Gustav Knittel
Encyclopedia
Gustav Knittel was an SS-Sturmbannführer (Major
) in the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
and a convicted war criminal.
, in Bavaria
, on 27 November 1914. He had a fraternal twin brother Bernhard and two sisters. His parents Bernhard senior and Theresia (née Pfinder) ran a bakery in Neu-Ulm, Schützenstraße 52. Knittel attended the Volksschule
and Realschule
in Ulm
and the Oberrealschule in Göppingen
.
on 15 April 1933. He believed this to be a suitable preparation for a professional military career while he was still in school. As this was a formality for new SS members he became a member of the Nazi Party on 1 May 1933. He was assigned to the 79. SS-Standarte in Ulm and with this unit he took part in the 1933 Nuremberg Rally
.
Following the passing of his Abitur
in March 1934 Knittel applied for a position in the Reichswehr
but he was rejected. He then decided to pursue a career in what became the Waffen-SS
and was transferred to the SS-Standarte Deutschland of the SS-Verfügungstruppe
in Ellwangen
in October 1934. He graduated from the SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz
in 1938. He returned to SS-Regiment Deutschland and with this unit Knittel took part in the occupation of the Sudetenland
after the Munich Agreement
. He served with various SS units before becoming adjutant of SS Reserve Battalion Ellwangen in August 1939.
and the Low Countries
Knittel was transferred to the 15th (motorcycle) company of the Leibstandarte. He was to replace Max Wünsche
as a platoon commander (the other platoon commanders being Hugo Kraas
and Hermann Weiser
) but the transfer was postponed until after the capitulation of The Netherlands. Knittel took part in the Battle of France
saw action at Wormhout
and Bollezeele
and was awarded the Iron cross
2nd class before he was wounded while leading the attack on Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule
on 19 June 1940 and transported to a German field hospital
in Troyes
. The campaign in France also earned him the Infantry Assault Badge
and the Wound Badge
in black. When the commander of the 15th (motorcycle) company, Kurt Meyer, raised the Aufklärungsabteilung
LSSAH (Reconnaissance
Battalion LSSAH) in Metz
in late 1940 he assigned Knittel as commander of the 4th (heavy) company. Knittel recovered from his leg wound in the SS hospital in Hohenlychen and returned to the Leibstandarte in November 1940.
After taking part with the Reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH in the German attack on Yugoslavia
and the battle for Greece
he next participated in Operation Barbarossa
: the German invasion of the Soviet Union
. He led his company during the drive of the Leibstandarte on Zhytomyr
but was wounded during the fighting for the heights north of Marchlewsk on 11 July 1941. This time Knittel had sustained shrapnel wounds and he was shot through the right armpit. He recovered in Hohenlychen hospital again and he was then posed to the SS Training camp Dachau
. He was awarded the Iron Cross
1st class and returned to his company in November.
Knittel distinquised himself on 19 November 1941 during the attack on Sultan-Sali during the battle for Rostov
and later between 27 November and 1 December when he led an ad hoc
Kampfgruppe
(battlegroup
) to defend the German retreat on Taganrog
against the Red Army
.
In March 1942 he was appointed as the company commander of the 3rd (light half-track
) company in the Reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH. After formation of this unit at the Sennelager training grounds
in Germany and further training in Normandy
, Knittel led this company during the battle for Kharkov
and distinguished himself between 2 and 4 February 1943. Having received orders to lead an ad hoc battlegroup formed around his company and move behind enemy lines to cover the retreat of the 298. Infanterie-Division, he made contact with this battered division in Shevchenkove
, was cut off by the advancing Red Army but managed to fight his way back to the German lines with his battlegroup and a group of rescued soldiers. He further distinguished himself when the 1st SS reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH was encircled in Alexejewka and Knittel led one of the counterattacks against the Red Army on 13 February. The following day the battalion was saved from destruction because Max Wünsche managed to reach Alexejewka coming from Yefremivka with his tank
regiment. On 15 February Meyer and Wünsche wanted to reach the lines of Fritz Witt
and Knittel with his company was send to Bereka to reconnoitre the planned route. He found Bereka occupied by the Red Army and he was wounded in the following attack. The next day the combined battlegroup of Meyer and Wünsche managed to reach Yefremivka. Knittel was hospitalized with a leg wound but returned to his company for the successful counterattack on Kharkov.
In April 1943 Meyer left the Reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH and Knittel succeeded him as battalion commander. He was wounded on 11 July during the Battle of Kursk
but stayed with his troops. Knittel led his battalion in Italy and during the 1943-1944 winter battles in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, further distinguishing himself at Turbovka and at Divin, where he personally led his men around the defensive positions of the Red Army and took the town from the east by surprise. He was awarded the German Cross in Gold
on 23 January 1944.
