Herbert Schmidt (Fallschirmjäger)

Herbert Schmidt
Herbert Schmidt
Born	3 October 1912 Feste Courbiere in West Prussia
Died	16 June 1944 (aged 31) near Pontivy in France
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Rank	Major im Generalstab
Commands held	1./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Herbert Schmidt (3 October 1912 – 16 June 1944) was a member of the Fallschirmjäger during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

He participated in the invasion of Norway and commanded the German forces in the battle of Dombås, in which he was severely wounded and taken prisoner by Norwegian forces. He later wrote a book called Die Fallschirmjäger von Dombas detailing his experience of the battle.^[1]

Major Herbert Schmidt was driving from Vannes to Pontivy on 16 June 1944 when he was shot from behind by a French sniper while sitting beside his division commander, Bernhard-Hermann Ramcke, killing him instantly.^[2]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (13 May 1940)^[3]
  • 1st Class (16 May 1940)^[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 May 1940 as Oberleutnant and chief of the 1./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1^{[4][Notes 1]}

Notes

1. According to Fellgiebel Knight's Cross on 24 May 1940^[5]

References

Citations

1. "Die fallschirmjäger von Dombas. by Herbert Schmidt". WorldCat. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
2. Kurowsky 1995, p. 207.
3. Thomas & Wegmann 1986, p. 266.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 670.
5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 381.

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.
• Kurowski, Franz (1995). Knights of the Wehrmacht Knight's Cross Holders of the Fallschirmjäger. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military. ISBN 978-0-88740-749-9.
• 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; Wegmann, Günter (1986). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil II: Fallschirmjäger [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part II: Paratroopers] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-1461-8.