Paul Egger
Encyclopedia
Paul Egger was a German pilot in the Battle of Britain
and a Obersturmführer
(First Lieutenant) in the Waffen SS during World War II
who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
, which was awarded by Nazi Germany
to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II
.
, Austria
. After graduating from high school in June 1935, he trained to be a clerk and worked as a trainee clerk until 1938, when he volunteered to join the Luftwaffe
. Egger was already a Glider
pilot and was converted to be a bomber pilot and posted to the Kampfgeschwader 51
flying the Junkers Ju 87
(Stuka).
and took part in the Polish Campaign . He was then transferred to Jagdgeschwader 27
as a fighter pilot flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109
and took part in the Battle of France
, and the Battle of Britain
. Altogether he flew 112 missions and was shot down three times, he did record some victories but was not a fighter ace
.
The last time he was shot down over the English Channel
he received severe head wounds and was removed from flying and transferred to ground staff duties.
when he destroyed 28 tanks, 14 anti-tank guns, 40 other vehicles and 8 artillery batteries.
During the Third Battle of Kharkov
in February 1943, he recorded his 65th tank destroyed but his company was almost wiped out and by the end of the battle had only two tanks left.
In October 1943, Egger was transferred to command a Tiger tank
platoon in the 1st Company, 102 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
. The battalion was sent to Normandy
after the D Day landings. During the fighting for point 112 he destroyed a further 14 tanks and 4 anti tank guns for which he was recommended for the Knight's Cross but instead received the German Cross
in Gold.
Egger's battalion was almost completely destroyed during the fighting in Normandy and, in September 1944, was pulled back to Germany to reform. Stationed in Sennelager
the battalion was renamed the 502 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion.
The battalion was sent to the Eastern Front
and during the fighting around Stettin he destroyed another 19 tanks.
In April 1945 he was directly promoted to Obersturmführer
(First Lieutenant) and temporarily took over command of the 1st Company. He was also awarded the Knight's Cross by the commander of the XI SS Panzer Army Felix Steiner
(due to the circumstances at the end of the war, the award was only provisionally granted.) The certificate was endorsed by Heinrich Himmler
and Generalfeldmarschall
Wilhelm Keitel
and dated 28 April 1945, but it is recognized by the Ordensgemeinschaft der Ritterkreuzträger des Eisernen Kreuzes e.V. (OdR).
On the 3 May 1945, Egger recorded 113 tanks destroyed.
He escaped from Berlin
and managed to evade the surrounding Soviet forces
, but was forced to surrender to the advancing United States army at the River Elbe after being shot in the arm, which was his ninth wound of the war.
In civilian life he became a sports reporter and died on 12 July 2007.
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
and a Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...
(First Lieutenant) in the Waffen SS during 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...
who was awarded 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...
, which was awarded by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during 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...
.
Early life
Paul Egger was born on 26 November 1916 in MauternMautern in Steiermark
Mautern in Steiermark is a municipality in the district of Leoben in Styria, Austria....
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. After graduating from high school in June 1935, he trained to be a clerk and worked as a trainee clerk until 1938, when he volunteered to join the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. Egger was already a Glider
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
pilot and was converted to be a bomber pilot and posted to the Kampfgeschwader 51
Kampfgeschwader 51
Kampfgeschwader 51 "Edelweiss" was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. The unit began forming in December 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17, Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88 light and medium bombers...
flying the Junkers Ju 87
Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a two-man German ground-attack aircraft...
(Stuka).
World War II
Egger started World War II as a pilot in Kampfgeschwader 51Kampfgeschwader 51
Kampfgeschwader 51 "Edelweiss" was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. The unit began forming in December 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17, Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88 light and medium bombers...
and took part in the Polish Campaign . He was then transferred to Jagdgeschwader 27
Jagdgeschwader 27
Jagdgeschwader 27 Afrika was a World War II Luftwaffe Geschwader. It was most famous for service in the North African Campaign, supporting the Deutsches Afrikakorps.- Formation:...
as a fighter pilot flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
and 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...
, and the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
. Altogether he flew 112 missions and was shot down three times, he did record some victories but was not a fighter ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
.
The last time he was shot down over the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
he received severe head wounds and was removed from flying and transferred to ground staff duties.
Waffen SS
In May 1941 he volunteered to join the Waffen SS, and was trained as an anti-tank gunner. On completion of his basic training he was posted to the Motorcycle Battalion of the Das Reich Division and later transferred to the 8th Company, SS Panzer Regiment 2. Egger started to show his prowess as a tank commander in the Battle of KievBattle of Kiev (1941)
The Battle of Kiev was the German name for the operation that resulted in a very large encirclement of Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kiev during World War II. It is considered the largest encirclement of troops in history. The operation ran from 23 August – 26 September 1941 as part of Operation...
when he destroyed 28 tanks, 14 anti-tank guns, 40 other vehicles and 8 artillery batteries.
During the Third Battle of 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...
in February 1943, he recorded his 65th tank destroyed but his company was almost wiped out and by the end of the battle had only two tanks left.
In October 1943, Egger was transferred to command a Tiger tank
Tiger I
Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
platoon in the 1st Company, 102 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
102 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
The SS Heavy-Panzer Battalion 102 was a heavy-tank battalion of the Waffen SS during World War II, which fought as part of the II SS Panzer Corps during the Battle of Normandy...
. The battalion was sent 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:...
after the D Day landings. During the fighting for point 112 he destroyed a further 14 tanks and 4 anti tank guns for which he was recommended for the Knight's Cross but instead received the German Cross
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...
in Gold.
Egger's battalion was almost completely destroyed during the fighting in Normandy and, in September 1944, was pulled back to Germany to reform. Stationed in Sennelager
Sennelager
Sennelager is a village in Germany that forms part of the City of Paderborn. It is notable by the presence of a British army barracks, where the 20th Armoured Brigade are currently situated...
the battalion was renamed the 502 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion.
The battalion was sent to the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
and during the fighting around Stettin he destroyed another 19 tanks.
In April 1945 he was directly promoted to Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...
(First Lieutenant) and temporarily took over command of the 1st Company. He was also awarded the Knight's Cross by the commander of the XI SS Panzer Army Felix Steiner
Felix Steiner
Felix Martin Julius Steiner was a German Reichswehr and Waffen-SS officer who served in both World War I and World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
(due to the circumstances at the end of the war, the award was only provisionally granted.) The certificate was endorsed by Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
and Generalfeldmarschall
Generalfeldmarschall
Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II...
and dated 28 April 1945, but it is recognized by the Ordensgemeinschaft der Ritterkreuzträger des Eisernen Kreuzes e.V. (OdR).
On the 3 May 1945, Egger recorded 113 tanks destroyed.
He escaped from Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
and managed to evade the surrounding Soviet forces
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...
, but was forced to surrender to the advancing United States army at the River Elbe after being shot in the arm, which was his ninth wound of the war.
Post war
Paul Egger remained in captivity for two and a half years and was released in November 1947.In civilian life he became a sports reporter and died on 12 July 2007.