Karl Nicolussi-Leck
Encyclopedia
Karl Nicolussi-Leck was a Hauptsturmführer
(Captain) in the Waffen SS during World War II
who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
.
and studied Philosophy
, Law and Political Science and played a leading role in the South Tyrol
ean Nazi organization Völkischer Kampfring Südtirol (VKS) (eng: Peoples Action Group).
(Corporal).
By the time of Operation Marita the invasion of the Balkans
he had been promoted to Scharführer
(Staff Sergeant) and was awarded his first combat decoration the Wound Badge
when he was wounded for the first time.
Nicolussi-Leck was transferred to the SS Der Führer Regiment, SS Division Das Reich for Operation Barbarossa
the invasion of the Soviet Union
and was seriously wounded in the advance towards Moscow
.
In November 1941 he was selected to become an officer and posted to the SS-Junkerschule at Bad Tölz
and promoted to Untersturmführer
(Second Lieutenant) after graduation in April 1942. He was placed in command of a platoon in the 2nd Company, 5th SS Panzer Battalion, 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking.
He was awarded the Iron Cross
2nd class during the Battle of Rostov
and shortly after the 1st class award in the advance north of the Kuban River
.
On the 15 October 1942, he was given command of the 1st Company, 5th SS Panzer Regiment after all the Companys officers had been killed or wounded in battle earlier that day.
, in the Pripet Marshes while in command of a Kampfgruppe
of the II. Battalion, 5th SS Panzer Regiment, newly equipped with Panther
tanks, along with the III. Battalion, SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Germania, newly equipped and up to strength, which had just arrived at the front from Germany.
Nicolussi-Leck immediately launched an attack with five Panthers. Soon after beginning the attack, he received a radio message from the besieged commander to halt his attack and withdraw. He ordered his radio operator to ignore the call, and continued his attack. Risking court-martial, he then proceeded to fight his way though the Soviet encirclement, destroying several Soviet tanks in the process. His Panther was the first vehicle to break the encirclement. After the relief force established a corridor to the encircled force, the withdrawal began. Unlike the previous encirclement at Korsun, the trapped force managed to escape with most of its equipment intact, and the division was ready for action immediately.
He was the founder of the South Tyrolean Center for Education, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Bozen and the University Claudiana.
Karl Nicolussi-Leck died on the August 31st, 2008 in Bozen
, South Tyrol
.
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...
.
Early life
Karl Nicolussi-Leck was born on the 14 March 1917, in Pfatten in South Tyrol (Italy). At school he read the works of PlatoPlato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
and studied Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, Law and Political Science and played a leading role in the South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
ean Nazi organization Völkischer Kampfring Südtirol (VKS) (eng: Peoples Action Group).
World War II
When War was declared Nicolussi-Leck volunteered to join the Waffen SS (SS number 423.876) on April 10, 1940. He was posted to the SS Standarte Deutschland in the SS-VT and after completing basic training was promoted to RottenführerRottenführer
Rottenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1932. The rank of Rottenführer was used by several Nazi paramilitary groups, among them the Sturmabteilung , the Schutzstaffel and was senior to the paramilitary rank of Sturmmann.The insignia for Rottenführer...
(Corporal).
By the time of Operation Marita the invasion of the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
he had been promoted to Scharführer
Scharführer
Scharführer was a Nazi Party title that was used by several paramilitary organizations from 1925 to 1945. Translated as “Squad Leader”, the title of Scharführer can trace its origins to the First World War, where a Scharführer was often a Sergeant or Corporal who commanded special action or shock...
(Staff Sergeant) and was awarded his first combat decoration the Wound Badge
Wound Badge
Wound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
when he was wounded for the first time.
Nicolussi-Leck was transferred to the SS Der Führer Regiment, SS Division Das Reich for 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....
and was seriously wounded in the advance towards Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
In November 1941 he was selected to become an officer and posted to the SS-Junkerschule at Bad Tölz
Bad Tölz
Bad Tölz is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and administrative center of the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.- History :Since the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the Ice Age, archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tölz...
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...
(Second Lieutenant) after graduation in April 1942. He was placed in command of a platoon in the 2nd Company, 5th SS Panzer Battalion, 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking.
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 during the Battle of Rostov
Battle of Rostov
Three battles of the Eastern Front of World War II around the city of Rostov-on-Don on the Sea of Azov are known as the Battle of Rostov:*In the Battle of Rostov , the German 1st Panzer Army captured the city but was driven out by the Soviet 37th Army...
and shortly after the 1st class award in the advance north of the Kuban River
Kuban River
The Kuban River is a river in Russia, in the North Caucasus region. It flows mostly through Krasnodar Krai but also in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Stavropol Krai and the Republic of Adygea....
.
On the 15 October 1942, he was given command of the 1st Company, 5th SS Panzer Regiment after all the Companys officers had been killed or wounded in battle earlier that day.
Kovel encirclement
Nicolussi-Leck was awarded the Knight's Cross during the Battle of KovelKovel
Kovel is a city located in the Volyn Oblast , in northwestern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Kovelskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. The current estimated population is around 65,777.Kovel gives its name to one of the...
, in the Pripet Marshes while in command of a Kampfgruppe
Kampfgruppe
In military history and military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the German Wehrmacht and its allies during World War II and, to a lesser extent, in World War I...
of the II. Battalion, 5th SS Panzer Regiment, newly equipped with Panther
Panther tank
Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as...
tanks, along with the III. Battalion, SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Germania, newly equipped and up to strength, which had just arrived at the front from Germany.
Nicolussi-Leck immediately launched an attack with five Panthers. Soon after beginning the attack, he received a radio message from the besieged commander to halt his attack and withdraw. He ordered his radio operator to ignore the call, and continued his attack. Risking court-martial, he then proceeded to fight his way though the Soviet encirclement, destroying several Soviet tanks in the process. His Panther was the first vehicle to break the encirclement. After the relief force established a corridor to the encircled force, the withdrawal began. Unlike the previous encirclement at Korsun, the trapped force managed to escape with most of its equipment intact, and the division was ready for action immediately.
Post war
After the war Karl Nicolussi-Leck like many of his SS comrades left Europe for South America, but he returned in the early 50's to the South Tyrol, where he worked as an entrepreneur for Mannesmann.He was the founder of the South Tyrolean Center for Education, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Bozen and the University Claudiana.
Karl Nicolussi-Leck died on the August 31st, 2008 in Bozen
Bozen
Bozen may refer to:*Bolzano, a bi-lingual northern Italian provincial capital city of which Bozen is the official German name*Bözen, a Swiss municipality*Bożeń, a village in Poland*Bozen Green, a village in Hertfordshire, England...
, South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
.
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 0912138270
- Kurowski Franz Panzer Aces II Stackpole Books, 2004, ISBN 0811731758
- Mitcham, Jr.Samuel, Retreat to the Reich, Stackpole books 2007. ISBN 081173384X
- Henschler Henri & Fay Will, Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS, 1943-45 Stackpole Books, 2003. ISBN 0811729052
- Mitcham Samuel, The German Defeat in the East, 1944-45,Stackpole Books, 2007. ISBN 0811733718
- Gerald Steinacher, Nazis on the run. How Hitler's Henchmen Fled Justice. Oxford University Press 2011. ISBN 0199576866