- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
- Unit:
- Kompaniechef 2. / Panzer-Regiment 6 / 3.Panzer-Division / Panzergruppe 2 / Heeresgruppe Mitte
- Awarded on:
- December 31st, 1941
Awarded for his actions during the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa. On the 23.06.1941 he and his Kompanie destroyed 12 enemy tanks near Buchowiecze in just a few minutes. On the 24.06.1941 Buchterkirch succeeded in creating a bridgehead over the Szczara river near Minicze, and on the following day he conducted a ruthless pursuit battle as far as Filipowicze. He then launched a thrust on the 07.07.1941 that made it as far as the heights southeast of Luki.
The following excerpt from a Propaganda-Kompanie report (dated 10.01.1942) further details why Buchterkirch received the high award…
“After reconnoitring the area on foot on the 24.06.1941 a bridgehead was created over the Sczara river in a second attack on the following night. Over the course of both attacks Buchterkirch’s Kompanie destroyed 6 tanks, 2 armoured cars, 22 artillery pieces, 9 anti-tank guns, 3 gun embrasures, 5 MGs and 2 mortars. A forward march was launched to a point about 7 km east fo Siemiawka (2 km west of Filopowicze), and in the process his Kompanie destroyed 22 tanks, 5 armoured cars, 16 artillery pieces and 27 anti-tank guns. Attack against Sluck with a thrust through to the eastern edge of the city, 4 artillery pieces and 4 anti-tank guns of the enemy destroyed. Attack against Shlobin at the start of July, wherein 4 tanks, 4 artillery pieces, 4 anti-tank guns, 2 mortars, 6 MGs and an observation post were destroyed. Attack against Grudinowka on the 13.07.1941, in the process 2 artillery pieces, 4 anti-tank guns, 1 mortar and 2 MGs were destroyed. Then a coup-de-main was launched against the railway bridge located 7 km southeast of Tschaussy; in the process 11 artillery pieces, 7 anti-tank guns, 2 mortars and 2 MGs were destroyed.”
44th Award