List of Knight's Cross recipients 6th SS Gebirgs Division Nord
| Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | |
|---|---|
| Awarded by Nazi Germany | |
| Type | Neck order |
| Eligibility | Military personnel |
| Awarded for | Awarded to holders of the Iron Cross to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership |
| Campaign | World War II |
| Status | Obsolete |
| Statistics | |
| Established | 1 September 1939 |
| First awarded | 30 September 1939 |
| Last awarded | 11 May 1945 / 17 June 1945[a] |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Grand Cross of the Iron Cross |
| Next (lower) | Iron Cross 1st Class |
 Insignia of 6th SS Gebirgs Division Nord |
|
The SS Division "Nord" was a German unit of the Waffen-SS. It was formed as SS-Kampfgruppe "Nord" in February 1941 in Norway but it was redesignated as a division in September 1941.
The division was composed of SS men used for garrison duties in Norway. It was transferred to Finnish Lapland prior to Operation Barbarossa as part of the German XXXVI Corps under AOK Norwegen. In July 1941 the division took part in Operation Silberfuchs with the German 169th Division and the Finnish 6th Division. Due to lack of training the soldiers were routed in the first attack against the Soviet forces at Salla.
The division was later attached to the Finnish III Corps operating in the Kiestinki area.
In September 1942 the division was renamed as the SS Gebirgs Division "Nord" (SS Mountain Division "North") and in October 1943 finally as the 6th SS Gebirgs Division "Nord".
In 1944 the division took part in the Lapland War against Finland. After pulling out of Finland the division was transferred to Denmark and later to Germany. The division surrendered in May 1945 to US forces in Bavaria.[1]
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 [2] of September 1, 1939 instituted the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. As the war progressed some of the recipients distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Oak Leaves to 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 [3] of June 3, 1940. In 1941 two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 [4] of September 28, 1941 introduced the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. At the end of 1944 the last and final grade, the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11 [5] of December 29, 1944 concluded the variants of the Knight's Cross.
Contents
Prerequisites
To qualify for the Knight's Cross, a soldier had to already hold the 1939 Iron Cross First Class, though the Iron Cross I Class was awarded concurrently with the Knight's Cross in rare cases. Unit commanders could also be awarded the medal for exemplary conduct by the unit as a whole.
Grades
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was divided into five grades, excluding the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross:
- Knights Cross
- Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and swords
- Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
- Knights Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Knight's Cross
HQ staff
- Karl-Heinrich Brenner, 27.12.1944 SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der Polizei Commander 6th SS Gebirgs Div Nord
- Friedrich Krüger, 22.10.1944 SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS und Polizei Commander 6th SS Gebirgs Div Nord [6]
SS Gebirgsjäger Regiment 11 Reinhard Heydrich
- Günther Degen, 07.10.1944 SS-Hauptsturmführer Commander I. Battalion [6]
SS Gebirgsjäger Regiment 12 Michael Gaißmair
- Franz Schreiber, 26.12.1944 SS-Standartenführer Commander 12th SS Geb Jäg Rgt Michael Gaißmair [6]
SS Schützen Battalion 6
- Gottlieb Renz, 12.08.1944 SS-Hauptsturmführer d.R. Commander 6th SS Schtz Btn [6]
SS Panzergrenadier Battalion 506
(renamed from 6th Schtz Btn)
- Hans Bauer (SS officer), 05.04.1945 SS-Obersturmführer Commander 3 Company
[attached to 416th Inf Div in Feb 1945 ; Westwall defense area Hamm/Saarschleife] [6]
Footnotes
- ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica
- ↑ @ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 1573; 1 September 1939
- ↑ @ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 849; 3 June 1940
- ↑ @ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 613; 28 September 1941
- ↑ @ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11; 29 December 1944
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
References
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