Alfred Großrock
Encyclopedia
Alfred Großrock was a Obersturmführer
(First Lieutenant), in the Waffen SS during World War II
who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
. That award recognizes extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
during World War II.
Alfred Grossrock was born on 2 January 1918 in Ludwigsburg
.
He volunteered to join the SS in November 1936 (SS number 285.640) and later joined the NSDAP in May 1937.
In October 1938 he participated in the occupation of the Sudetenland
.
He was awarded the Iron Cross
2nd class in June 1940 during the Battle of France
and the 1st class award during Operation Barbarossa
the invasion of the Soviet Union
when with the 2nd SS Division Das Reich.
His award of the German Cross
in Gold came in June 1943 when serving with the 2nd SS Sturmgeschütz
Battalion, Das Reich.
Grossrock was selected to become an officer and promoted to Untersturmführer
in November 1943, he was then posted to the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking as a platoon commander in the 6th Company, 5th SS Panzer Regiment.
Grossrock was awarded the Knight's Cross in August 1944, for his actions during the Battle of Kowel
in the Ukraine
, when he destroyed 26 T-34
tanks. His tank crew all received the Iron Cross 1st or 2nd class.
He was promoted to Obersturmführer
in January 1945, but he did not survive the war; it's believed he died in Soviet captivity on 5 April 1945.
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...
(First Lieutenant), in the Waffen SS during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
. That award recognizes extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during World War II.
Alfred Grossrock was born on 2 January 1918 in Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...
.
He volunteered to join the SS in November 1936 (SS number 285.640) and later joined the NSDAP in May 1937.
In October 1938 he participated in the occupation of the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
.
He was awarded the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
2nd class in June 1940 during the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
and the 1st class award during Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
the invasion of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
when with the 2nd SS Division Das Reich.
His award of the German Cross
German Cross
The German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
in Gold came in June 1943 when serving with the 2nd SS Sturmgeschütz
Sturmgeschütz
Sturmgeschütz is a German word for "assault gun", usually abbreviated StuG. The vehicle was a leading weapon of the Sturmartillerie, a branch of the German artillery tasked with close fire support of infantry in infantry, panzer, and panzergrenadier units...
Battalion, Das Reich.
Grossrock was selected to become an officer and promoted to Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer
Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. The rank can trace its origins to the older SA rank of Sturmführer which had existed since the founding of the SA in 1921...
in November 1943, he was then posted to the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking as a platoon commander in the 6th Company, 5th SS Panzer Regiment.
Grossrock was awarded the Knight's Cross in August 1944, for his actions during the Battle of Kowel
Battle of Kowel
The Battle of Kowel took place during World War I, from 24 July to 8 August 1916. It began with an Austrian counter-attack by Alexander von Linsingen south of Kowel, a city located in the Volyn Oblast , in north-western Ukraine...
in the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, when he destroyed 26 T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
tanks. His tank crew all received the Iron Cross 1st or 2nd class.
He was promoted to Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...
in January 1945, but he did not survive the war; it's believed he died in Soviet captivity on 5 April 1945.
Further reading
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
- Hamilton Charles Leaders and Personalities of the Third Reich, R James Bender Pub 1997, ISBN 0-912138-27-0
- Kurowski Franz Panzer Aces II Stackpole Books, 2004, ISBN 0-8117-3175-8
- Mitcham, Jr.Samuel, Retreat to the Reich, Stackpole books 2007. ISBN 0-8117-3384-X
- Henschler Henri & Fay Will, Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS, 1943-45 Stackpole Books, 2003. ISBN 0-8117-2905-2
- Mitcham Samuel, The German Defeat in the East, 1944-45,Stackpole Books, 2007. ISBN 0-8117-3371-8