Hanns Laengenfelder

Hanns Laengenfelder
Born	8 February 1903 Nuremberg
Died	18 July 1982 (aged 79) Nuremberg
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1923–45
Rank	Generalmajor
Commands held	15. Infanterie-Division
Battles/wars	World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Second Battle of Kharkov Lower Dnieper Offensive Uman–Botoşani Offensive Jassy–Kishinev Offensive (August 1944) Battle of Debrecen Prague Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Hanns Laengenfelder (8 February 1903 – 18 July 1982) was a highly decorated Generalmajor 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. Hanns Laengenfelder was captured by Soviet troops in May 1945 and was held until 1955.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (17 September 1939)^[1]
  • 1st Class (1 November 1939)^[1]
• Infantry Assault Badge
• War Merit Cross with Swords
  • 2nd Class
• Eastern Front Medal
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 21 October 1943 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 106^[2]
  • (856th) Oak Leaves on 30 April 1945 as Generalmajor and commander of 15. Infanterie-Division^{[3][Note 1]}

Notes

1. The sequential numbers greater than 843 for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves are unofficial and were assigned by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) and are therefore denoted in parentheses.^[4]

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1998, p. 2.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 231.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 85.
4. Fellgiebel 2000, pp. 102–111.

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.
• Schaulen, Fritjof (2005). Eichenlaubträger 1940 – 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe III Radusch - Zwernemann (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 3-932381-22-X.
• 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.

External links

• Lexikon der Wehrmacht
• Ritterkreuztraeger 1939-1945
• Hanns Laengenfelder @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived February 2, 2011)