The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: ''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes'') and its variants were the highest military award in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Recipients are grouped by grades of the Knight's Cross. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, 133 German soldiers and officers of the ''

Fallschirmjäger The ''Fallschirmjäger'' () were the paratrooper branch of the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first German paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. Throughout World War II, the commander ...

'' (

Paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

) service, which was a part of the ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'', received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Among them, 22 officers received the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

(''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub''), seven the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight ...

(''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern''), and one won the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Swords and Diamonds (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten'').

Background

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment, of 1 September 1939 instituted the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

(), the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the

Grand Cross of the Iron Cross The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) was a decoration intended for victorious generals of the Prussian Army and its allies. It was the second highest class of the Iron Cross, following the Star of the Gran ...

(). Article 2 of the enactment mandated that the award of a higher class be preceded by the award of all preceding classes. As the war progressed, some of the recipients of the Knight's Cross distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the

(), was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment of 3 June 1940. In 1941, two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment of 28 September 1941 introduced the

() and the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

(). At the end of 1944 the final grade, the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

(), based on the enactment of 29 December 1944, became the final variant of the Knight's Cross authorized.

Recipients

The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Supreme Command of the Armed Forces) kept separate Knight's Cross lists, one for each of the three military branches, '' Heer'' (

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

), '' Kriegsmarine'' (

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

), ''

'' (

Air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

) and for the ''

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

''. Within each of these lists a unique sequential number was assigned to each recipient. The same numbering paradigm was applied to the higher grades of the Knight's Cross, one list per grade. The sequential numbers greater than 843 for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and 143 for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords are unofficial and were assigned by the

Association of Knight's Cross Recipients The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

(AKCR) and are therefore denoted in parentheses.

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds

The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds is based on the enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613'' of 28 September 1941 to reward those servicemen who had already been awarded the Oak Leaves with Swords to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Ultimately, it would be awarded to twenty-seven German soldiers, sailors and airmen, ranging from young fighter pilots to field marshals. One recipient was a member of the ''Fallschirmjäger''.

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords is also based on the enactment (''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613'') of 28 September 1941 to reward those servicemen who had already been awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The list is initially sorted by the chronological number assigned to the recipient.

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves

The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves was based on the enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849'' of 3 June 1940. The last officially announced number for the Oak Leaves was 843.

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross is based on the enactment ''Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573'' of 1 September 1939 ''Verordnung über die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes'' (Regulation of the renewing of the Iron Cross). The distribution of presentations made to ''Fallschirmjäger'' is closely linked to the engagements in which they fought. In 1940 the Battle of France (10 May – 25 June 1940) played a predominant role, in 1941 the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...

(20 May – 1 June 1941), and in 1944 the Battle of Monte Cassino (17 January – 18 May 1944) in Italy and the Allied Invasion of Normandy (6 June 1944 – mid-July 1944) dominated the events for the ''Fallschirmjäger''. The presentations made therefore match these engagements. A total of 23 awards were made in 1940; 25 in 1941; only 3 in 1942 and 4 in 1943; the peak of 59 was reached in 1944, and 18 in 1945, giving a total of 132 recipients.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fallschirm Lists of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients Fallschirmjager