High Scorers with Panzers and Paks

[Gastolli]

Feldwebel Josef Christ, of the 5./Pz.Rgt. 35. As can be seen in the attached newspaper clipping, he destroyed 7 Soviet tanks in a single action.

Hello pintere,

thanks for that. Award was for "Tat am 19.9.1944 bei Doblen". Fw. Christ got the EK2 in Aug. 1943 and the EK1 in Nov. 1943, so for sure he had some experience before that ...

Oliver

[pintere]

Here's a newspaper clipping regarding the award of the Ehrenblattspange to Werner Vornholz, of Pz.Abt. 2111. Over the course of a 3-day period he destroyed 14 tanks.

Screenshot 2023-09-10 at 8.16.38 PM.png

From the Gevelsberger Zeitung, 17.02.1945, pg. 2.

[alcius]

Hello pintere
Thanks, I thought I'd found them all in that newspaper, but this one escaped me.
Four eyes see better than two.

I add one too, Leutnant Loos destroyed 8 enemy tanks.
Ausgabe vom Donnerstag, den 25. Januar 1945.

loos.png

It should be Leutnant Carl Loos, 2/Pz.Rgt.10 - EBS 1945
Antonio

[Gastolli]

Ehrenblattspange to Werner Vornholz, of Pz.Abt. 2111

Hello pintere, I would say: 2 in 1

In fact we have two aces here, Uffz. Vornholz and the mentioned "Kompaniechef" of course, so:

Uffz. Werner Vornholz, Ehrenblattspange on 25.11.1944 for action from 16.9. to 22.9.1944 at Jovelice.
That indeed is a wide timespan, and the newspaper reads "zwei Tage vorher" ..., five plus nine tanks destroyed.

Well, Uffz. Vornholz died on 22.9.1944, that could've added to his award of the Ehrenblattspange of course.
https://www.volksbund.de/erinnern-geden ... 5d0b8799e7

I made notes on the actions of Pz.Abt. 2111 (source? don't know actually):

19.09.44= 2 M4 durch Brigade
20.09.44= 15 M4 durch 12 Wagen Pz.Abt. - 4 Verluste
21.09.44= 2 M4 durch Pz.Abt.
22.09.44 morgens 10 M4 abgeschossen, mittags schwere Pz-Gefechte, schwere Verluste

I would suggest the 20.9. and 22.9.1944 being the dates mentioned in the newspaper, that would make sense and of course the claimed tank kills by Uffz. Vornholz only can fit with these two dates.

Hptm. Bruno Muckert, Kompaniechef of 1./Pz.Abt. 2111
He died on 22.9.1944, the same day as Uffz. Vornholz, his gunner:
https://www.volksbund.de/erinnern-geden ... 2caeccefb6

From his personal files (BArch PERS 6/55000) I can add some biographic basics:

Polen/Frankreich Zugf. in Pz.Rgt. 10, dort 1940 EK 2. Klasse
dann Deutschland Ersatzabteilung
ab Jan. 1942 Kp.Chef in Pz.Abt. 214 (wird zu I./Pz.Rgt. 9), Norwegen, kein Einsatz dort KVK 2. Klasse
ab Herbst 1943 Einsatz in Rußland, Chef 6./Pz.Rgt. 9, dort EK 1. Klasse
ab 25.12.1943 Fhr. II./Pz.Rgt. 9
5.3.44 verwundet, Lazarett, dann Ersatzabteilung
ab Sept. 1944 Chef 1./Pz.Abt. 2111

Why is Hptm. Muckert not mentioned or was rewarded with a higher award? Well, I think he was somethere "between" the EK1 and the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold, maybe his unit made notes for two points for the DKiG award, but you need five points at least. And, well, this was not enough for the Ehrenblattspange and indeed not enough for the Ritterkreuz.

Oliver

[Gastolli]

It should be Leutnant Carl Loos, 2/Pz.Rgt.10 - EBS 1945

Hello Antonio,

yes, right. I can add (Bundesarchiv Personalakte PERS 6/52022) that Carl Loos had his Frontbewährung with 7./Pz.Rgt. 1 in 1942, than went back to Germany to became an officer, an in the autumn of 1943 came to I./Pz.Rgt. 10. He got both EK2 and EK1 in the Winter of 1943/44, also the Panzerkampfabzeichen, so I don't expect him to have much Panzerkampftage in 1942.

As he got both EK with I./Pz.Rgt. 10, which got Panther tanks in the summer of 1944, I expect him to have more tank kills to his credit than "just" those mentioned in the newspaper.

