Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Unit:

Jäger-Regiment 75 / 5. Jäger-Division

Awarded on:

April 20th, 1944

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Obergefreiter (Corporal)

Unit:

Stab III./ Jäger-Regiment 75 / 5. Jäger-Division

Awarded on:

October 7th, 1944

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Obergefreiter (Corporal)

Unit:

Stab III./ Jäger-Regiment 75 / 5. Jäger-Division

Awarded on:

February 25th, 1945

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Obergefreiter (Corporal)

Unit:

Stab III./ Jäger-Regiment 75 / 5. Jäger-Division

Awarded on:

April 17th, 1945

During the middle of January 1945 the Soviets succeeded in pushing back the front of the 5. Jäger-Division (positioned on the northern side of the Narew bridgehead) in multiple areas. During this battle Obergefreiter Krainz, a messenger in the III./Jäger-Regiment 75, was tasked with delivering an order to the 12. Kompanie. When he arrived however he found it right in the middle of a forest battle and in a desperate situation.

The Kompanie’s officers and NCOs were all killed or wounded, and the leaderless soldiers were in a critical state. Recognizing the magnitude of what was happening, Krainz rallied the soldiers of the Kompanie on his own initiative and and launched a counterattack. Krainz first seized an enemy AT gun and then used it to destroy another hostile AT gun and its prime mover. The subsequently successful infantry battle was thereafter able to stabilize the situation in this sector.

For his brave and victorious action, which surely saved the 12. Kompanie, Krainz would be awarded the Knight’s Cross.

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Unit:

Jäger-Regiment 75 / 5. Jäger-Division

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Unit:

Jäger-Regiment 75 / 5. Jäger-Division

Awarded on:

April 20th, 1944

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

September 15th, 1944