He continued to lead the remains of his battered battalion during the battles in February and March, earning the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
for securing the Bowenez Pocket between Ternopil
and Proskurov
on 13 March and his defence of Hill 300 south of Andrejewka between 30 March and 1 April 1944. To defend Hill 300 Knittel led the men of the 68. Infanterie-Division back into their defensive positions after they had been pushed out by the attacking Red Army. He then managed to fend off four more attacks from the Red Army that day and one more on 1 April. This enabled the German Army to safely cross the Zbruch River and retreat to Lemberg
. The decimated Leibstandarte was then transferred to Belgium. Knittel set up his headquarters
in Turnhout where he was awarded the Knight's Cross on 4 June 1944.
The Leibstandarte was shipped to Normandy
a week after D-Day and Knittel led his battalion during the German attempts to counter the allied invasion. It was in Normandy that he realized that Germany would lose the war, especially after he witnessed the devastating power of the allied fighter-bombers and artillery during Operation Lüttich
and in the Falaise Pocket
. After the retreat from France Knittel left for a short holiday in Neu-Ulm. He was awarded the Close Combat Clasp
in gold on 13 October 1944 and he tried hard to obtain a position behind the front which he found as commander of the Field Replacement Battalion LSSAH in Lübbecke
.
ordered Knittel to return to the Leibstandarte. On 13 December 1944 he arrived at the divisional headquarters near Euskirchen
where he asked Mohnke to grant Emil Wawrzinek the command of the 1st SS reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH. Wawrzinek had led the battalion since its return from France and had rebuilt it during the past months. But the next day Mohnke insisted that Knittel had to lead the reinforced battalion that would become Schnelle Gruppe (fast group) Knittel.
That same day, 14 December, Knittel was briefed about the upcoming Operation Wacht am Rhein, the German attempt to break through the American lines and cut the allied forces in two. With the Leibstandarte as spearhead of the 6th Panzer Army of Sepp Dietrich
Schnelle Gruppe Knittel was to follow the battlegroups of Joachim Peiper
and Max Hansen
, then use its speed to capture a bridge across the Meuse River south of Liège
enabling the Leibstandarte to move toward Antwerp. On 15 December Knittel was further briefed at the headquarters of Hermann Prieß, the commanding officer of the 1st SS-Panzerkorps. During this briefing Otto Skorzeny
was introduced and the details of Operation Greif
were revealed. After this meeting Knittel drove to the command post of his battalion in Glaadt to pass the orders and specifics on to his company commanders.
The offensive started the next day, 16 December 1944. Initially Knittel advanced quickly, following in the wake of Peiper and Hansen without enemy contact, marching over Holzheim, Hosingen
, Honsfeld and Born. On 17 December a scouting party of Schnelle Gruppe Knittel murdered eleven African-American soldiers of the 333rd Artillery Battalion
in Wéreth.
On 18 December it became clear that Peiper made the best progress and Mohnke ordered Knittel to follow that battlegroup. After a short meeting with Hansen in Recht, Knittel moved to Stavelot
. After leaving instructions for his company commanders he crossed the Amblève
River bridge in Stavelot at noon to contact Peiper in La Gleize
. Elements of his battlegroup followed during the afternoon and early evening but the American 30th Infantry Division managed to recapture the northern part of the town, blocking the advance route of the rest of Schnelle Gruppe Knittel and the battlegroup of Rudolf Sandig
. The next day, 19 December, Mohnke ordered Knittel and the elements of his fast group that did manage to reach La Gleize back to Stavelot to recapture the town and open the advance route which was also essential in supplying battlegroup Peiper with fuel and ammunition. Knittel set up his command post in the Antoine Farm west of Stavelot. The counterattack he deployed failed but that day members of his battalion murdered civilians in Parfondruy, Renardmont and Stavelot. That evening the Americans demolished the bridge in Stavelot.
Increased pressure from American forces stalled the advance of the Leibstandarte and continued attempts from Knittel and Sandig to recapture Stavelot failed while Peiper had come to a halt in La Gleize. The elements of Schnelle Gruppe Knittel on the western bank of the Amblève River were trapped between Stavelot, Coo and Trois-Ponts
. On 20 December Taskforce Lovelady from 3rd Armored Division attacked Knittels positions from the direction of Trois-Ponts but was halted by a King Tiger
tank and some anti-tank guns positioned near Petit-Spai. That evening elements from the 82nd Airborne Division moved in on the positions near Petit-Spai and cut off the road to Wanne. On 21 December elements of the 3rd Armored Division pushed Schnelle Gruppe Knittel out of its positions in Ster but elements of Kampfgruppe Hansen had reached Petit-Spai during the night and their counterattack pushed the 82nd Airborne Division back to Trois-Ponts. On 22 December a major attack from the 30th Infantry Division threw Knittels men out of their positions at the western edge of Stavelot.