Action was on 19./20.1.1945, Carl Loos was wounded on 20.1.1945.

Oliver

[alcius]

Another one
Feldwebel Hohmann - Stug.Pz.Rgt. "HG" - 4 T-34
https://fuldig.hs-fulda.de/viewer/image ... /LOG_0235/
Ausgabe vom Montag, den 28. August 1944.

hohmann.png

Antonio

[Gastolli]

Feldwebel Hohmann - Stug.Pz.Rgt. "HG" - 4 T-34

Hello Antonio,

ah, nice, a new one for me also

He should have been the Kommandant of a Jagdpanzer IV of III./Fsch.Pz.Rgt. HG, but I don't know details of this man, unfortunately.

Oliver

[Gastolli]

Hello all ...

having a quick look into the Fuldaer Zeitung I found another one, see here:

Fuldaer Zeitung 04.01.43 - Bosold (Richtsch. x, 5 Abschüsse).png

I don't know the unit of this men, he's not listed within the Volksbund database. But I know that his brother, also mentioned in this article (got the KVK II. class) was with Pz.Jg.Abt. 31 of 31. Inf.Div.

It's possible, but not a must, that both brothers served in the same unit. But I don't know.

Oliver

[alcius]

Hello Oliver
I found it too, you beat me to it, it was the next one I had to put in.
I'll have to put another one on.

Unteroffizier Schott and Gefreiter Muller - 10 kills in 2 days

https://druckschriften-digital.marchivu ... 0schott%22
Neue Mannheimer Zeitung 153 (21.3.1942)

Antonio

[alcius]

I found them both in Awardholders/unit

46. Infanterie-Division / 46. Volks-Grenadier-Division
Commendation Certificate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army
Müller, Adam, 03.28.1942 (883), Gefr., 4./Inf.Rgt. 42
Schott, Otto, 03.28.1942 (882), Uffz., 4./Inf.Rgt. 42

Müller was later awarded the German Cross in Gold
17.10.1943, Obergefreiter, 14.(Pz.Jäg.)/Gren.Rgt. 42

Antonio

[Gastolli]

Hello Antonio,

oh, that's a good find. I knew the Wehrmachtsbericht facts, but I haven't Müller and Schott on my mind because they were claimed as 4./I.R. 42, which for sure should read 14./I.R. 42 of course, the Panzerjäger-Kompanie of the Inf.Rgt.

Oliver

[alcius]

Four tanks killed with 7 shots
Unteroffizierl Strobel and Obergefreite Schlotterbeck

https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbz/p ... ery=pakzug
Der Führer / District edition Bühl (17/06/1944) 165

Another Newspapers article says that Strobel has destoyed 6 tanks in total

strobel.png

Antonio

[Gastolli]

Hello Antonio,

ah ..., o.k., I would say, that Uffz. Strobel (Richtsch. Schlotterbeck) had 4 + 2 tank kills and Uffz. Stark = 4 tank kills.

The first article is from February 1944, the second one from June 1944 just mentioning Strobel again, but than dealing with the tanks kills of Uffz. Stark.

I don't know the unit, Nowo-Sokolniki was in the Newel region ...

Oliver

[pintere]

Here's a head scratcher. I was looking through the records of the 35. Infanterie-Division to find evidence regarding the RK action of Hermann Bix (to make a long story short, that's become quite complicated!), however along the way I found this from German Docs in Russia (source: Bestand 500 Findbuch 12477 Akte 412)

872952c51231cf993de23e3de3d19e1ccd55c7ba.jpg

In the top right corner it says that a certain Unteroffizer ?? reached a total of 42 tanks destroyed with the successes of the day. No idea who this is. Unteroffizier Altmann? There's no indication in any of the lists of high award holders. Even the unit is hard to pin down. Feldherrnhalle 14/XX? I don't know of any FHH units that had Jagdpanthers, or were around Stargard in March 1945. Maybe someone else who knows something can help make sense of this.

[alcius]

Hello Pintere
I had already entered Altmann on 9 August 2022 on page 26

Karl Altmann. He got the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold as early as 1942 as a Gefreiter and Richtschütze with 3./Pz.Jg.Abt. 160 (60. Inf.Div. (mot)). As an Unteroffizier he was a gunner of a Jagdpanther of Kampfgruppe Feldherrnhalle XX/14 (not Pz.Jg.Abt. FHH) within the 35. Inf.Div. sector in early March 1945, scoring 8 tank kills on 4.3.1945, including his 42. kill as a gunner
You will find further information there

Antonio