Franz Sensfuß

Franz Sensfuß
Born	21 June 1861 Trunz, East Prussia
Died	11 March 1976 (aged 84) Heppenheim, West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1919)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1910–45
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	21. Infanterie-Division 212. Infanterie-Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Franz Heinrich Otto Sensfuß (21 June 1891 – 11 March 1976) was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (18 September 1914)^[1]
  • 1st Class (20 November 1914)^[1]
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black
• Prussian Knight’s Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (1 October 1939)^[1]
  • 1st Class (22 April 1941)^[1]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 22 August 1944 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 212. Infantrie-Division^[2][3]
  • (881st) Oak Leaves on 9 May 1945 as Generalleutnant and commander of the 212. Infanterie-Division^{[4][Note 1]}
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 7 July 1944

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
7 July 1944	Nordwestlich des Narocz-Sees, wo zahlreiche Angriffe der Sowjets scheiterten, hat sich die bayrische 212. Infanteriedivision unter Führung von Generalmajor Sensfuß besonders bewährt.[6]	Northwest of Lake Narach, where numerous Soviet attacks failed, the Bavarian 212th Infantry Division under the command of Major General Sensfuß has particularly proven itself.

Notes

1. Sensfuß's nomination for the Oak Leaves was received by the Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Staff Office) from the troop on 14 March 1945. Major Joachim Domaschk requested by teleprinter message the advisory opinion from the Commander-in-Chief of AOK 1 and Heeresgruppe B. The 212. Volksgrenadier-Division at the time was being encircled by US forces in the vicinity of Baumholder and went into captivity. Major Domaschk had sent a radio message to the nominating commander of the LXXX. Armeekorps: "Nomination deferred according to AHA 44 Ziff. 572." Domaschk noted on the nomination: "Deferred, because missing in action!" A presentation was never made. Sensfuß is not listed in the book for the "nominations for the higher grades of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross" nor in the nomination book for Knight's Cross (starting with Nr. 5100). The sequential number "881" was assigned by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR), the presentation date by Fellgiebel.^[5]

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1998, p. 316.
2. Scherzer 2007, p. 702.
3. Fellgiebel 2003, p. 399.
4. Fellgiebel 2003, p. 104.
5. Scherzer 2007, pp. 174–175.
6. Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, p. 153.

Bibliography

• 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.
• 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 (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 3, 1 January 1944 to 9 May 1945] (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.

External links

• Lexikon der Wehrmacht
• World War 2 Awards.com