It had become clear that the Meuse River could not be reached and Peiper decided on 24 December to abandon his vehicles and march through the woods to escape capture. He left La Gleize with the remaining men. 36 hours later he reached the German lines at Petit-Spai and marched to Wanne. In the early morning of 25 December Knittel cleared his positions on the western bank of the Amblève River and withdrew his men to Wanne. There the Leibstandarte regrouped before moving to the Bastogne
area. The Ardennes Offensive ended for Knittel when airplanes from the American 9th Tactical Airforce bombed his command post near Vielsalm
on 31 December 1944. He was hospitalized in Germany with a serious concussion.
. He returned to his hometown later that year but when he met with his wife on 5 January 1946 he was captured by Counter Intelligence Corps
(CIC) agents Michel Thomas
and Theodore Kraus. Knittel was imprisoned in the CIC prison in Ulm and interrogated
by Thomas. Knittel later claimed that he was physically abused
by his guards but Thomas denied this accusation
.
In March Knittel was transferred to Schwäbisch Hall
where Peiper and the other suspects of the Malmedy Massacre
were detained. Knittel and his Schnelle Gruppe had not taken part in the Malmedy Massacre since they had used a more southerly route but he was soon questioned about war crime
s in the Stavelot area. Knittel confessed that he ordered the murder of American prisoners of war
near Petit-Spai. Like other defendant
s he complained after his trial that the interrogations included psychological torture
. Knittel claimed to have been threatened with being handed over to the Belgians and that his interrogators suggested that signing a confession or not was the choice between fair American justice
and Belgian revenge
. Knittel also hoped that a false confession would steer the attention of his interrogators away from the civilians the men under his command murdered in Stavelot, Parfondruy and Renardmont and that he could then show during his trial that the murders he confessed to never happened. He intended to use the war diaries of the American units which had opposed his Schnelle Gruppe during the Battle of the Bulge to prove that no Americans were murdered at the date and location he gave in his confession. But during the Malmedy massacre trial
his defence lawyers did not get permission to use these war diaries and following his self-incriminating
confession he was sentenced to life imprisonment
on 16 July 1946.
Knittel and his lawyers immediately filed a request with the War Crimes Board of Review to have his case reopened and in March 1948 the reviewing authority reduced his sentence to 15 years imprisonment. In May 1948 the War Crimes Review Board Nr. 4 rejected the claim that irregularities had occurred during the trial against Knittel but following the Simpson Report and the findings of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services his sentence was further reduced to 12 years imprisonment. Knittel was released from Landsberg Prison
on 7 December 1953 following a Christmas Amnesty
.
Knittel worked as a car salesman for Opel
in Ulm until health problems including several cardiac arrest
s forced him to retire
in 1970. Gustav Knittel died on 30 June 1976 in Ulm hospital.
Details: Received the Bronze Version.
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
) in the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...
who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross
Knight's Cross refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield....
and a convicted war criminal.
Early life
Gustav Knittel was born in Neu-UlmNeu-Ulm
Neu-Ulm is a town in Bavaria, capital of the Neu-Ulm district. Neighbouring towns include Ulm, Senden, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth, Holzheim, Nersingen and Elchingen. The population is 51,110 .-History:...
, in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, on 27 November 1914. He had a fraternal twin brother Bernhard and two sisters. His parents Bernhard senior and Theresia (née Pfinder) ran a bakery in Neu-Ulm, Schützenstraße 52. Knittel attended the Volksschule
Volksschule
A Volksschule was an 18th century system of state-supported primary schools established in the Habsburg Austrian Empire and Prussia . Attendance was supposedly compulsory, but a 1781 census reveals that only one fourth of school-age children attended. At the time, this was one of the few examples...
and Realschule
Realschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
in Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
and the Oberrealschule in Göppingen
Göppingen
Göppingen is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. It is situated at the bottom of the Hohenstaufen mountain, in the valley of the river Fils....
.
Early career
Knittel joined the Allgemeine SSAllgemeine SS
The Allgemeine SS was the most numerous branch of the Schutzstaffel paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany. It was managed by the SS-Hauptamt...
on 15 April 1933. He believed this to be a suitable preparation for a professional military career while he was still in school. As this was a formality for new SS members he became a member of the Nazi Party on 1 May 1933. He was assigned to the 79. SS-Standarte in Ulm and with this unit he took part in the 1933 Nuremberg Rally
Nuremberg Rally
The Nuremberg Rally was the annual rally of the NSDAP in Germany, held from 1923 to 1938. Especially after Hitler's rise to power in 1933, they were large Nazi propaganda events...
.
