Walter Schlags-Koch

Walter Schlags-Koch
Born	7 September 1898 Hildesheim, Germany
Died	17 October 1983 (aged 85) Cologne, Germany
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1919)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1914–19 1939–45
Rank	Oberst of the Reserves
Commands held	Sturm-Regiment AOK 2
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Battle of France Battle of Kursk Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive East Pomeranian Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Other work	Police officer

Walter Schlags-Koch (7 September 1898 – 17 October 1983) was a highly decorated Oberst of the Reserves 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. He was also awarded the very rare Close Combat Clasp in Gold one of only 631 awards.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (5 October 1940)^[1]
  • 1st Class (3 March 1942)^[1]
• Wound Badge
  • in Black
  • in Silver
• Infantry Assault Badge
• Eastern Front Medal
• Close Combat Clasp
  • in Bronze (Fall 1943)^[2]
  • in Silver (?)^[2]
  • in Gold (14 April 1945)^[2]
• Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (15 November 1943)^[1]
• German Cross in Gold on 20 August 1943 as Major in the III./Grenadier-Regiment 365^[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 5 September 1944 as Major of the Reserves and commander of I./Grenadier-Regiment 365^[4]
  • (876th) Oak Leaves on 9 May 1945 as Oberstleutnant of the Reserves and commander of Sturm-Regiment AOK 2^{[5][6][Note 1]}

Notes

1. The Heerespersonalamt (HPA—Army Staff Office) received Walter Schlags-Koch's nomination via wireless communication on 6 April 1945. Major Joachim Domaschk requested via wireless communication the advisory opinion of the 2. Armee. Presumably this statement was not received yet on 28 April because Domaschk decided to postpone the decision and ordered the re-presentation for 8 May, which was never processed. The entry date for the wireless nomination of 6 April 1945 is noted on the nomination list of the higher grade of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. However no other date is listed, the section comments states "unprocessed". The Order Commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) processed this case in 1973 and decided: "877 Oak Leaves". Scherzer claims that this decision was not approved by Gerhard von Seemann—author of various publications regarding the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross—since Schlags-Koch is not listed as an Oak Leaves recipient in his book Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 (2nd edition from 1976). The presentation number was later changed by Fellgiebel to "876". However Schlags-Koch is listed by Von Seemen as the 876th Oak Leaves recipient. The presentation date was assigned by Fellgiebel. Schlags-Koch was a member of the AKCR.^[7][8]

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1998, p. 258.
2. Berger 2004, p. 459.
3. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 407.
4. Fellgiebel 2003, p. 307.
5. Fellgiebel 2003, p. 86.
6. Von Seemen 1976, p. 60.
7. Von Seemen 1976, pp. 60, 62.
8. Scherzer 2007, p. 171.

Bibliography

• Berger, Florian (2004). Ritterkreuzträger mit Nahkampfspange in Gold [Knight's Cross Bearers with the Close Combat Clasp in Gold] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-3-7.
• 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.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• 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.
• Von Seemen, Gerhard (1976). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 : die Ritterkreuzträger sämtlicher Wehrmachtteile, Brillanten-, Schwerter- und Eichenlaubträger in der Reihenfolge der Verleihung : Anhang mit Verleihungsbestimmungen und weiteren Angaben [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 : The Knight's Cross Bearers of All the Armed Services, Diamonds, Swords and Oak Leaves Bearers in the Order of Presentation: Appendix with Further Information and Presentation Requirements] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7909-0051-4.
• 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

• World War 2 Awards.com
• Lexikon der Wehrmacht