Wilhelm Schröder

Wilhelm Schröder
Born	7 July 1896 Sommersell
Died	17 July 1979 (aged 83) Witten
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1920)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1915–20 1935–45
Rank	Oberst
Commands held	Grenadier-Regiment 580 Kampfgruppe Schröder
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Battle of the Dnieper Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive Siege of Breslau
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Other work	Police officer

Wilhelm Heinrich August Schröder (7 July 1896 – 17 July 1979) 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 with Oak Leaves (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). 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.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (16 August 1917)^[1]
  • 1st Class (17 June 1924)^[1]
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (30 January 1935)
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th to 2nd Class (2 October 1936)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (10 October 1939)^[1]
  • 1st Class (20 November 1943)^[1]
• War Merit Cross with Swords
  • 2nd Class (30 January 1943)
  • 1st Class (1 September 1943)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 26 March 1944 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Grenadier-Regiment 580^[2]
  • 779th Oak Leaves on 13 March 1945 as Oberst and commander of Kampfgruppe Schröder of the 408. Infanterie-Division^[3]
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 15 April 1944

Wehrmachtbericht reference

The daily Wehrmachtbericht (Wehrmacht propaganda report) noted the following:

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
15 April 1944	In den schweren Kämpfen der letzten Tage haben sich die Kampfgruppen unter Führung von Major Schröder und Hauptmann Heidelberg besonders ausgezeichnet.[4]	In the heavy fighting of recent days, the combat groups led by Major Schröder and Captain Heidelberg have particularly distinguished themselves.

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1998, p. 287.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 316.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 82.
4. Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, p. 81.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). 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 (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.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 3, 1 January 1944 to 9 May 1945] (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.

External links

• World War 2 Awards.com
• Lexikon der Wehrmacht