Following the passing of his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
in March 1934 Knittel applied for a position in the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
but he was rejected. He then decided to pursue a career in what became the Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
and was transferred to the SS-Standarte Deutschland of the SS-Verfügungstruppe
SS-Verfügungstruppe
The SS-Verfügungstruppe was formed in 1934 as combat troops for the NSDAP. By 1940 these military SS units had become the nucleus of the Waffen-SS....
in Ellwangen
Ellwangen
Ellwangen an der Jagst, officially Ellwangen , in common use simply Ellwangen is a town in the district of Ostalbkreis in the east of Baden-Württemberg in Germany...
in October 1934. He graduated from the SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz
SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz
SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz was the officers' training school for the Waffen-SS. It was the SS equivalent of Britain's Sandhurst and the USA's West Point. The school was established in 1937, in the town of Bad Tölz which is about 30 miles south of Munich and the location was seemingly chosen because...
in 1938. He returned to SS-Regiment Deutschland and with this unit Knittel took part in the occupation of the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
after the Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
. He served with various SS units before becoming adjutant of SS Reserve Battalion Ellwangen in August 1939.
Wartime career
Shortly before the German invasion of FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
Knittel was transferred to the 15th (motorcycle) company of the Leibstandarte. He was to replace Max Wünsche
Max Wünsche
Max Wünsche was a Obersturmbannführer in the Waffen-SS during World War II who was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.-Early life:Max Wünsche was born on 20 April 1914 in Kittlitz...
as a platoon commander (the other platoon commanders being Hugo Kraas
Hugo Kraas
SS-Brigadeführer Hugo Kraas was a German Waffen-SS officer who served with the 1.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and was the last commander of the 12.SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend....
and Hermann Weiser
Hermann Weiser
Hermann Bibl Weiser was a Hauptsturmführer in the Waffen-SS who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.Weiser was born on 22 November 1918 in Ottenau, Baden...
) but the transfer was postponed until after the capitulation of The Netherlands. Knittel took part in the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
saw action at Wormhout
Wormhout
Wormhout is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.The town's name is of Germanic origin.Neighbouring towns and villages :*Ledringhem to the south-west, separated by river Peene Becque*Esquelbecq-Heraldry:...
and Bollezeele
Bollezeele
Bollezeele is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It is south of Dunkirk and also west of the Belgian border. The river Yser runs through Bollezeele.-Heraldry:-References:*...
and was awarded the Iron cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
2nd class before he was wounded while leading the attack on Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule
Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule
Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule is a commune in the Allier department in central France.-Geography:The commune is located north of Vichy and south of Moulins on the Route nationale 9....
on 19 June 1940 and transported to a German field hospital
Field hospital
A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...
in Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
. The campaign in France also earned him the Infantry Assault Badge
Infantry Assault Badge
The Infantry Assault Badge was a German war badge awarded to Waffen SS and Wehrmacht Heer soldiers during WWII. This decoration was instituted on December 20th 1939 by the Oberstbefehlshaber des Heeres, Generalfeldmarschall von Brauchitsch...
and the Wound Badge
Wound Badge
Wound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
in black. When the commander of the 15th (motorcycle) company, Kurt Meyer, raised the Aufklärungsabteilung
Aufklärungsabteilung
An Aufklärungsabteilung was an Abteilung sized reconnaissance unit attached to a German division during the Second World War.The Aufklärungsabteilung was the eyes and ears of the parent division...
LSSAH (Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
Battalion LSSAH) in Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
in late 1940 he assigned Knittel as commander of the 4th (heavy) company. Knittel recovered from his leg wound in the SS hospital in Hohenlychen and returned to the Leibstandarte in November 1940.
After taking part with the Reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH in the German attack on Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and the battle for 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...
he next participated in Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
: the German invasion of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He led his company during the drive of the Leibstandarte on Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr is a city in the North of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zhytomyr Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Zhytomyr Raion...
but was wounded during the fighting for the heights north of Marchlewsk on 11 July 1941. This time Knittel had sustained shrapnel wounds and he was shot through the right armpit. He recovered in Hohenlychen hospital again and he was then posed to the SS Training camp Dachau
Dachau
Dachau is a town in Upper Bavaria, in the southern part of Germany. It is a major district town—a Große Kreisstadt—of the administrative region of Upper Bavaria, about 20 km north-west of Munich. It is now a popular residential area for people working in Munich with roughly 40,000 inhabitants...
. He was awarded the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
1st class and returned to his company in November.
Knittel distinquised himself on 19 November 1941 during the attack on Sultan-Sali during the battle for Rostov
Rostov
Rostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
and later between 27 November and 1 December when he led an ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
Kampfgruppe
Kampfgruppe
In military history and military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the German Wehrmacht and its allies during World War II and, to a lesser extent, in World War I...
(battlegroup
Battlegroup (army)
A battlegroup , or task force in modern military theory, is the basic building block of an army's fighting force. A battlegroup is formed around an infantry battalion or armoured regiment, which is usually commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel...
