Knight’s Cross with Oak-Leaves, Swords and Diamonds

Home - Book Shop - Wars - Battles - Biographies - Timeline - Weapons - Blog - Full Index - Subjects - Concepts - Country - Documents - Pictures & Maps

Follow @DrJohnRickard

The Second World War saw something of a proliferation of awards for gallantry in Germany. The Iron Cross had emerged in Prussia, where it was first awarded in 1813. After German unification it continued to be awarded during wars until 1945. The Iron Cross existed in two main grades (2nd Class and 1st Class). In order to win the Iron Cross 1st Class, the recipient already had to have the Iron Cross 2nd Class. The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded during the Second World War. To qualify for it one had to hold the Iron Cross 1st Class already. The Knight’s Cross was awarded 7,313 times.

As the war went on, extra grades were added to the Knight’s Cross. First came the Oak Leaves, awarded 883 times, then the Oak Leaves and Swords, awarded 159 times. Finally the Knight’s Cross with Oak-Leaves, Swords and Diamonds was created. This was only awarded 27 times.

Recipients of the Knight’s Cross with Oak-Leaves, Swords and Diamonds

Date,	Name,	Branch
15 July 1941	Werner Mölders	Air
28 January 1942	Adolf Galland	Air
August 1942	Gordon Gollob	Air
2 September 1942	Hans Joachim Marseille	Air
16 September 1942	Hermann Graf	Air
March 1943	Erwin Rommel	Army
9 August 1943	Wolfgang Luth	U boats
19 October 1943	Walter Nowotny	Air
14 December 1943	Adalbert Schulz	Army
29 March 1944	Hans Ulrich Rudel	Air
15 April 1944	Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz	Army
19 April 1944	Herbert Otto Gille	SS
April 1944	Hans Hube	Army
19 July 1944	Albert Kesselring	Army*
31 July 1944	Helmut Lent	Air
6 August 1944	Josef Dietrich	SS
17 August 1944	Walter Model	Army
25 August 1944	Erich Hartmann	Air
31 August 1944	Hermann Balck	Army
19 September 1944	Hermann Bernhard Ramcke	Army
9 October 1944	Hauptmann Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer	Air
24 November 1944	Albrecht Brandi	U boats
1 January 1945	Ferdinand Schorner	Army
18 February 1945	Hasso von Manteuffel	Army
18 March 1945	Theodor Tolsdorf	Army
15 April 1945	Dr Karl Mauss	Army
8 May 1945	Dietrich von Saucken	Army

By Service

Luftwaffe	11
Army	12
U Boats	2
SS	2

By Year

1941	1
1942	4
1943	4
1944	13
1945	5

The high number of recipients of the Diamonds in 1944 reflects the long period of time needed to earn the previous three grades of the Knight’s Cross.

* Kesselring was still officially in the Luftwaffe, but won his award for his service as an Army commander in Italy.

Knight's Cross with Diamonds Recipients, Gordon Williamson. Osprey, 2006. This book looks at the twenty seven men who won Germany's highest award for bravery during the Second World War. [SEE MORE]

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (27 August 2000), Knight’s Cross with Oak-Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/lists_diamonds_knights_cross.html

Help - F.A.Q. - Contact Us - Search - Recent - About Us - Privacy