Franz Riedel

Franz Riedel
Born 2 December 1921
Český Těšín, Czechoslovakia
Died 17 May 2001(2001-05-17) (aged 79)
Straubing , Germany
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch Waffen SS
Years of service 1939–45
Rank Obersturmführer
Unit SS Division Das Reich
10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg
Battles/wars World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Iron Cross I Class
Iron Cross II Class
German Cross in Gold
Wound Badge
Panzer Badge "25"

Franz Riedel (2 December 1921 – 17 May 2001) was an Obersturmführer (First Lieutenant) in the Waffen SS during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II.

Early life

Franz Riedel was born on the 2 December 1921 in Český Těšín, Czechoslovakia. Between April 1939 and September 1939 he completed his compulsory labor service.

World War II

Franz Riedel volunteered to join the SS in October 1939 (SS number 455 613), and was posted to the 3rd Company, SS Panzer Training and Reserve Battalion in Ellwangen and trained as a gunner in a Panzerjäger (tank hunter) unit. At the completion of his training he was posted to the SS Division Das Reich as a gunner in the 3rd Battery, Panzerjäger Battalion Deutschland.

Riedel took part in Operation Barbarossa the invasion of the Soviet Union and was awarded the Iron Cross II class and the Wound Badge in October 1941. Riedel was posted to the Panzerjäger Battalion Nord in January 1942. Between June and December 1942 he was posted to the SS-Junkerschule in Braunschweig. After graduation he was posted to Panzerjäger Training and Reserve Battalion in Hilversum in the Netherlands.

In February 1943, Riedel was posted as a platoon commander in 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg. He attended the Panzer school Sagan between January and February 1944, after which he returned to the division. He was awarded the Iron Cross I class and the Panzer Badge in Silver in April 1944. He was transferred to the Western Front where he was awarded the German Cross in Gold in August 1944 and the Panzer Badge "25" in October 1944. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in March 1945.

Post war

Franz Riedel survived the war and died on the 17 May 2001 in Straubing, Germany.

Promotions

Awards

References

    Further reading

    • 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. 
    • Mitcham, Samuel W (2007). Retreat to the Reich : the German defeat in France, 1944. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3384-7. 
    • Fey, Will; Henschler, Henri (2003). Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-2905-5. 
    • Mitcham, Samuel W (2007). The German Defeat in the East, 1944–45. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3371-7. 
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