) to defend the German retreat on Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
against the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
.
In March 1942 he was appointed as the company commander of the 3rd (light half-track
SdKfz 250
The Sd.Kfz. 250 was a light armoured halftrack, very similar in appearance to the larger Hanomag-designed Sd.Kfz. 251, and built by the DEMAG firm, for use by Nazi Germany in World War II....
) company in the Reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH. After formation of this unit at the Sennelager training grounds
Sennelager Training Area
The Sennelager Training Area is a military training area in Germany under the control of British Forces based in Paderborn Garrison. It covers an area of and belongs to the German Government which discharges its responsibility through the Federal Real Estate Office...
in Germany and further training in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, Knittel led this company during the battle for Kharkov
Third Battle of Kharkov
The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov , between 19 February and 15 March 1943...
and distinguished himself between 2 and 4 February 1943. Having received orders to lead an ad hoc battlegroup formed around his company and move behind enemy lines to cover the retreat of the 298. Infanterie-Division, he made contact with this battered division in Shevchenkove
Shevchenkove
Shevchenkove is a town in Ukraine in the Kharkiv oblast. It started in 1860 as a village named Bulacelovka after the owner of that land, Bulacel. Its geographical coordinates in decimals are 46.87° N and 32.21° E and the telephone code for the area is +38 . Its population according to the 2001...
, was cut off by the advancing Red Army but managed to fight his way back to the German lines with his battlegroup and a group of rescued soldiers. He further distinguished himself when the 1st SS reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH was encircled in Alexejewka and Knittel led one of the counterattacks against the Red Army on 13 February. The following day the battalion was saved from destruction because Max Wünsche managed to reach Alexejewka coming from Yefremivka with his tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
regiment. On 15 February Meyer and Wünsche wanted to reach the lines of Fritz Witt
Fritz Witt
Fritz Witt was a German Waffen-SS officer who served with the 1.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler before taking command of the 12.SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend...
and Knittel with his company was send to Bereka to reconnoitre the planned route. He found Bereka occupied by the Red Army and he was wounded in the following attack. The next day the combined battlegroup of Meyer and Wünsche managed to reach Yefremivka. Knittel was hospitalized with a leg wound but returned to his company for the successful counterattack on Kharkov.
In April 1943 Meyer left the Reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH and Knittel succeeded him as battalion commander. He was wounded on 11 July during the Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
but stayed with his troops. Knittel led his battalion in Italy and during the 1943-1944 winter battles in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, further distinguishing himself at Turbovka and at Divin, where he personally led his men around the defensive positions of the Red Army and took the town from the east by surprise. He was awarded the German Cross in Gold
German Cross
The German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
on 23 January 1944.
He continued to lead the remains of his battered battalion during the battles in February and March, earning the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
for securing the Bowenez Pocket between Ternopil
Ternopil
Ternopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical region of Galicia...
and Proskurov
Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine
Khmelnytskyi is a city in Ukraine in the region of Podillia. It is located on the Southern Buh River and about from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. The town's original name was Płoskirów, later Proskurov, but in 1954 was renamed Khmelnytskyi. It is the center of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast in western...
on 13 March and his defence of Hill 300 south of Andrejewka between 30 March and 1 April 1944. To defend Hill 300 Knittel led the men of the 68. Infanterie-Division back into their defensive positions after they had been pushed out by the attacking Red Army. He then managed to fend off four more attacks from the Red Army that day and one more on 1 April. This enabled the German Army to safely cross the Zbruch River and retreat to Lemberg
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
. The decimated Leibstandarte was then transferred to Belgium. Knittel set up his headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
in Turnhout where he was awarded the Knight's Cross on 4 June 1944.
The Leibstandarte was shipped to Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
a week after D-Day and Knittel led his battalion during the German attempts to counter the allied invasion. It was in Normandy that he realized that Germany would lose the war, especially after he witnessed the devastating power of the allied fighter-bombers and artillery during Operation Lüttich
Operation Lüttich
Operation Lüttich was a codename given to a German counterattack during the Battle of Normandy, which took place around the American positions near Mortain from 7 August to 13 August 1944...
and in the Falaise Pocket
Falaise pocket
The battle of the Falaise Pocket, fought during the Second World War from 12 to 21 August 1944, was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy...
. After the retreat from France Knittel left for a short holiday in Neu-Ulm. He was awarded the Close Combat Clasp
Close Combat Clasp
The Close Combat Clasp is a German military award instituted on 25 November 1942 for achievement in hand to hand fighting in close quarters. The Close Combat Clasp was worn above the upper left uniform pocket...
in gold on 13 October 1944 and he tried hard to obtain a position behind the front which he found as commander of the Field Replacement Battalion LSSAH in Lübbecke
Lübbecke
Lübbecke is a town in northeast North Rhine-Westphalia in north Germany. This former county town lies on the northern slopes of the Wiehen Hills and has around 26,000 inhabitants. The town is in the Eastwestphalian district of Minden-Lübbecke...
