German tankman Kurt Knispel: biography, achievements and interesting facts

Kurt Knispel with his 168 confirmed victories is considered the most successful tankman of the Second World War, he is credited with the T-34 tank, killed from a distance of 3000 meters, the destruction of more than 70 anti-tank guns of the enemy, as well as countless bunkers and field fortifications.

Origin

Kurt Knispel is by birth a Sudeten German. He was born in Czechoslovakia on September 20, 1921 in a small town called Salisov. Kurt spent most of his childhood in Mikulovice, where his father worked at an automobile plant. The future German tankman Kurt Knispel had a dislike for working in the factory, so in April 1940, at the age of 20, volunteered for the Wehrmacht.

Initial preparation for service in the Wehrmacht

Kurt received basic training in the reserve tank training battalion in the city of Sagan (today it is the Polish city of Zhagan). There he was taught general military skills: to march properly, to give honor and to use such types of small arms as the P38 submachine gun, the Kar98k rifle and hand grenades. After basic training, Knipspel proceeded to train on the Pz I, II and IV tanks. On October 1, Knipspell was transferred to the 29th Tank Regiment of the 12th Panzer Division, where he finished his training and became a loading and shooting gun on the Pz IV tank. During his studies, Knipspel first demonstrated his abilities as a gunner; He had the gift of a three-dimensional vision, as well as unusually sharp reflexes. But then he was left charging.

First combat experience

For the first time on the front Knipspell was in August 1941. He served as a gunner for Lieutenant Helman on the Pz IV tank during Operation Barbarossa and participated in the invasion of the territory of the Soviet Union as part of the Third Panzer Group of the 57th Army Corps under the command of General Adolf-Friedrich Kuntzen. Kurt Knispel took part in hostilities from Yartsevo to Stalingrad, in the north in the Tikhvin area of the Leningrad region, and also in the Caucasus under the leadership of Eberhard von Mackensen. In November 1942, the photographer captured Corporal Knispell with a badge "For a tank attack," an Iron Cross of the second degree and a breastplate for "wounding."

Kurt Knispel: duty stations and major operations

In January 1942, who already had 12 tank victories on his account, Knispel returned to Putolos for training in the new Tiger tank. From Putolos, his group was sent to the 500th Panzer Battalion in Paderborn. This group, headed by Hauptmann Hans Fendesak, was part of the first company of the 503rd Battalion of Heavy Tanks, which fought in Kursk as a flank cover for the 7th Panzer Division. In the future, Knipspel participated in the operation to break through the pocket of Korsun-Cherkasy, as well as in battles near Vinnitsa, Yampol and Kamenets-Podolsky. Then his company was moved from the Eastern Front and transferred to the newest heavy tanks Tiger II. After that Knipspel fought in France near the city of Caen, as well as covered the retreat of German troops from Normandy. After returning to the Eastern Front, his crew fought near Mezotur, Kecskemet, Tsegled, Bab castle, Laa and in many other places (it is reported that in one battle, Knipspell fired 24 enemy tanks in his "Tigre II"). The last battle of Knispel took place near the village of Vlasatice in the Czech Republic, where together with another tank commander, sergeant-major Skoda, he was mortally wounded on April 28, 1945, ten days before the end of the war.

Attitude to awards and honors

Kurt Knispel, whose biography and achievements rightly make him the best tanker of the Second World War, was a rather modest and non-conflicting person in his life. As the commander of the tanks "Tiger" and "Tiger II," Knispel won another 42 victories. But he was not particularly keen on this, and in the event of a controversial situation, when someone claimed to have a battered enemy tank, Knicpel usually conceded, always ready to give his success to someone else.

He was presented four times to the Knight's Cross, but he never received this award, which is common to most other German tank aces of the Second World War. Knichel did not bother at all, since the main driving force for him was not vanity. On the account of Kniskel, one hundred and sixty-eight confirmed lined tanks, and with unconfirmed cases, their number reaches one hundred and ninety-five. Even if we take only the first figure into account, Kurt Knispel is the most successful tank archer of the Second World War.

Battle Services

Once, Knipspell completely improbably knocked down a Soviet tank T-34 from a distance of 3000 meters. After the first fifteen victories, he was awarded the Iron Cross first class, and then with a gold breastplate "For the tank attack." After the 126th victory, Knipspel received the German cross in gold and became the only German non-commissioned officer whose name was mentioned in the official communique of the Wehrmacht. They say that he gave others many victories, which he rightly considered his own. Kurt Knispel usually shied away from any controversy and earned himself the glory of a friendly and open person. As a tank commander, he felt like a fish in the water, sometimes even alone resisted the superior forces of the enemy in order to give his unit more opportunities to successfully advance or retreat. Alfred Rubbell, one of the first Knispell commanders, argued that Kurt never abandoned his comrades even in the most difficult situations.

Insufficiently respectful attitude to superior commanders is the main reason that Kurt Knispel so slowly advanced through the ranks. Once he attacked an officer who was beating a Soviet prisoner of war. The shape of Knyspel did not match the stereotypical image of a German soldier: he had a tattoo on his neck, a small beard and longer hair than was required by the statute. However, he was very fond of fellow soldiers, and he had no equal in his skill. At the age of 23, Kninspel had more tank victories in his account than such famous aces as Michael Wittmann, Ernst Barkmann, Johannes Bolter or Otto Carius.

The burial place of the German ace

The remains of the legendary tankman on April 9, 2013 were found by Czech archaeologists in an unnamed grave behind a church in the village of Vrbovtsi, not far from the Czech-Austrian border. A spokesman for the Moravian Museum Eva Pankov explains that he was identified by a tattoo around his neck. On 10 April 2013, the Czech authorities confirmed that the remains of Knispel were found among the bodies of fifteen other German soldiers behind the church wall in Vrbovtsi. In all likelihood, Kurt Knyspel will be reburied in a military cemetery in the city of Brno.

K. Knyspel among the tankmen is the same legendary hero as the Red Baron of the pilots.

Awards

• Iron Cross (2nd class).
• Iron Cross of the 1st class for fighting in the Kursk Bulge in July 1943. During this battle, he destroyed 27 T-34 tanks in 12 days.
• Medal "For the winter campaign in the East." This award is sometimes called the order "Ice cream meat".
• Breastplate "For Wounds" (Silver).
• Breastplate "For the tank attack" (Silver).
• Breastplate "For tank attack" of the first degree for 100 fights.
• German cross in gold on May 20, 1944.
• Knipspel is the only non-commissioned officer of the German army, who was mentioned in the so-called Wehrmacht Bericht (Daily Report of the High Command of the Wehrmacht) of April 25, 1944. The reason was the destruction of 101 enemy tanks.