List of Knight's Cross recipients 7th SS Volunteer Gebirgs Division Prinz Eugen

The 7th SS Volunteer Gebirgs Division Prinz Eugen was a German volunteer Waffen-SS Mountain division. It saw action in the Balkans against Tito's Partisan Army and against the advancing Red Army. The division was named after The Famous Austrian general Prince Eugene of Savoy who fought the Turks at Vienna, conquered Belgrade and expelled them from Hungary.

The Prinz Eugen was formed from Volksdeutsche personnel from Croatia, Serbia, Hungary and Romania. Its initial composition was of an all-volunteer force until conscription began later in the war. It surrendered on 11 May 1945 to Bulgarian forces.

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 Swords

• Otto Kumm, 17.03.1945 SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der W-SS Commander 7th SS Volunteer Gebirgsjäger Division Prinz Eugen

Knight’s Cross

HQ staff

• Artur Phleps, 04.07.1943 SS-Gruppenführer und Generalleutnant der W-SS, Commander SS Volunteer Gebirgsjäger Division Prinz Eugen

SS Gebirgsjäger Regiment 1

• Heinrich Petersen, 13.11.1943, SS-Obersturmbannführer, Commander 1st SS Geb Jäg Rgt Prinz Eugen

SS Gebirgsjäger Regiment 2

• Bernhard Dietsche, 17.07.1943 SS-Sturmbannführer Commander II./2nd SS Geb Jäg Rgt

SS Gebirgsjäger Regiment 14

• Franz Josef Krombholz, 28.03.1945 SS-Hauptsturmführer d.R. Commander III./14th SS Geb Jäg Rgt

SS Gebirgs Reconnaissance Battalion 7

• Eggert Neumann, 03.11.1944 SS-Sturmbannführer d.R. Commander 7th SS-Geb Recce Btn Prinz Eugen

SS Sturmgeschütz Battalion 1007

• Harry Paletta, 26.11.1944 SS-Obersturmführer Commander 1007th SS Stug Btn Prinz Eugen

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

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