Franz Griesbach

Franz Griesbach
Born	21 December 1892 Brück
Died	24 September 1984 (aged 91) Lage
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1914–45
Rank	Generalmajor
Commands held	I./Infanterie-Regiment 391 Grenadier-Regiment 399
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Other work	Teacher

Franz Griesbach (21 December 1892 – 24 September 1984) was a German Generalmajor, serving during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (22 December 1914)^[1]
  • 1st Class (23 August 1917)^[1]
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (22 October 1941)^[1]
  • 1st Class (22 November 1941)^[1]
• Infantry Assault Badge in Silver
• Eastern Front Medal
• Crimea Shield
• Wound Badge (1939)
  • in Black
  • in Silver
  • in Gold
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 14 March 1942 as Major and commander of the I./Infanterie-Regiment 391^[2][3]
  • 242nd Oak Leaves on 17 May 1943 as Oberst and commander of the Grenadier-Regiment 399^[2][4]
  • 53rd Swords 6 March 1944 as Oberst and commander of the Grenadier-Regiment 399^[2][5]
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award, 4th class
• War Merit Cross, Second Class with Swords

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1997, p. 222.
2. Scherzer 2007, p. 348.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 203.
4. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 69.
5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 42.

Bibliography

• Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Schaulen, Fritjof (2003). Eichenlaubträger 1940 – 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe I Abraham – Huppertz [Oak Leaves Bearers 1940 – 1945 Contemporary History in Color I Abraham – Huppertz] (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 978-3-932381-20-1.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.

External links

• Franz Griesbach @ Lexikon der Wehrmacht
• Franz Griesbach @ Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945
• Franz Griesbach @ World War 2 Awards.com
• Franz Griesbach @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived January 31, 2011)
• Franz Griesbach @ Universität Magdeburg