Günter Halm (27 August 1922 – 26 September 2017) was a German infantryman and the youngest member of the

Afrika Korps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its Africa ...

to be awarded the

Knight's Cross Knight's Cross (German language ''Ritterkreuz'') refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that often denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield. Most frequently the term Knight's Cross is used to refer to the Knight's Cro ...

for his bravery in action.

Early life

Halm was born on 27 August 1922 in the town of

Elze Elze () is a town in the district of Hildesheim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Leine, approximately west of Hildesheim. The municipality of Elze also comprises the villages of ''Esbeck, Mehle, Sehlde, Sorsum, Wittenburg' ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

, to Heinrich and Friederike Halm. On attending his local school in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

, he completed his studies, two of which were dedicated to his vocation as a machinist. At the end of 1941 he was called up for military service, where he completed his basic training and served with the Panzerjäger-Ersatzabteilung 13 in Braunschweig. In 1942 he was posted to the Afrika Korps where he was employed as a gunner with support company’s anti-tank platoon of Panzergrenadier-Regiments 104, 21. Panzer-Division.

Military service

North Africa

The anti-tank platoon consisted of two captured Soviet anti-tank guns, both being 76mm M1936s (F22), which the Wehrmacht designated as the PAK 36 or PAK 36(r), and were colloquially known at the ‘Ratsch-Bumm’. With Halm's gun under the command of Unteroffizier Jabeck, his unit took part in Operation Theseus, also known as the

Battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala, also the Gazala Offensive (Italian language, Italian: ''Battaglia di Ain el-Gazala'') was fought near the village of Gazala during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, f ...

. In July 1942 he was promoted to

Gefreiter Gefreiter (, abbr. Gefr.; plural ''Gefreite'') is a military rank used in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria since the 16th century. It is typically the second rank or grade to which an Enlisted rank, enlisted soldier, airman, or sailor can be prom ...

and on 15 July 1942 he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class for the elimination of two British tanks at the

Battle of Bir Hakeim The Battle of Bir Hakeim () took place at Bir Hakeim, an oasis in the Libyan desert south and west of Tobruk, during the Battle of Gazala (26 May – 21 June 1942). The 1st Free French Brigade under Marie-Pierre Kœnig defended the position f ...

. Following this he fought at the

First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of World War II, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Marshal Erwin ...

, where he, despite the fact that his gun had taken a direct hit which had wounded two of the crew, successfully destroyed 15 tanks of the British 23rd Armoured Brigade at Ruweisat Ridge on 22 July 1942. For this achievement he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class. As his efforts had essentially blunted the British counter-attack in a matter of minutes, however, it was suggested that he ought indeed to have received the Knight's Cross and, with the application having been approved, he was awarded Germany’s highest award for bravery at the age of 19 on 7 August 1942 by General Field Marshall Erwin Rommel himself. His promotion to ''

Unteroffizier () is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army. Austria , also , is the collective name to ...

'' soon followed in November 1942, before being wounded twice; the first being in December 1942 and then again March 1943. Having been hospitalised in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, he became a

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, ; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was established by the ''Pre ...

in July 1943 and a month later successfully completed the

Fallschirmjäger The () were the airborne forces branch of the Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. They were commanded by Kurt Student, the Luftwaffe's second-in-comman ...

course at Wischau. In October 1943 he was promoted to ''

Feldwebel '' '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupied Serbia ...

'' and in November 1943 to ''

Oberfähnrich (OFähnr or OFR) designates in the Heer of the Bundeswehr a military person or member of the armed forces with the last or highest Officer Aspirant (OA – de: ) rank. According to the salary class it is equivalent to the ranks of or , an ...

''.

Normandy

Between December 1943 and the end of February 1944 he undertook officer training in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and on completion was subsequently promoted to ''

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

''. In March 1944 he deployed to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

where he held the position of ordnance officer with the Panzergrenadier-Regiment 192 of the 21. Panzer-Division. During heavy fighting at the Battle of the

Falaise Pocket The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket (; 12–21 August 1944) was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. Allied forces formed a pocket around Falaise, Calvados, in which German Army Group B, c ...

he was captured by Allied troops in August 1944 and shipped to a

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...

in the United States.

Post-war

On his release in 1946 he returned to Germany, where he and his wife ran her parents’ fuel business for the next 42 years until their retirement. Halm joined the local gymnastics and sports club in

Bad Münder Bad Münder am Deister (, ), commonly known as Bad Münder (West Low German: ''Bad Münner''), is a town in the Hamelin-Pyrmont district, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is on the south side of the Deister hills in the Deister-Süntel valley, about nor ...

and later became its chairman, a position which he held from 1973 until 1993. Out of respect, the club made him honorary chairman after his 20-year tenure. He was also regional chairman of the Volksbundes Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, a nationwide organisation caring for war graves, a member of the supervisory board of the Volksbank in Bad Münder and a member of the local

Schützenverein A Schützenverein (German for "marksmen's club") is a local voluntary association found in German-speaking countries revolving around shooting as a sport, often target shooting to Olympic rules or with historic weapons. Although originating as ...

. For his numerous social commitments he received a golden badge of honour from Lower Saxony's Sports Association, a letter of commendation from the German Gymnastics Association, Bad Münder's silver medal and in 1995 the

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

. On 12 May 2004 at the Julius-Leber-Kaserne in Berlin, the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

Camaraderie of Reservists 14 took on his name in honour. Working in conjunction with

Paul Carell Paul Carell was the post-war pen name of Paul Karl Schmidt (2 November 1911 – 20 June 1997) who was a writer and German propagandist. During the Nazi era, Schmidt served as the chief press spokesman for Joachim von Ribbentrop's Foreign Ministry. ...

, Halm published his biography in 2012: Ein Grenadier entscheidet eine Schlacht. Die Erinnerungen von Günter Halm, dem jüngsten Ritterkreuzträger des Afrikakorps, (A Gunner Resolves A Battle, the memories of Günter Halm, youngest bearer of the Africa Corps' Knight's Cross ). Halm died in September 2017 at the age of 95.

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1939) 2nd class & 1st class (29 July 1942) *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), 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. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

on 29 July 1942 as ''

Grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...

'' and gunner in the ''Pakzug'' (anti tank platoon) in the Stabskompanie/Panzergrenadier-Regiment 104Scherzer 2007, p. 362.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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