Joachim von Amsberg (colonel)

Joachim von Amsberg
Born	18 December 1903 Posen
Died	27 May 1981 (aged 77) Hamburg
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1924–45
Rank	Oberst
Commands held	Grenadier-Regiment 502
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of France Battle of the Caucasus Courland Pocket
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Joachim von Amsberg (18 December 1903 – 27 May 1981) was a highly decorated Oberst in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Joachim von Amsberg was captured in the Courland Pocket in May 1945 by Soviet forces and was held until 1955.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (17 September 1939)^[1]
  • 1st Class (25 June 1940)^[1]
• Infantry Assault Badge
• Eastern Front Medal
• War Merit Cross with Swords
  • 2nd class
  • 1st Class
• German Cross in Silver on 13 April 1943 as Oberstleutnant im Generalstab (in the General Staff) and authorised transport officer with the German liaison staff to the Hungarian AOK 2^[1]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 May 1945 as Oberst and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 502^{[2][Note 1]}
• Ärmelband Kurland

Notes

1. The nomination by the troop was rejected on 9 May 1945 by the commanding officer of the Außenstelle of the Heerespersonalamt (HPA/A—Branch of the Army Staff Office)—Oberst Goecke—because the intermittent commanding officers of Joachim von Amsberg had not approved the nomination. The Order Commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) processed the case in 1981 and decided: "Knight's Cross yes, 6 May 1945". The presentation date was later changed again by Fellgiebel to 9 May 1945. Von Amsberg was a member of the AKCR.^[3]

References

Citations

1. Thomas & Wegmann 1987, p. 67.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 99.
3. Scherzer, p.117.

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; Wegmann, Günter (1987). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil III: Infanterie Band 1: A–Be [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part III: Infantry Volume 1: A–Be] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-1153-2.

External links

• Ritterkreuztraeger 1939-1945
• World War 2 Awards.com