Knights of the Third Reich

[Gladyshev]

A little note before you read on, i found this site through a google search and its a part of a bloody nazi site so dont take too much into the "a waste of a fine lad" thing in the text. As far as the content goes, it appears to be valid from the read i have done, and it's acually a good read if i may say so. Just so you know..
Now, check out this fella

http://panzerfaust.com/knights/images/rudel.jpg
The Second World War produced many examples of men who surpassed the norm of performance on the battlefield, but a few reached the level of such distinction that they would be remembered as legends that would earn them a permanent place in history. Such a man was the German ace, Hans Rudel.

Born in Silesia in 1916, Hans Rudel was an athletic, strong-willed individual who was not ****e to spending his life quietly. Rudel joined up with the Luftwaffe during peacetime years in 1936 with the single intention of becoming a pilot. Despite a 2% admittance rate and his weak performance in public school, he was accepted. After he learned that his unit would be assigned to heavy bombers, he transferred into the Stuka dive bomber program, only to learn that had he stayed put, he would have trained to become a fighter pilot - which is what the rest of his class was engaged in.

Incredulously enough, there was little indication during the first 5 years of Rudel’s career that he would achieve the impossible feats that would become the trademark of his service. After Stuka training, he was transferred into Reconnaissance, and served in the 1939 Polish Campaign. He received the Iron Cross, 2nd class for his work, and was later promoted to the equivalent rank of 1st Lieutenant. He returned to his old Stuka unit for the French and Balkan Campaigns in 1940 and 1941, but his unconventional behavior earned his the distrust of his commander, who prohibited him from taking part in many missions.

It was on the Eastern Front in 1941 that Rudel began to show the world the legend that he would become. In September 1941, Rudel engaged the Russian fleet at Kronstadt, destroying a Russian cruiser and a battleship on two separate missions. By early 1942, he had flown more than 400 missions; receiving the Luftwaffe Goblet of Honor and upgrading his Iron Cross to an Iron Cross in Gold, and then again to Ritterkreuztrager. It was during 1942 that he defied his commanding officers twice by forcibly reassigning himself back to the Eastern Front, once after being removed to become a training instructor, the other time after being hospitalized for Jaundice.

In 1943, he as sent away yet again to try to investigate a new anti-tank weapon for aircraft. So impressed with this weapon, his Ju-87 “Junker” was equipped with this new “tank-buster” cannon, and he quickly reassigned himself to the Eastern Front. During a series of missions during the Russian assault on the Kuban River in April of 1943, he knocked out over 70 landing craft. He received a promotion to Captain, and also received Oak leaves for his Knight’s Cross, awarded by Hitler personally. This award and presentation by Hitler came with a stipulation added by Rudel himself; that he would not accept it if he was not allowed to continue to fly missions.

http://panzerfaust.com/knights/images/rudel_hitler.jpg
By September of 1943, he had destroyed his 100th tank after excessive battles on the Russian front. His Knight’s Cross was again upgraded to include Swords, which again came with a stipulation: that his rear gunner received an upgrade to his Knight’s cross, personally, by Luftwaffe Field Marshall Goring himself.

By March of 1944, he had destroyed 1,500 tanks, flown 1,700 missions, and had been promoted to Major. Though he lost his tail gunner in a daring escape behind enemy lines, and suffered a bad wound to his thigh, he clocked in over 200 missions by the end of 1944, was promoted again, this time to “Oberstlieutenant,” and had received the Pilot’s Observer Badge in diamonds, another active command position with a dive-bomber unit, and the Flight clasp in solid gold, platinum, and diamonds. He also had racked up a total of 460 destroyed enemy tanks. And then in the last days of 1944, Hitler announced that Rudel would become the first (and ultimately only) soldier to receive the Knights Cross, his final upgrade being the “Golden Oak leaves Swords and Diamonds,” – an award made especially for him as he had already received the nation’s highest medal. Hitler presented this to Rudel on January 1st of 1945, again. Rudel agreed to take the award, yet again with the insistence that he be allowed to continue to fly missions. Hitler was doubtful; he did not want his favorite soldier to be lost against the overwhelming odds. Amazed by Rudel’s stubbornness in front of an increasingly unstable Hitler, and in awe of a pilot who refused to be grounded during a time of extreme danger, even more surprising to the inner circle of the 3rd Reich hierarchy was that Hitler agreed to the demand. But Hitler later revoked his decision, and ordered Rudel to quit flying. Rudel flew “on the sly” with his unit, accrediting his kills to the unit, was discovered, reprimanded, removed from flying missions, and naturally, then found a way back into the air.

