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Kurt Knispel

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 98.113.209.140 (talk) at 18:25, 15 July 2023 (The reference is from George Forty who is a respected expert. Like Forthy, Kurowski is not a primary source, as his writing, incl. the 2007 book on Knispel, is based on original German war documents describing Knispel's achievements in detail, as is of Forty. Questioning Kurowski's accuracy in this matter only, because he also writes fiction, is ridiculous. Do you know German?). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Kurt Knispel
Born(1921-09-20)20 September 1921
Salisfeld, Czechoslovakia
Died28 April 1945(1945-04-28) (aged 23)
Urbau, German occupied Czechoslovakia
Allegiance Germany
Service / branchWehrmacht
Years of service1940–1945
RankFeldwebel
Unit12th Panzer Division
503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion
Battles / warsWorld War II
AwardsGerman Cross in Gold

Kurt Knispel (20 September 1921 – 28 April 1945[1]) was a German tank commander during World War II. A total of 168 enemy tank kills were attributed to him,[2][3][4][5][6] of which 126 as a gunner and 42 as a tank commander. This is considered the highest number of kills by a soldier during World War II.[7] Another 30 kills are unconfirmed. Only the German “tank aces” Michael Wittmann and Otto Carius achieved similar numbers of kills.

Knispel was severely wounded on 28 April 1945 by shrapnel to his head when his Tiger II was hit in battle by Soviet tanks. He died two hours later in a German field hospital.[8]

On 10 April 2013, Czech authorities said that Knispel's remains were found with 15 other German soldiers behind a church wall in Vrbovec, identified by his dog tags.[9][10]

On 12 November 2014, the German War Graves Commission reburied his remains at the Central Brno military cemetery in Brno.[11] He was buried with 41 other German soldiers who died in Moravia and Silesia.[12]

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Detailansicht". Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  2. ^ Forty, George (2009). Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II. ISBN 978-0-7603-3049-4.
  3. ^ Guinness World Records Ltd. "Most successful tank commander". Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  4. ^ TracesOfWar.com. "Knispel, Kurt". Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  5. ^ Kurowski, Franz (2007). Feldwebel Kurt Knispel: Der erfolgreichste Panzerschütze und Panzerkommandant des 2. Weltkrieges. Würzburg: Flechsig Verlag. p. 160. ISBN 978-3881897341.
  6. ^ Franz Kurowski. "Kurowski Feldwebel Kurt Knispel Der erfolgreichste Panzerschütze und Panzerkommandant des 2. Weltkriegs Tiger Königstiger Diorama Dioramen". Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  7. ^ Gernot Kramper (2021-02-07). "Kurt Knispel – er war der gefährlichste Panzermann aller Zeiten, aber die Nazis hassten ihn". Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  8. ^ Hans-Jörg Schmidt (2014-06-16). "Sudetendeutsche: Tschechien kümmert sich nicht um deutsche Gräber". Die Welt. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  9. ^ "Archeologové objevili hrob největšího tankového esa 2. světové války — Zprávy — Zpravodajství Brno — Česká televize". Ceskatelevize.cz. 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  10. ^ "Remains of Kurt Knispel located ..." War History Online. 2014-12-19. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  11. ^ Grabstätte von Kurt Knispel
  12. ^ "MZM - Uložení ostatků Kurta Knispela". Mzm.cz. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  13. ^ Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. p. 238. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 238.
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