Martin Gürz
Martin Gürz | |
---|---|
Born |
15 January 1918 Würzburg, Germany |
Died |
26 September 1944 26) Narva, Estonia | (aged
Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
Service/branch | Waffen-SS |
Years of service | 1939–44 |
Rank | Sturmbannführer |
Unit | 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards |
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Iron Cross I Class Iron Cross II Class |
Martin Gürz (15 January 1918 – 26 September 1944) was a Sturmbannführer (Major), in the Waffen-SS during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II.
Martin Gürz was born on the 15 January 1918, in Würzburg. During World War II, he volunteered to join the Waffen SS and by 1944 he was the commander of the 12th Company, 23rd SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Norge, 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, which was fighting on the Northern part of the Eastern Front. In February 1944, he assumed command of the III.Battalion after its previous commander Hanns-Heinrich Lohmann had been wounded.
It was when in command of the Battalion during the fighting in the Battle for Narva Bridgehead in September 1944, that he was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross.
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.
- Henschler, Henri; Fey, Willi (2003). Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS, 1943–45. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-2905-5.
- Mitcham, Samuel W (2007). Retreat to the Reich : the German defeat in France, 1944. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3384-7.
- Mitcham, Samuel W (2007). The German Defeat in the East, 1944–45. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3371-7.