Knight's Cross, Oak-Leaves and Swords Recipients 1941–45

Download or read book Knight's Cross, Oak-Leaves and Swords Recipients 1941–45 written by Gordon Williamson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-06-20 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 21 June 1941, as the Wehrmachtstormed forward across the frontiers of the Soviet Union, Hitler instituted a new higher grade of the Knight's Cross decoration for gallantry and leadership: the silver clasp of the Oak-Leaves with Swords. It would be awarded to only 159 men of the approximately 15 million who served in the German armed forces during World War II. This third in a sequence of four titles describes and illustrates a selection of the recipients: from much-wounded front line infantry officers, to Hitler's 'brother-in-law'; from a sergeant pilot fighter ace, to the commanding general of the greatest tank force ever gathered on the Russian Front.