Kurt Knispel

Kurt Knispel (20 September 1921 – 28 April 1945[1]) was a German tank commander during World War II, notable for claiming 168 tanks destroyed, making him, if the claims can be evidenced, the most successful fighter in armored warfare.[2][3][4]

Kurt Knispel
Born(1921-09-20)20 September 1921
Salisov, 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

Knispel was severely wounded on 28 April 1945 by shrapnel to his head when his Tiger II was hit in battle with Soviet tanks and the ammunition exploded. He died two hours later in a German field hospital.[5]

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.[6] [7]

On 12 November 2014, the German War Graves Commission reburied his remains at the Central Brno military cemetery in Brno.[8] He was buried with 41 other German soldiers who died in Moravia and Silesia.[9]

Awards

References
Citations
  1. "Detailansicht". Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  2. Norris, John "Vehicle Art of World War Two" Pen and sword Military, 2016 p85
  3. Ganz, A.Harding "Ghost Division: The 11th "Gespenster" Panzer Division and the German Armored" Stackpole Books 2016
  4. Clodfelter, Micheal. "Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty" McFarland, 2017 p 456
  5. Hans-Jörg Schmidt (2014-06-16). "Sudetendeutsche: Tschechien kümmert sich nicht um deutsche Gräber". Die Welt. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  6. "Archeologové objevili hrob největšího tankového esa 2. světové války — Zprávy — Zpravodajství Brno — Česká televize". Ceskatelevize.cz. 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  7. "Remains of Kurt Knispel located ..." War History Online. 2014-12-19. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  8. Grabstätte von Kurt Knispel
  9. "MZM - Uložení ostatků Kurta Knispela". Mzm.cz. Retrieved 2015-12-17.
  10. Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 238.
Bibliography
  • 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. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
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