But during February of 1945, Rudel’s plane was hit with flak and forced to crash-land. Rudel had to have his leg amputated, but then was promptly back up in the air again with an artificial leg. Eventually, Rudel destroyed 23 tanks while using this prosthetic limb.

By the spring of 1945, the Luftwaffe was a meager remnant of what it had been in its glory years of 1939 to 1941. Crushed by the lack of fuel and parts, many of its best pilots dead or captured its high command incapable or unwilling of providing good leadership, and most of the research and development going into the jet program, only a handful of units were still functional. But Hans Rudel still played an active role until the very end of the war.

On his last mission, Rudel ordered his squadron to crash-land so that the Allied Forces would not be able to use the planes for their own purposes. He was captured by American troops, who were so impressed by his wartime feats, absolute defiance and courage, even when captured, that the American guards befriended him. Regardless of this short-lived companionship, Rudel successfully managed to escape from a P.O.W. camp shortly after the war. For some time, he resided in Argentina, where he became associates of other German exiles and established some degree of influence with the quasi-fascist President Juan Peron.

Though never tried or sought after as a war criminal, Rudel was influential in assisting SS officers and other top German leaders through Kameradenwerk, which would become one of the most successful organizations of its kind. Typical of his defiant nature, he published a book entitled In Spite Of It, which asserted his continual belief in the 3rd Reich to the world.

Rudel flew 2,530 missions. He is accredited for knocking out 500 tanks, 800 other military vehicles, 70 landing craft, 1 battleship, 1 cruiser, 1 destroyer, 4 armored trains, and an unknown but significantly large number of anti-aircraft guns and artillery pieces. He was shot down more than 30 times by enemy forces. He was directly involved in 6 rescue missions to save members of his own squadron from imprisonment. His official medal, the highest in all of Germany, was officially designated as: “Golden Oak Wreaths with Swords and Diamonds top the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross.”

He was the most highly decorated soldier of the 3rd Reich, and still remains the most highly decorated wartime aviator in the world.

Hans Rudel died in 1982. His Knight’s Cross went on auction for a sum of more than $35,000. However unconventional his discipline was in regards to orders from his commanders, even those from Hitler himself, his dedication to National Socialism was never in question. Even Hitler had once told him that if he had a son, that he would be like Rudel. Even those military historians who have little to no respect for the NS cause almost unanimously agree that Rudel will never be forgotten as the best fighter pilot of World War II, nor as one of the most amazing warriors of all time.

[Gladyshev]

http://panzerfaust.com/knights/images/batz1.jpg

Willehm Batz was born in Bamberg, Germany on the 21st of May, 1916. A lifelong airplane enthusiast, Batz grew up hearing the legends of the great German fighter pilots of the First World War, which greatly influenced his decision to join up with the Luftwaffe in 1935. Under the new German government, an expansive program was created, meant to remodel the entire air force from a rickety pile of observation planes, dirigibles, and experimental fighter prototypes to a crack force that could support advancing tank divisions on the ground. This new policy meant an increased need for pilots of higher skill ability, and as a result, an increased need for young minds capable of adapting and teaching the new planes to prospective pilots. It was discovered that Willehm Batz was an exceptional teacher as well as pilot, and as a result, became a flight school instructor at the age of 21. Deeply disappointed, he faced an additional setback to his long-term goal of seeing active duty when his request to a combat unit was declined at the outbreak of the Second World War. It took an additional three years of consistent badgering until his request was granted, whereupon another obstacle was discovered: Batz, with more than 5,000 flying hours logged in and a reputation for being an impeccable pilot, was a horrible shot. From December of 1942 to May of 1943, Batz was accredited with only one kill while serving with II/Jagdegeschwader 52 on the Eastern Front. Frustrated with his lack of success, Batz requested a transfer to a bomber squadron in the summer of 1943, which was declined. A slow improvement on his aim meant that he reached ace by the late fall of 1943, then a modest total of 15 kills by January of 1944. Just as his luck seemed to improve, Batz was struck with a serious illness and was confined to sick leave for several weeks before returning to active duty.

