Willy Bachor

Willy Bachor
Born	4 May 1921 Kelbassen
Died	20 March 2008 (aged 86) Apolda
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1939–45
Rank	Oberwachtmeister
Unit	Panzer-Regiment 24
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Battle of Białystok–Minsk Battle of Kiev (1941) Battle of Moscow Battle of Voronezh (1942) Battle of Stalingrad First Jassy–Kishinev Offensive Battle of Debrecen East Prussian Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Willy Bachor (4 May 1921 – 20 March 2008) was a highly decorated Oberwachtmeister in the Wehrmacht during World War II, and 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.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (14 November 1940)^[1]
  • 1st Class (25 December 1943)^[1]
• Wound Badge (1939)
  • in Gold (28 June 1944)^[1]
• General Assault Badge
• Panzer Badge 3rd Grade (6 April 1945)^[1]
• Eastern Front Medal (8 September 1942)
• German Cross in Gold on 28 June 1944 as Unteroffizier in the 12./Panzer-Regiment 24^[2]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 11 May 1945 as Oberwachtmeister and Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 12./Panzer-Regiment 24^{[3][Note 1]}

Notes

1. Willy Bachor's nomination by the troop was not forwarded or may have been lost by the corps due to the military situation. A second nomination was submitted after the evacuation of East Prussia, after the German capitulation. This nomination was not processed. The order commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR) processed the case in 1982 and decided: "Knight's Cross yes, 8 May 1945". The presentation date was later changed by Walther-Peer Fellgiebel. Bachor was a member of the AKCR.^[4]

References

Citations

1. Wegmann 2004, p. 30.
2. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 21.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 102.
4. Scherzer 2007, pp. 117–118.

Bibliography

• Federl, Christian (2000). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Panzerdivisionen 1939–1945 Die Panzertruppe [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Panzer Divisions 1939–1945 The Panzer Force] (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-925480-43-0.
• 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.
• Wegmann, Günter (2004). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil VIIIa: Panzertruppe Band 1: A–E [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part VIIIa: Panzer Force Volume 1: A–E] (in German). Bissendorf, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2322-1.

External links

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