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Volke, Herbert

Date of birth:
May 27th, 1914 (Zwenkau/Saxony, Germany)
Date of death:
July 29th, 1945 (Leipzig, Germany)
Nationality:
German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

Biography

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Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Oberwachtmeister
Unit:
Zugführer 1./Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5 / 5. Jäger-Division
Awarded on:
November 16th, 1944
The following firsthand account by Herbert Volke himself describes the actions that led him to receive the Knight’s Cross…

“…Starting on the 02.08.1944 I was a Wachtmeister with my old comrades in the central sector of the Eastern front. At this time my unit was involved in retreat battles that ultimately led to the area south of Warsaw. During this period, specifically at the eastern border of East Prussia along the Lower Narew (north of Osterburg) on the 20.10.1944, myself and 8 men ejected a broken-in enemy company with flamethrowers despite lacking cover for our flanks. We then launched an immediate counterthrust that struck the assembly area of a Russian regiment. We brought back a few groups of prisoners in this action. The higher commands later determined that this local action prevented an attempted enemy breakthrough that had the aim of enveloping Warsaw from the rear. I was thus awarded the Knight’s Cross on the 24.11.1944 by the Korps commander in front of the entire Abteilung.”
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes

Sources

  • - SCHINDLER, M., Ritterkreuzträger aus Sachsen 1939-1945, Adoria-Verlag, 2019.
    - Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer, Elite of the Third Reich - The Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939-45: A Reference, Helion & Company Limited, England, 2003
    - Reinicke, A., Die 5. Jäger-Division – Polen, Westfeldzug 1940, Rußland, Das Ende an der Oderfront, Nebel Verlag GmbH, Eggolsheim, Deutschland, 2003

Photo