.
The Battle of the Bulge
Wilhelm MohnkeWilhelm Mohnke
SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke was one of the original 120 members of the SS-Staff Guard "Berlin" formed in March 1933. From those ranks, Mohnke rose to become one of Adolf Hitler's last remaining generals.Mohnke saw action with the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler in France, Poland...
ordered Knittel to return to the Leibstandarte. On 13 December 1944 he arrived at the divisional headquarters near Euskirchen
Euskirchen
Euskirchen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the district Euskirchen. While Euskirchen resembles a modern shopping town, it also has a history dating back over 700 years, having been granted town-status in 1302....
where he asked Mohnke to grant Emil Wawrzinek the command of the 1st SS reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH. Wawrzinek had led the battalion since its return from France and had rebuilt it during the past months. But the next day Mohnke insisted that Knittel had to lead the reinforced battalion that would become Schnelle Gruppe (fast group) Knittel.
That same day, 14 December, Knittel was briefed about the upcoming Operation Wacht am Rhein, the German attempt to break through the American lines and cut the allied forces in two. With the Leibstandarte as spearhead of the 6th Panzer Army of Sepp Dietrich
Sepp Dietrich
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich was a German SS General. He was one of Nazi Germany's most decorated soldiers and commanded formations up to Army level during World War II. Prior to 1929 he was Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard but received rapid promotion after his participation in the murder of...
Schnelle Gruppe Knittel was to follow the battlegroups of Joachim Peiper
Joachim Peiper
Joachim Peiper , more often known as Jochen Peiper, was a field officer in the Waffen-SS during World War II, convicted of war crimes in Belgium and accused of war crimes in Italy. He was Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's personal adjutant . In 1945, he was an SS-Standartenführer, the Waffen-SS's...
and Max Hansen
Max Hansen (SS officer)
Max Hansen was a Standartenführer , in the Waffen-SS who was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knights Cross was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II. The Oakleaves was a second award.Hansen was born on...
, then use its speed to capture a bridge across the Meuse River south of Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
enabling the Leibstandarte to move toward Antwerp. On 15 December Knittel was further briefed at the headquarters of Hermann Prieß, the commanding officer of the 1st SS-Panzerkorps. During this briefing Otto Skorzeny
Otto Skorzeny
Otto Skorzeny was an SS-Obersturmbannführer in the German Waffen-SS during World War II. After fighting on the Eastern Front, he was chosen as the field commander to carry out the rescue mission that freed the deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from captivity...
was introduced and the details of Operation Greif
Operation Greif
Operation Greif was a special false flag operation commanded by Waffen-SS commando Otto Skorzeny during the Battle of the Bulge. The operation was the brainchild of Adolf Hitler, and its purpose was to capture one or more of the bridges over the Meuse river before they could be destroyed...
were revealed. After this meeting Knittel drove to the command post of his battalion in Glaadt to pass the orders and specifics on to his company commanders.
The offensive started the next day, 16 December 1944. Initially Knittel advanced quickly, following in the wake of Peiper and Hansen without enemy contact, marching over Holzheim, Hosingen
Hosingen
Hosingen is a commune and small town in northern Luxembourg. Near Hosingen there is a transmitter for FM and TV of RTL., the town of Hosingen, which lies in the south of the commune, has a population of 761. Other towns within the commune include Bockholtz, Dorscheid, Neidhausen, Rodershausen,...
, Honsfeld and Born. On 17 December a scouting party of Schnelle Gruppe Knittel murdered eleven African-American soldiers of the 333rd Artillery Battalion
333rd Artillery Battalion (United States)
The 333rd Field Artillery Battalion was an African-American unit of the then racially segregated United States Army during World War II. The battalion landed at Normandy at the beginning of July 1944 and saw continuous combat as corps artillery throughout the summer. Beginning in October 1944 it...
in Wéreth.
On 18 December it became clear that Peiper made the best progress and Mohnke ordered Knittel to follow that battlegroup. After a short meeting with Hansen in Recht, Knittel moved to Stavelot
Stavelot
Stavelot is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006, Stavelot had a total population of 6,671. The total area is 85.07 km² which gives a population density of 78 inhabitants per km².-History:...
. After leaving instructions for his company commanders he crossed the Amblève
Amblève (river)
The Amblève or Amel is a 93 km long river in eastern Belgium in the province of Liège. It is a right tributary of the river Ourthe. It rises near Büllingen in the High Fens , close to the border with Germany.Tributaries of the Amblève are the rivers Warche, Eau Rouge, Salm and Lienne...
