Walter Girg
| Walter Girg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
August 13, 1919 Hamburg |
| Died | 25 July 2010 (aged 90) |
| Allegiance |
.svg.png){kind=small} Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch |
 Waffen SS |
| Years of service | 1931–45 |
| Rank | Hauptsturmführer |
| Unit | 502nd SS Jäger Battalion |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Iron Cross 1st Class Iron Cross 2nd Class Wound Badge |
Walter Girg (13 August 1919 – 25 July 2010) was a Hauptsturmführer (Captain) in the Waffen SS during World War II and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.[1]
Girg was born in Hamburg on 13 August 1919. At the start of World War II, he joined the SS and was posted to the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS Troops-at-disposal or Troops-on-call were formed in 1934 as combat troops for the NSDAP). Girg served in the Balkans (Operation Marita) with SS Panzer Division Das Reich and took part in Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of Soviet Union) in June 1941.[1]
At the end of 1943, he was promoted to Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant). In April 1944, he became a Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 1st Company, 502nd SS Jäger Battalion.[1]
In early September 1944, he carried through Operation Landfried with his company of 105 men behind enemy lines in the Carpathian mountains in Romania. They were discovered in the Braşov region but were saved from capture by a German artillery barrage which allowed them to escape back to the German lines, during which, however, Girg was wounded. The intelligence that Girg had obtained was instrumental in the continued operations on the Romanian front. For his performance he was promoted to Obersturmführer (First Lieutenant) on 16 September 1944 and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 4 October 1944.[1][2]
After recovering from his wounds, he was given command of a special unit of the SS-Jagdverband Mitte which operated Russian tanks behind enemy lines in Pomerania.[1]
On 12 March 1945, he operated with his unit in the area of the enemy-encircled Kolberg garrison. The German forces there believed Girg and his men to be Seydlitz agents (German soldiers working for the Soviet forces) and they were going to be shot, but the mistake was clarified a short time later. Girg remained in Kolberg until 18 March 1945 when the garrison was evacuated by sea.[1]
On 27 March 1945, Girg was promoted to Hauptsturmführer (Captain) and, upon presenting himself to Adolf Hitler, was awarded the Wound Badge and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 1 April 1945.[1][2]
Girg ended the war as an inspector of training for SS Jäger units.[1]
Awards
- Iron Cross (1939)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 4 October 1944 as SS-Untersturmführer and Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 1./SS-Jäger-Bataillon 502[4][Note 1]
- 814th Oak Leaves on 1 April 1945 as SS-Hauptsturmführer and leader of special detachment of the SS-Jagdverband Mitte[5][6]
Notes
- ↑ According to Scherzer as SS-Obersturmführer of the Reserves.[5]
References
Citations
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 (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
