List of Knight's Cross recipients 16th SS Panzer Grenadier Division Reichsführer SS

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
Precedence
Next (higher)	Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
Next (lower)	Iron Cross 1st Class
Insignia of 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS

16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS. was a formation of the Waffen-SS during World War II.

It was formed in November 1943 when Volksdeutsche recruits were added to the Sturmbrigade Reichsführer SS, which was then upgraded to divisional status. The majority of the recruits were from Norway.

A Kampfgruppe ("combat group") from the division fought at the Anzio beachhead, while the rest of the division took part in the occupation of Hungary. It fought in Italy as a unit from May 1944 until being transferred to Hungary in February 1945. In late summer 1944, while retreating towards the Gothic Line positions in the Appennini mountains, some units of this division committed several major atrocities against civilians in Sant'Anna di Stazzema and Marzabotto.

The division surrendered to British forces near Klagenfurt, Austria at the end of the war.

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 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 of June 3, 1940. In 1941 two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 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 of December 29, 1944 concluded the variants of the Knight's Cross.

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 with Oakleaves

• Max Simon, 28.10.1944 SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der W-SS Commander 16th SS Panzer Gren Div RFSS

Knight's Cross

• Karl Gesele, 04.07.1944 SS-Obersturmbannführer Commander SS-Sturm-Brigade RFSS

See also

• 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS

Footnotes

References

• SEEMEN, Gerhard von: Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945. Podzun-Pallas, 1976.
• SCHERZER, Veit: Knight's Cross Recipients 1939 - 1945 (Paperback) by Enid Blyton, 1999