

Gebirgsjäger, in English Mountain Riflemen, is the German designation for mountain infantry. The word Jäger is the traditional German term for rifleman...

-Regiment 100 in Bad Reichenhall

Bad Reichenhall

Bad Reichenhall is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgauer Alps ....

. In the rank of an Oberjäger he participated in the German military patrol

Military patrol

Military patrol is a team winter sport in which athletes compete in both cross-country skiing respectively ski mountaineering, and rifle shooting. It is usually contested between countries or military units. Biathlon was developed from military patrol....

 team at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1939, which placed first and won the world master title.

In World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 he took part in the campaigns against France, Greece

Battle of Greece

The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...

, Crete

Battle of Crete

The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...

 and at last against Russia, when he was killed in action near Smerdyna

Smerdyna

Smerdyna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Staszów, within Staszów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland...

. He was awarded with the Eisernes Kreuz II and I.

In honor of his sports career the memorial race "Fritz-Zängl-Gedächtnislauf" is carried out by the ASV Cham since a couple of years.