River bridge in Stavelot at noon to contact Peiper in La Gleize
La Gleize
La Gleize is a village and section of the Belgian Municipality of Stoumont, situated in the Walloon Region in the province of Liège.Common before the full merger of Commons in 1977, La Gleize is located on a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley of Amblève in the Ardennes region.-Hamlets:Moulin du...
. Elements of his battlegroup followed during the afternoon and early evening but the American 30th Infantry Division managed to recapture the northern part of the town, blocking the advance route of the rest of Schnelle Gruppe Knittel and the battlegroup of Rudolf Sandig
Rudolf Sandig
Rudolf Sandig was a Obersturmbannführer in the Waffen-SS, who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.He was born on the 11 September 1911 in Eppendorf, Saxony...
. The next day, 19 December, Mohnke ordered Knittel and the elements of his fast group that did manage to reach La Gleize back to Stavelot to recapture the town and open the advance route which was also essential in supplying battlegroup Peiper with fuel and ammunition. Knittel set up his command post in the Antoine Farm west of Stavelot. The counterattack he deployed failed but that day members of his battalion murdered civilians in Parfondruy, Renardmont and Stavelot. That evening the Americans demolished the bridge in Stavelot.
Increased pressure from American forces stalled the advance of the Leibstandarte and continued attempts from Knittel and Sandig to recapture Stavelot failed while Peiper had come to a halt in La Gleize. The elements of Schnelle Gruppe Knittel on the western bank of the Amblève River were trapped between Stavelot, Coo and Trois-Ponts
Trois-Ponts
Trois-Ponts is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. On January 1, 2006 Trois-Ponts had a total population of 2,445. The total area is 68.90 km² which gives a population density of 35 inhabitants per km². It is situated at the confluence of the...
. On 20 December Taskforce Lovelady from 3rd Armored Division attacked Knittels positions from the direction of Trois-Ponts but was halted by a King Tiger
Tiger II
Tiger II is the common name of a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B,Panzerkampfwagen – abbr: Pz. or Pz.Kfw. Ausführung – abbr: Ausf. .The full titles Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf...
tank and some anti-tank guns positioned near Petit-Spai. That evening elements from the 82nd Airborne Division moved in on the positions near Petit-Spai and cut off the road to Wanne. On 21 December elements of the 3rd Armored Division pushed Schnelle Gruppe Knittel out of its positions in Ster but elements of Kampfgruppe Hansen had reached Petit-Spai during the night and their counterattack pushed the 82nd Airborne Division back to Trois-Ponts. On 22 December a major attack from the 30th Infantry Division threw Knittels men out of their positions at the western edge of Stavelot.
It had become clear that the Meuse River could not be reached and Peiper decided on 24 December to abandon his vehicles and march through the woods to escape capture. He left La Gleize with the remaining men. 36 hours later he reached the German lines at Petit-Spai and marched to Wanne. In the early morning of 25 December Knittel cleared his positions on the western bank of the Amblève River and withdrew his men to Wanne. There the Leibstandarte regrouped before moving to the Bastogne
Bastogne
Bastogne Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. The municipality of Bastogne includes the old communes of Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardin...
area. The Ardennes Offensive ended for Knittel when airplanes from the American 9th Tactical Airforce bombed his command post near Vielsalm
Vielsalm
Vielsalm is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg.On 1 January 2007 the municipality had 7,339 inhabitants...
on 31 December 1944. He was hospitalized in Germany with a serious concussion.
Trial and imprisonment
In May 1945 Knittel returned to his family in Neu-Ulm but soon decided to hide on a farm near StuttgartStuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. He returned to his hometown later that year but when he met with his wife on 5 January 1946 he was captured by Counter Intelligence Corps
Counter Intelligence Corps
The Counter Intelligence Corps was a World War II and early Cold War intelligence agency within the United States Army. Its role was taken over by the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps in 1961 and, in 1967, by the U.S. Army Intelligence Agency...
(CIC) agents Michel Thomas
Michel Thomas
Michel Thomas was a polyglot linguist, language teacher and decorated war veteran. He survived imprisonment in several different Nazi concentration camps after serving in the Maquis of the French Resistance and worked with the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps during World War II...
and Theodore Kraus. Knittel was imprisoned in the CIC prison in Ulm and interrogated
Interrogation
Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
by Thomas. Knittel later claimed that he was physically abused
Physical abuse
Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...
by his guards but Thomas denied this accusation
Accusation
*Accusation can mean:*The Accusation, a 1951 Italian film*Criminal accusation*False accusations*For other meanings, see wikt:accusation...
.
