Rudolf Geisler

Rudolf Geisler
Born	29 March 1911 Hennersdorf near Reichenbach, Silesia
Died	13 April 1944 (1944-04-14) (aged 33) Kovel, Ukraine
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1930–1943
Rank	Oberstleutnant (posthumous)
Commands held	Pionier-Bataillon 662
Battles/wars	World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Eastern front †
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Relations	Siegfried Geisler (brother)

Rudolf Geisler (29 March 1911 – 13 April 1944) was a highly decorated Oberstleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade the Oak Leaves was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Rudolf Geisler was severely wounded in defense of Kovel on 11 April 1944 by an artillery round while detaching from the front. He succumbed to his injury, a splinter wound in the pelvis, at the field hospital at Kovel on 13 April 1944, the same day he was awarded the Oak Leaves.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (30 September 1939)
  • 1st Class (13 August 1941)
• German Cross in Gold (3 June 1943)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 7 December 1943 as Major and commander of Pionier-Bataillon 662
  • 455th Oak Leaves on 13 April 1944 as Major and commander of Pionier-Bataillon 662

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Scherzer, Veit (2010). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil XI: Pioniertruppe—Band 1: A–K (in German). Bissendorf, Germany: Biblio Verlag. ISBN 3-7648-2398-4.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 3-7648-2299-6.

External links

• World War 2 Awards.com
• Lexikon der Wehrmacht