Lets build: Leibstandarte 1945...

[Mark V.]

Obersturmbannfuhrer Jochen Peiper, Swords on January 11, 1945
Hauptsturmfuhrer Josef Diefenthal, Knight's Cross on February 5, 1945
Sturmbannfuhrer Werner Poetschke, Oakleaves on March 15, 1945
Sturmbannfuhrer Max Hansen, Oakleaves on March 28, 1945
Untersturmfuhrer Konrad Heubeck, Knight's Cross on April 17, 1945

Wolfkin, you can also add SS-Hscha. Walter Pitsch.

[Wiking Ruf]

BTW, does somebody know what the Leibstandarte was doing in on January 22, 1945 and where they were?

1.SS-PzDiv starts regrouping at Köln-Neuss-Bonn area, which starts as soon as the 21st January 1945. The division lacks fuel, so many vehicle have to be abandonned or are destroyed. Suffering from heavy air attacks at daylight.

Parts of the division retreated from the start of January while some units were still engaged with the enemy.
Example: the 8./PzGrRgt. 2 is still in contact with units from the 90th US InfDiv in the area of Nieder- and Oberwampach. This was around 21-22nd January.

Source: Opfergang für Deutschland - Ralf Tiemann

[johnwilliamhunter]

Hi,

These are the Knight's Cross Winners in 1945 from "The Leibstandarte IV/2" by Ralf Tiemann.

Sturmbannführer Jupp Diefenthal, Knight's Cross, 05.02.1945.
Obersturmbannführer Jochen Peiper, Swords, 29.12.1944 (this date appears to be wrong, should be 11.01.1945).
Obersturmführer Georg Preuss, Knight's Cross, 05.02.1945.
Obersturmbannführer Max Hansen, Oak Leaves, 17.04.1945.
Untersturmführer Konrad Heubeck, Knight's Cross, 17.04.1945.
Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Otto Kumm, Swords, 29.03.1945.
Hauptscharführer Walter Pitsch, Knight's Cross, 06.05.1945.
Sturmbannführer Werner Poetschke, Oak Leaves, 12.03.1945 (this date appears to be wrong, should be 15.03.1945).
Obersturmbannführer Bernhard Siebken, Knight's Cross, 15.04.1945.

Acording to the site http://www.das-ritterkreuz.de also;

Untersturmführer Friedrich Blond, Knight's Cross, 28.04.1945.

Note also that the rank and date for Max Hansen's award is different from that given by Wolfkin (Sturmbannfuhrer, March 28, 1945).

There are possibly other errors.

John.

[Wolfkin]

Hello!

Thank you Mark V and John for the additional Knight's Cross winners for this period. I could have looked this up, serves me right for only going off the top of my head! But it is good to compare information anyways because I notice sometimes different sources say different things.

That is interesting about Max Hansen, from all I know he won the Oak Leaves on March 28 1945. His rank was a typo on my part, he was actually a Standartenfuhrer at this time. He was a Sturmbannfuhrer in 1943 and a Obersturmbannfuhrer in 1944. I am not too sure on what date but sometime before March 28, 1945 Hansen was promoted to Standartenfuhrer.

Hmmm. Interesting, eh? Does anyone have further information on Hansen?

Thank you Daan for that information on the Leibstandarte in January 22 1945! I do not have very much information for this date so this information helped me out as well!

Cheers,

Wolfkin

[johnwilliamhunter]

Hi,

I should have added this before, according to the site I mentioned above Max Hansen won the Oak Leaves on 17.04.1945 as a Standartenführer, So the rank is different to The Leibstandarte IV/2 but the date is the same.

Perhaps a difference between when the Oak Leaves were awarded and when they were recieved?

The same information is listed on this page; http://www.feldgrau.com/hkcwo.html

John.

[Wolfkin]

Hello John!

This is interesting. There is still the matter of two different dates though. I wonder which is correct. According to this:

http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=1984

And this:

http://www.geocities.com/~orion47/SS-PO ... f_E-H.html

Hansen won his Oakleaves on March 28, 1945.

Hmmmm...interesting, eh? That is a good point you make, maybe he won the Oakleaves on March 28 but then received them on April 17?

Cheers,

Wolfkin

[johnwilliamhunter]

Hi,

What date did Otto Kumm take command of the division? according to "The Leibstandarte" by Ralf Tiemen the date is 15.02.1945 but on the internet the date is given as 06.02.1945.

I believe the answer is that Kumm was assigned command on 06.02.1945 but did not actually take command until 15.02.1945.

Is this topic going through another 'dry spell'?

John.

[Tolga Alkan]

Karl Wortmann(Fla.Abt.LSSAH) reports:

"...During the second half of January 1945 LSSAH moved in several stages into the area Euskirchen-Cologne-Bonn.After only a few days,loding began at several different railroad stations.."

Information courtesy of Schütz Publishing House.

[Caliban]

My grandfather had been serving in the Leibstandarte from 1942 till 1945. He died a few months ago, and we just found out that he had been participating the war a soldier in the SS Pz. Instandsetzungs Abt. 1, but are unsure which "Kompanie" and where exactly he was at what time. We do know the rough dates and deployments though.

Does one here have detailed information about an british or american air raid against a train transporting LSAH-soldiers to France in the area of "Twistringen" (Germany). 17 of his comrades died in this air raid and my grandmother still has contact to their wives and children, which would appreciate any detailed information.

Best regards

[smetanin albert]

Add Info - Kübler Werner