Then, a miracle happened. Upon returning to duty in February of 1944, he discovered a certain knack at combat that would stick with him until the end of the war. By March of that year, he had down an additional 60 planes. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross in late March, followed by the German Cross in Gold in April. On the 30th of May, 1944, Batz shot down 15 Russian fighters in a single day. By late July, he had reached 175 kills, having downed 100 planes in the course of four months. The summertime proved equally rewarding, as he won both the Knight’s Cross and the Knight’s Cross with Gold Oakleaves by August. Closing up his summer business with a daylong sortie that reaped him 16 confirmed kills, the German high command could hardly believe that Batz had gone from a relatively obscure flight school officer with a poor air record to one of their top aces.

Batz proceeded to take command of III/Jagdegseschwader 52 in the autumn of that year, then transferring down to take command of his original air unit, now based out of Hungary. Now at the rank of Major, he continued to fly missions and was awarded the Swords to his Oakleaves for achieving 200 confirmed kills. He surrendered with the remnants of his air unit to the Western Allied powers in May of 1945, being one of the last of the great air aces not killed, incapacitated or captured.

Batz would later join the West German Air Force, where he would finish off his long and prolific career with the rank of Colonel. During the postwar years he would gain significant praise for helping reconstruct fighter wings of the new military into a key role within the NATO defense system. He is still the seventh highest-ranked ace of all time, with 235 fighter planes and 2 bombers accredited in a total of just 445 missions. This impressive figure is even more incredible when one considers that almost all of his kills were between March 1944 and April 1945; a time when Allied aircraft not only dominated the European Theatre but when most of the Luftwaffe had been decimated through casualties and lack of supplies.

A professional soldier and extraordinary fighter, Willehm Batz served both the Hitler regime and the successive Western German nation with the utmost skill and ability. His incredible triumph over both setbacks and slim chances of survival, coupled with one of the most incredible careers in the German air force rightly earn Batz his distinguished place in German

[Gladyshev]

http://panzerfaust.com/knights/images/tychsen.jpg
Born December 3, 1910 in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany to working-class parents, Christian Tychsen was among the first to enlist in the Waffen-SS as a career soldier. His prewar military years were spent in with the SS-Standarte Germania, and then the Aufklarungs Abteilung of the Deutschland Standarte, where the war found him as an Obersturmfuhrer in the autumn of 1939.

He first saw combat in the Western Campaign of 1940 with the Kradschutzenkompanie, where he first distinguished himself as a calm, collected, and excellent tank officer. He received commendations for his service, and had been promoted by the time he began service on the Eastern Front, during the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. By now his unit had been moved into the newly-formed Reich Division, and Tychsen served as a point reconnaissance unit leader for his battalion. He gained a reputation as being a soldier fearless of the frontline, and was wounded several times, including a several permanent scars on his chin and jaw that became something of a grim recognizing feature.

In the summer of 1942, the Reich Division was pulled back to France, and rebuilt as the Das Reich Division. Tychsen was given another promotion, and eventually command as leader of Panzer Regiment II. He served with distinction at Kursk, and was awarded the Knight’s Cross for his actions. But it was during the pullback from Operation Zitadelle that Tychsen achieved great distinction by leading a patrol unit of 5 Panzers into Soviet territory, where 8 enemy tanks were quickly taken out, and the divisional flank was upheld.

In the winter of 1944, Das Reich was once again pulled back to France, where they were engaged at the Allied invasion of Normandy. Death caught up with Tychsen on July 28th, 1944. On route to a routine operation, his vehicle came under fire. Tychsen and the driver were fatally wounded, but an accompanying orderly officer managed to escape, believing that Tychsen had only been wounded. The commander of the Das Reich division offered 20 US soldiers in exchange for Tychsen, but it became obvious within a short time that Tychsen would have to be listed as Missing in Action. His death was confirmed many years later.

Tychsen serves as an example of how the officers of the Waffen – SS were often considered the most formidable opponents to the Allied Forces: battle-tested, intelligent, respected and capable of incredible acts. Like so many of his kind, his death in the Second World War was unfitting and a waste of a future generation of German leaders.

http://panzerfaust.com/knights/images/tychsen2.jpg

May 1940 – Awarded Iron Cross
July 1940 – Awarded Iron Cross, 1st Class
Spring 1941 – Promoted to rank of Hauptsturmfuhrer (Captain)
Spring 1942 – Awarded the Wound Badge in Gold
May 1942 – Awarded the German Cross in Gold
Summer 1942 – Promoted to rank of Strumbannfuhrer
March 1943 – Awarded Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross
December 1943 – Awarded Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross
July 1944 – Killed In Action, achieved rank as Obersturmbannfuhrer

[Gladyshev]

http://panzerfaust.com/knights/images/wittman1.jpg

The First World War made cavalry and traditional infantry tactics obsolete; it also cemented the existence of long-range artillery, the machine gun, and complex defensive positions as key ingredients for conventional war. So horrific and hard-earned were the lessons of the Western Front that countries, especially France, sought to create a modern army to deal with any potential encounters with their bothersome neighbor, on the off chance that it may again one day wage war. But while the victors redrafted the blueprints of their armed forces to fight a repeat of The Great War, the Germans were preparing to fight the war of the future, which would heavily rely on an experimental weapon considered a mere novelties by many archaic generals: the tank.

Like its aquatic cousin, the submarine, the tank in itself was not a new invention, but through adaptation of the mammoth-like machines used twenty years before, European engineers (working for companies such as BMW and Porsche) created improved models that called for new offensive strategies. These strategies promised quick, decisive movement on the frontlines. Yet, in order to produce victories with these new machines, men of extraordinary talent and nerve were needed to commandeer the vehicles.

World War II would prove to be the greatest tank war of them all. And during the brief period in history that tanks would serve as a determining factor on the battlefield, the greatest of all tank unit leaders would come from this war. This man would be Michael Wittman.

Michael Wittman was born in rural Germany to a farm family in August of 1914. After completing his mandatory RaD labor service in 1934, he returned to his father’s farm, where he would continue to work in between stretches of military service until 1937, whereupon he joined the elite LAH division, the SS unit which bore Hitler’s name. In 1939, Wittman saw combat in both Poland and Western Europe. Again in the thick of combat at the outbreak of the Russian Campaign, he gained instant recognition with the 14th Corps after knocking out six tanks out of an eight-tank entourage in a skirmish in the south sector of the front line. By November of 1941, he had received the Iron Cross, Second Class, the Wound Badge and the Close Combat Badge. His superiors recognized an obvious prodigy in their midst, and sent him off to an officer school in Bavaria. By December of 1942, Wittman was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 13th Korps of Panzer Regiment 1, and was back on the front lines with the new Panzer tank. He displayed his incredible skills at the Battle of Kursk, where he knocked out 30 Soviet tanks and 28 artillery pieces. In another single day of combat over the same summer, he claimed 10 more tanks, bringing his total somewhere in the vicinity of 60 tanks. In January of 1944, Wittman led his Panzer unit in an amazing battle that halted an entire Soviet tank brigade. For this Wittman received the Knight’s Cross, then shortly afterwards, the Oakleaves to his knight’s cross, coming along with it a telegraph from Hitler, giving more than the usual round of praise. Wittman was once again promoted and given command of Panzer Troop 501.

It so happened that his division, licking its wounds from the devastating combat on the Eastern Front, were stationed in Normandy during the summer of 1944. The chaotic conditions preceding the Allied landing meant that it was a full day before Wittman’s unit were in the thick of combat, but their late arrival on the front lines were quickly made up for. Leading only a small detachment of armor, he met up with a British tank unit at a small village, where he quickly knocked out the four opposing machines. Regrouping with the main force, he then struck out to find a column of 25 armored units. By knocking out the front and the rear tank, Wittman bought enough time to destroy the remainder of the entire column. Support units would capture 230 British soldiers from the melee, who were largely disoriented from the amazing battle. Though his tank was destroyed during the subsequent retreat, Wittman and crew managed to escape. Shortly thereafter, he was awarded Swords to his Knight’s Cross. Single-handedly, Wittman destroyed the bulk of the British 22nd Armoured Brigade and saved his own division from sure destruction.

At this time Wittman had destroyed nearly 140 tanks and almost as many anti-tank pieces. He was promoted to captain and offered a position at a tank school, but preferred to stay with his unit. So far-reaching was his fame that even Allied soldiers were frightened at the thought of going up against any Panzer, let alone one under the command of the German farmer. But Wittman’s life would not last much longer.

By August 8th, the situation in France had turned desperate. His tank unit, now regrouped with the impressive 12th SS Division, met up with Canadian armor at Cintheaux. Though the town itself was recaptured and the Canadians, (unsurprisingly) sustained heavy casualties, the German high command considered the battle a tremendous blow, for Wittman was lost. Like a knight making his last stand, Wittman perished in a combat engagement with a detachment of the 4th Canadian Armored Division against overwhelming odds. Five tanks caught the ace’s Panzer in the open on August 8th, 1944 in the French countryside. and in the ensuing match that followed, Wittman and his entire crew were killed. Wittman was reported missing the following day, a demoralizing defeat for his division and the entire German army. The whereabouts of his body would remain a mystery for over 40 years, until an accidental discovery by a French road crew led to the exhumation and identification of Wittman’s corpse.

Unlike many German tank men, whose reputation was that of arrogance and overconfidence, Wittman was known for his quiet, mild-mannered behavior, even under fire. It is true that Michael Wittman’s overwhelming success during the tooth-and-nail fighting in Normandy partially came from the gross imbalance of tank quality. The Tiger tank, while a mediocre offensive weapon, proved to be excellent for the defensive strategy of the German army, with its powerful cannon and heavy armor. The American Sherman and the British Cromwell proved to be too light-armored for such heavy close-range fighting, and its firepower was no match against German guns. What had given these two machines a distinct advantage in North Africa became a crux in Western Europe. It should also be remembered that the German tank crews were seasoned veterans almost to a man, whereas many of the American crews had never been in combat before. These advantages would be helpful in the hands of most tank commanders. In the hands of Michael Wittman, he was practically invincible. Michael Wittman was permanently laid to rest at a military cemetery in La Cambe. Balthus Woll, his former gunner and another Knights Cross recipient, lived long enough to see the body discovered and given a proper burial.

http://panzerfaust.com/knights/images/wittman2.jpg

[Gladyshev]

http://panzerfaust.com/knights/images/bauer.jpg
Born in Bavaria in 1914, Ernst Bauer joined the re-established German Navy at the outset of the Hitler regime in 1933. He was a representative of a new class of German naval officers determined to recapture the glory of the Bismark-era Kreigsmarine that had suffered a humiliating gutting at the end of the First World War. With this generation came a second motive: to establish a modern navy that would be able to adapt to the changing world of maritime combat.

German naval commanders at the outset of the 1930s saw that the age of the battleship had passed, and that a successful navy in the Atlantic would have to rely on submarines. New strategies with new training were needed to partner with the lessons learned in the 1914-1918 war. Thus a great demand for young naval officers in the mold of Bauer was in place.

Bauer served in the Germany navy throughout the peaceful years of the Third Reich, and into the outset of the war. In March 1941, he received his first commission for a submarine. Given control of U126, the submarine and crew first saw combat in July of that year. Intercepting Gibralter-bound convoy OG69, U126 sunk the British steamer Erato and hit three other ships. The following two weeks, the steam trawler Robert Max and the Yugoslavian trawler Sud were also sunk by U126 before the first mission ended. Total mass for all hits exceeded more than 4,000 tons.

The second sortie for Bauer and the U126 was even more successful than the first. During a one month period in the autumn of 1941, U126 sunk four ships: the Railsea Manor, a British Steamer; the Lehigh, an American cargo ship; the British Mariner, a tanker; and the Peru, another large cargo. This second mission exceeded 25,000 tons sunk.

The third mission in 1942 was successful enough to gain for Bauer the Knight’s Cross. Cruising about in the Caribbean Sea, Bauer led the U126 to sink the Gunny, a Norwegian steamer, the Barbara, an American steamer, the Cardonia, a British cargo ship, and also to damage the Esso Bolivar, a tanker, in the course of four days. A two-day hunt for more victims came up with the humongous Panamanian tanker Hanseat, which was promptly sunk. Three days later, U126 had yet another three-day run where the American steamships Texan, Olga, and Colabee were all hit. The Texan and Olga were immediately sunk, and the Colabee was beached and later salvaged. Bauer received the Knight’s Cross on his return home the following month. His total kill sheet for the mission included six ships sunk, one damaged and 40,000 tons destroyed.

A summer mission in 1942 was equally successful. Operating in the Caribbean and off the coast of South America, Bauer sunk a string of cargo ships and tankers in a two-month period through torpedoes and gunfire. The Norwegians lost the Hoegh Grant and Liev Eriksson, the Americans lost the Arkansen, Gulfbelle, Warrior and Kahuku, and the Canadians lost the Mona Marie to the wrath of U126. Tonnage for this sortie exceeded 41,000.

Ironically, the last sortie for Bauer came with a rescue by his own boat in the West African seas. After sinking the George Thatcher (American), Oued Grou, and New Toronto (British), and racking up over 14,000 tons, Ernst Bauer had a rendezvous with the German cruiser Atlantis to refuel. While Bauer was onboard the Atlantis for a coffee break, a British cruiser spotted the two ships and prepared for combat. The U126 cut the fuel lines and sped for safety, while the Atlantis, suffering a mechanical failure, was pounded by the enemy cruiser and sunk. The U126 resurfaced a short while later and managed to rescue a handful of survivors, among whom was their own captain, Ernst Bauer.

Apparently concerned that the talented captain would be lost in the perils of submarine combat, Bauer was promoted and put in charge of Submarine flotilla Number 26. His final post in the submarine division was to be head of the training flotilla in Germany’s North Sea until the closing months of the war.

Bauer entered the war as a low-ranking officer with high potential. By 1945, he had risen to the rank of Korvettenkapitan, with twenty-four ships and 108,513 enemy tons destroyed, plus four ships and 30,000 tons damaged. He is rated as one of the best officers in the most vital division of the German Navy in the Second World War. Bauer survived the war, and lived in Westerland, Germany until 1988, where he died at the age of seventy-four.

The courage of submariners cannot be understated. Cramped quarters, long, tensions-filled missions and the constant fear of attacks by enemy gun ships or fighters is only the beginning of a long list of perils that faced anyone who ever went on a submarine tour. So high was the level of stress and danger for submarine warfare that only the Soviet army did not have enlistment into submarining as volunteer-only. The causality rate for German submariners was the highest in the war; ending in 1945 at 90% killed, wounded or captured, with an exceptionally high number of casualties falling into the “killed” category. It is these challenges that the German submariner unit commanders such as Bauer overcame; and also nearly succeeded in bringing the United Kingdom to surrender.
http://panzerfaust.com/knights/images/bauer2.jpg

[Lovely Pencils]

a marvelous read! Good post! this is heros of the Third Reich shall be remembered... well at least by you and i :lol: :lol: Rudel's attittude towards his career as a pilot is admirable and honourable. An excellent example for all the pilots out there!

[LeMat]

Knights? Knight is a man who fight with honor. Nazists don`t have honor.

[Gladyshev]

dont mind the topic, i just took the same i saw on the original page.
Else i think thats quite a generalizing statement. Not all SS folk or german soldiers "nazi's", were as you think. A lot of them just did as they were told, and maked sure they did it well. Non compliance would result in getting shot.
There is no doubt that there were "non honerable" german soldiers, but that goes for all the armies. You could even say the same about the russians, but they also just followed orders. I can tell you that i wouldnt deny an order to attack or such if i was a russian sgt. or something else back then.

I can recommend that you watch a british serie about ww2 called The world at War, and then in particular episode 16 (inside the reich), and the episode called hitlers germany. They all deal with this subject about what the germans saw. Also, watch Das Boot by Wolfgang Petersen. By far my favorit WW2 movie, and not only because of the message it is carrying. Notice the crews oppinion about hitler and his "marvelous" visions.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0082096/
http://imdb.com/title/tt0082096/usercomments

[LeMat]

dont mind the topic, i just took the same i saw on the original page.
Else i think thats quite a generalizing statement. Not all SS folk or german soldiers "nazi's", were as you think. A lot of them just did as they were told, and maked sure they did it well. Non compliance would result in getting shot.
There is no doubt that there were "non honerable" german soldiers, but that goes for all the armies. You could even say the same about the russians, but they also just followed orders. I can tell you that i wouldnt deny an order to attack or such if i was a russian sgt. or something else back then.

I can recommend that you watch a british serie about ww2 called The world at War, and then in particular episode 16 (inside the reich), and the episode called hitlers germany. They all deal with this subject about what the germans saw. Also, watch Das Boot by Wolfgang Petersen. By far my favorit WW2 movie, and not only because of the message it is carrying. Notice the crews oppinion about hitler and his "marvelous" visions.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0082096/
http://imdb.com/title/tt0082096/usercomments

I have just one thing for you:

http://hydral.com.pl/neo/foto/1/001537.jpg
http://hydral.com.pl/neo/foto/1/001543.jpg
http://www.auschwitz-muzeum.oswiecim.pl/images/760px/wyzwolenie.jpg

So don't tell me anything good about III Reich.

[Freibier]

My grandfather mothers side was imprisoned in KZ Dachau and later KZ Flossenbürg and was drafted in '45 into a penal battalion -he also wasn't the only one - so don't tell me that every german soldier was a nazi ...

[Heinzi]

@Lemat

I dont see soldiers on your photo. Soldiers who are fighting on the front dont have the luxury to spread the glory nazi ideology.
The want to survive another day and something to eat. And of course to end the damm war as fast as possible.

[Brzeczyszczykiewicz]

So don't tell me anything good about III Reich.

:cantbeli:

So please tell me, where Gladyshev said something good about 3rd Reich?

[Minjin]

Knights? Knight is a man who fight with honor. Nazists don`t have honor.


Generalizations like that make you look rather foolish. Just sayin.

[Hullebullen]

and upgrading his Iron Cross to an Iron Cross in Gold

I suppose they mean the german cross...

[Stavka]

Knights? Knight is a man who fight with honor. Nazists don`t have honor.

You have pretty much no grasp on history, yes? :cantbeli:

[fantassin]

It was actually the "Oak Leaves in Gold" which made Rudel's RK unique.

[OldRecon]

Remember pic in some Waffen SS apologitic pictorial documentary book once.
Think it was that one titled "Wenn alle Brüder schweigen" written amongst others by Paul Hausser himself.
It was of some knights cross winner serving in Waffen SS as an at-gun team leader. Man he looked like a hunted wolf. His eyes allmost popping out of the sockets from the strain.

[snake]

If you were a member of the Wehrmacht you could not be a Party member it was against the law

The SS is a whole nother story of course

My Uncle helped Liberate Dachau While another was a General in the German army and surrendered to Monty