Hans Drexel
Encyclopedia
Hans Drexel was a Hauptsturmführer
(Captain) in the Waffen SS during World War II
who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
. Which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
during World War II.
. He volunteered to join the SS-VT in November 1938 (SS number 372.377) and was posted to the SS Infantry Regiment Deutschland
with the Deutschland Regiment.
He was then selected to become an officer and sent to the SS-Junkerschule upon graduation in November 1940 he was promoted to Untersturmführer
(Second Lieutenant) and given command of a platoon in the 14th Company, SS Infantry Regiment Westland
.
He took part in Operation Barbarossa
the invasion of the Soviet Union
winning his first combat award the Iron Cross
2nd class in July 1941.
After serving on the Eastern Front
during the first Russian winter of the war he was promoted to Obersturmführer
(First Lieutenant) in January 1942.
On the 3 August 1943 he was given command of the 10th Company, 9th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Germania
the same month that he was awarded the German Cross
in Gold.
On the 13 September he was made the second in command of the II. Battalion, 10th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Westland,
and commanded the Battalion when they destroyed a Russian attack at Boiki on the 28 September for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross.
On the 9 November he was promoted to Hauptsturmführer
(Captain) and in January 1944 posted to the 5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Wallonien
as an advisor in the Battle Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket
to Hauptsturmführer Léon Degrelle
.
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
(Captain) 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...
. Which was awarded to recognize 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.
Early life
Hans Drexel was born on the 12 November 1919 in DettenhausenDettenhausen
Dettenhausen is a municipality in the district of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.Dettenhausen is a village in the administrative district of Tübingen, in the Schönbuch Nature Park. It is located 11 km north of Tübingen, and about 25 km south of Stuttgart, the capital of...
. He volunteered to join the SS-VT in November 1938 (SS number 372.377) and was posted to the SS Infantry Regiment Deutschland
Deutschland
Deutschland is the German language word for Germany.Deutschland may also refer to:, a blockade-breaking German cargo submarine used during World War I, first of the 1930s Panzerschiffe , later renamed Lützow; involved in the 1937 Deutschland incident, a steamship wrecked in 1875 and commemorated in...
World War II
During World War II Drexel took part in the Polish Campaign and the Battle of FranceBattle 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...
with the Deutschland Regiment.
He was then selected to become an officer and sent to the SS-Junkerschule upon graduation in November 1940 he was 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...
(Second Lieutenant) and given command of a platoon in the 14th Company, SS Infantry Regiment Westland
Westland (Nazi propaganda)
This article is about the Nazi propaganda term used for the Netherlands. For other uses, see Westland .Westland is the name which the government of Nazi Germany intended to replace that of the Netherlands with during its 1940-1945 occupation of that country...
.
He took part in 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....
winning his first combat award 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 July 1941.
After serving on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
during the first Russian winter of the war 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...
(First Lieutenant) in January 1942.
On the 3 August 1943 he was given command of the 10th Company, 9th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Germania
Germania
Germania was the Greek and Roman geographical term for the geographical regions inhabited by mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube...
the same month that he was awarded 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.
On the 13 September he was made the second in command of the II. Battalion, 10th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Westland,
and commanded the Battalion when they destroyed a Russian attack at Boiki on the 28 September for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross.
On the 9 November he was promoted to Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
(Captain) and in January 1944 posted to the 5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Wallonien
5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Wallonien
The 28th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Wallonien was formed from the 5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Wallonien which was a Belgian Waffen SS volunteer brigade comprising volunteers of Walloon background...
as an advisor in the Battle Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket
Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket
The Korsun–Shevchenkovsky Offensive led to the Battle of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket which took place from 24 January to 16 February 1944. The offensive was part of the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive...
to Hauptsturmführer Léon Degrelle
Léon Degrelle
Léon Joseph Marie Ignace Degrelle was a Walloon Belgian politician, who founded Rexism and later joined the Waffen SS which were front-line troops in the fight against the Soviet Union...
.
Commands
- 10th Company, SS Infantry Regiment Germania
- 8th Company, 10th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Westland
- II.Battalion 10th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Westland