In March Knittel was transferred to Schwäbisch Hall
Schwäbisch Hall
Schwäbisch Hall is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and capital of the district of Schwäbisch Hall. The town is located in the valley of the river Kocher in the north-eastern part of Baden-Württemberg....
where Peiper and the other suspects of the Malmedy Massacre
Malmedy massacre
The Malmedy massacre was a war crime in which 84 American prisoners of war were murdered by their German captors during World War II. The massacre was committed on December 17, 1944, by members of Kampfgruppe Peiper , a German combat unit, during the Battle of the Bulge.The massacre, as well as...
were detained. Knittel and his Schnelle Gruppe had not taken part in the Malmedy Massacre since they had used a more southerly route but he was soon questioned about war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s in the Stavelot area. Knittel confessed that he ordered the murder of American prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
near Petit-Spai. Like other defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
s he complained after his trial that the interrogations included psychological torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. Knittel claimed to have been threatened with being handed over to the Belgians and that his interrogators suggested that signing a confession or not was the choice between fair American justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
and Belgian revenge
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
. Knittel also hoped that a false confession would steer the attention of his interrogators away from the civilians the men under his command murdered in Stavelot, Parfondruy and Renardmont and that he could then show during his trial that the murders he confessed to never happened. He intended to use the war diaries of the American units which had opposed his Schnelle Gruppe during the Battle of the Bulge to prove that no Americans were murdered at the date and location he gave in his confession. But during the Malmedy massacre trial
Malmedy massacre trial
The Malmedy massacre trial was held in May–July 1946 in the Dachau concentration camp to try the German Waffen-SS soldiers accused of the Malmedy massacre of December 17, 1944. The highest-ranking defendant was the former SS general, Sepp Dietrich...
his defence lawyers did not get permission to use these war diaries and following his self-incriminating
Self-incrimination
Self-incrimination is the act of accusing oneself of a crime for which a person can then be prosecuted. Self-incrimination can occur either directly or indirectly: directly, by means of interrogation where information of a self-incriminatory nature is disclosed; indirectly, when information of a...
confession he was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
on 16 July 1946.
Knittel and his lawyers immediately filed a request with the War Crimes Board of Review to have his case reopened and in March 1948 the reviewing authority reduced his sentence to 15 years imprisonment. In May 1948 the War Crimes Review Board Nr. 4 rejected the claim that irregularities had occurred during the trial against Knittel but following the Simpson Report and the findings of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services his sentence was further reduced to 12 years imprisonment. Knittel was released from Landsberg Prison
Landsberg Prison
Landsberg Prison is a penal facility located in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west of Munich and south of Augsburg....
on 7 December 1953 following a Christmas Amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
.
Knittel worked as a car salesman for Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
in Ulm until health problems including several cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
s forced him to retire
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
in 1970. Gustav Knittel died on 30 June 1976 in Ulm hospital.
Promotions
- SS-Rottenführer: 1 September 1936
- SS-Unterscharführer: 1 August 1937
- SS-Untersturmführer: 9 November 1938
- SS-Obersturmführer: 9 November 1939
- SS-Hauptsturmführer: 9 November 1941
- SS-Sturmbannführer: 24 April 1943
Career
- Adjutant SS-Kradschützen-Reserve Battalion "Ellwangen": 26. Aug. 1939 - May 1940
- Platoon Commander 15 Company/LSSAH, 15. May. - 19. Aug. 1940
- Commander 4th Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH, 19. Aug.1940 - Mar.1942
- Commander 3rd Company 1st Reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH, Mar. 1942 - Apr. 1943
- Commander 1st SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion LSSAH, 22. Apr.1943 - Aug.1944
- Commander SS Field Reserve Battalion LSSAH, Sep. 1944 - 12. Dec.1944
- Commander 1st SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st SS Panzer Division LSSAH, 14. Dec. 1944 - 31. Dec. 1944 (wounded)
Awards
- Iron Cross 2nd Class
- Rank: SS-Obersturmführer (Lieutenant)
- Awarded on: June 13, 1940
- Infantry Assault Badge
- Rank SS-Obersturmführer
- Awarded on: October 3, 1940
Details: Received the Bronze Version.
- Iron Cross 1st Class
- Rank: SS-Obersturmführer (Lieutenant)
- Awarded on: September 14, 1941
- Close Combat Badge in Bronze
- Rank: SS-Sturmbannführer (Major)
- Awarded on: September 7, 1943
- German Cross in Gold
- Rank: SS-Sturmbannführer (Major)
- Awarded on: January 23, 1944
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
- Rank: SS-Sturmbannführer (Major)
- Awarded on: June 4, 1944
- Close Combat Badge in Silver
- Close Combat Badge in Gold
- Rank: SS-Sturmbannführer (Major)
- Awarded on: October 13, 1944
- Wound Badge 1939 in Silver
- Medallion in Memory of 1 October 1938
- Winter War Medal 1941/42
- Honour Sword of the Reichsführers-SS
- SS Honour Ring
See also
- Waffen SS
- 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf HitlerThe Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...
- List of Knight's Cross holders 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler