# List of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves recipients (1940–1941)

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The decoration was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks, from a senior commander for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a low-ranking soldier for a single act of extreme gallantry. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) was introduced on 3 June 1940 to further distinguish those who had already received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and who continued to show merit in combat bravery or military success. A total of 7 awards were made in 1940; 50 in 1941; 111 in 1942; 192 in 1943; 328 in 1944, and 194 in 1945, giving a total of 882 recipients—excluding the 8 foreign recipients of the award.
The number of 882 Oak Leaves recipients is based on the analysis and acceptance of the order commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR). However, author Veit Scherzer has challenged the validity of 27 of these listings. With the exception of Hermann Fegelein, all of the disputed recipients had received the award in 1945, when the deteriorating situation during the final days of World War II in Germany left a number of nominations incomplete and pending in various stages of the approval process. Fegelein received the Oak Leaves in 1942, but was sentenced to death by Adolf Hitler and executed by SS-Gruppenführer Johann Rattenhuber's Reichssicherheitsdienst (RSD) on 28 April 1945 after a court-martial led by SS-Brigadeführer and Generalmajor of the Waffen-SS Wilhelm Mohnke. The sentence was carried out the same day. The death sentence, according to German law, resulted in the loss of all orders and honorary signs.

## Background

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment, Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573 of 1 September 1939 instituted the Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz), the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). Article 2 of the enactment mandated that the award of a higher class be preceded by the award of all preceding classes. As the war progressed, some of the recipients of the Knight's Cross distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 of 3 June 1940. In 1941, two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of 28 September 1941 introduced the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten). At the end of 1944 the final grade, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit goldenem Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten), based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11 of 29 December 1944, became the final variant of the Knight's Cross authorized.

## Recipients

The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW—Supreme Command of the Armed Forces) kept separate Knight's Cross lists, one for each of the three military branches, Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), Luftwaffe (Air force) and for the Waffen-SS. Within each of these lists a unique sequential number was assigned to each recipient. The same numbering paradigm was applied to the higher grades of the Knight's Cross, one list per grade. The recipients are ordered chronologically and numbered by the official sequential number assigned by the OKW. The rank listed is the recipient's rank at the time the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves was awarded.

### Recipients of 1940

| Number | Name | Service | Rank | Role and unit | Date of award | Notes |
| 1 | Eduard Dietl+ | Heer | 19-HGeneralleutnant | Commanding general of Gebirgskorps Norwegen | 19 July 1940 | Awarded 72nd Swords 1 July 1944. At the same time promoted to General der Infanterie, later General der Gebirgstruppen |
| 2 | Werner Mölders+ | Luftwaffe | 15-LMajor | Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 51 | 21 September 1940 | Awarded 2nd Swords 22 June 1941 1st Diamonds 15 July 1941 |
| 3 | Adolf Galland+ | Luftwaffe | 15-LMajor | Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" | 24 September 1940 | Awarded 1st Swords 21 June 1941 2nd Diamonds 28 January 1942 |
| 4 | Helmut Wick | Luftwaffe | 14-LHauptmann | Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" | 6 October 1940 | — |
| 5 | Günther Prien | Kriegsmarine | 14-MKapitänleutnant | Commander of U-47 | 20 October 1940 | — |
| 6 | Otto Kretschmer+ | Kriegsmarine | 14-MKapitänleutnant | Commander of U-99 | 4 November 1940 | Awarded 5th Swords 26 December 1941 |
| 7 | Joachim Schepke | Kriegsmarine | 14-MKapitänleutnant | Commander of U-100 | 1 December 1940 | — |

### Recipients of 1941

| Number | Name | Service | Rank | Role and unit | Date of award | Notes | Image |
| 8 | Martin Harlinghausen | Luftwaffe | 16-LOberstleutnant | Chief of the general staff of the X. Fliegerkorps | 30 January 1941 | — | — |
| 9 | Walter Oesau+ | Luftwaffe | 14-LHauptmann | Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Jagdgeschwader 3 | 6 February 1941 | Awarded 3rd Swords 15 July 1941 | — |
| 10 | Erwin Rommel+ | Heer | 19-HGeneralleutnant | Commander of the 7. Panzer-Division | 20 March 1941 | Awarded 6th Swords 20 January 1942 6th Diamonds 11 March 1943 | |
| 11 | Hermann-Friedrich Joppien | Luftwaffe | 14-LHauptmann | Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Jagdgeschwader 51 | 23 April 1941 | — | |
| 12 | Joachim Müncheberg+ | Luftwaffe | 13-LOberleutnant | Staffelkapitän of the 7./Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" | 7 May 1941 | Awarded 19th Swords 9 September 1942 | |
| 13 | Heinrich Liebe | Kriegsmarine | 14-MKapitänleutnant | Commander of U-38 | 10 June 1941 | At the same time promoted to Korvettenkapitän | |
| 14 | Engelbert Endrass | Kriegsmarine | 13-MOberleutnant zur See | Commander of U-46 | 10 June 1941 | — | |
| 15 | Herbert Schultze | Kriegsmarine | 14-MKapitänleutnant | Commander of U-48 | 12 June 1941 | — | |
| 16 | Herbert Ihlefeld+ | Luftwaffe | 14-LHauptmann | Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Jagdgeschwader 77 | 27 June 1941 | Awarded 9th Swords 24 April 1942 | — |
| 17 | Wilhelm Balthasar | Luftwaffe | 14-LHauptmann | Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" | 2 July 1941 | — | — |
| 18 | Siegfried Schnell | Luftwaffe | 12-LLeutnant | Pilot in the 9./Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" | 9 July 1941 | — | — |
| 19 | Rudolf Schmidt | Heer | 20-HGeneral der Panzertruppe | Commanding general of the XXXIX. Armeekorps (motorized) | 10 July 1941 | — | |
| 20 | Werner Baumbach+ | Luftwaffe | 13-LOberleutnant | Pilot in the 4./Kampfgeschwader 30 | 14 July 1941 | Awarded 16th Swords 17 August 1942 | |
| 21 | Oskar Dinort | Luftwaffe | 16-LOberstleutnant | Geschwaderkommodore of Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 "Immelmann" | 14 July 1941 | — | — |
| 22 | Walter Storp | Luftwaffe | 15-LMajor | Geschwaderkommodore of Schnellkampfgeschwader 210 | 14 July 1941 | — | — |
| 23 | Viktor Schütze | Kriegsmarine | 15-MKorvettenkapitän | Commander of U-103 | 14 July 1941 | — | |
| 24 | Heinz Guderian | Heer | 21-HGeneraloberst | Commander-in-chief of Panzergruppe 2 | 17 July 1941 | — | |
| 25 | Hermann Hoth+ | Heer | 21-HGeneraloberst | Commander-in-chief of Panzergruppe 3 | 17 July 1941 | Awarded 35th Swords 15 September 1943 | |
| 26 | Dipl.-Ing. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen | Luftwaffe | 20-LGeneral der Flieger | Commanding general of the VIII. Fliegerkorps | 17 July 1941 | — | |
| 27 | Günther Lützow+ | Luftwaffe | 15-LMajor | Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 3 | 20 July 1941 | Awarded 4th Swords 11 October 1941 | |
| 28 | Josef Priller+ | Luftwaffe | 13-LOberleutnant | Staffelkapitän of the 1./Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" | 20 July 1941 | Awarded 73rd Swords 2 July 1944 | — |
| 29 | Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn | Luftwaffe | 15-LMajor | Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 53 | 24 July 1941 | — | |
| 30 | Horst Niemack+ | Heer | 14-HRittmeister | Commander of Divisions-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5 | 10 August 1941 | Awarded 69th Swords 4 June 1944 | |
| 31 | Heinrich Bär+ | Luftwaffe | 12-LLeutnant | Pilot in the 1./Jagdgeschwader 51 | 14 August 1941 | Awarded 7th Swords 16 February 1942 | |
| 32 | Hans Hahn | Luftwaffe | 14-LHauptmann | Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" | 14 August 1941 | — | — |
| 33 | Hans Philipp+ | Luftwaffe | 13-LOberleutnant | Staffelkapitän of the 4./Jagdgeschwader 54 | 24 August 1941 | Awarded 8th Swords 12 March 1942 | — |
| 34 | Ludwig Crüwell | Heer | 19-HGeneralleutnant | Commander of the 11. Panzer-Division | 1 September 1941 | — | |
| 35 | Karl-Gottfried Nordmann | Luftwaffe | 13-LOberleutnant | Staffelkapitän of the 12./Jagdgeschwader 51 | 16 September 1941 | — | |
| 36 | Heinrich Hoffmann | Luftwaffe | 10-LOberfeldwebel | Pilot in the 12./Jagdgeschwader 51 | 19 October 1941* | Killed in action 3 October 1941 | — |
| 37 | Kurt-Jürgen Freiherr von Lützow | Heer | 17-HOberst | Commander of Infanterie-Regiment 89 | 21 October 1941 | — | — |
| 38 | Gordon Gollob+ | Luftwaffe | 14-LHauptmann | Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Jagdgeschwader 3 | 26 October 1941 | Awarded 13th Swords 23 June 1942 3rd Diamonds 30 August 1942 | |
| 39 | Erbo Graf von Kageneck | Luftwaffe | 13-LOberleutnant | Staffelkapitän of the 9./Jagdgeschwader 27 | 26 October 1941 | — | |
| 40 | Ernst-Felix Krüder | Kriegsmarine | 17-MKapitän zur See | Commander of Hilfskreuzer Pinguin (HSK-5) | 15 November 1941* | Killed in action 8 May 1941 | — |
| 41 | Josef Dietrich+ | Waffen-SS | 20-WSS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Waffen-SS | Commander of SS-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" (motorized) | 31 December 1941 | Awarded 26th Swords 14 March 1943 16th Diamonds 6 August 1944 | |
| 42 | Heinrich Eberbach | Heer | 17-HOberst | Commander of the 5. Panzer-Brigade | 31 December 1941 | — | |
| 43 | Franz Scheidies | Heer | 17-HOberst | Commander of Infanterie-Regiment 22 | 31 December 1941 | — | — |
| 44 | Ernst-Georg Buchterkirch | Heer | 13-HOberleutnant | Chief of the 2./Panzer-Regiment 6 | 31 December 1941 | — | |
| 45 | Bernhard Rogge | Kriegsmarine | 17-MKapitän zur See | Commander of Hilfskreuzer Atlantis (HSK-2) | 31 December 1941 | — | |
| 46 | Dietrich Peltz+ | Luftwaffe | 14-LHauptmann | Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Kampfgeschwader 77 | 31 December 1941 | Awarded 31st Swords 23 July 1943 | — |
| 47 | Adelbert Schulz+ | Heer | 14-HHauptmann | Commander of the I./Panzer-Regiment 25 | 31 December 1941 | Awarded 33rd Swords 6 August 1943 9th Diamonds 14 December 1943 | |
| 48 | Dr. Josef-Franz Eckinger | Heer | 15-HMajor | Commander of the I./Schützen-Regiment 113 | 31 December 1941* | Killed in action 17 October 1941 | |
| 49 | Günther Hoffmann-Schönborn | Heer | 15-HMajor | Commander of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 191 | 31 December 1941 | — | — |
| 50 | Karl Eibl+ | Heer | 17-HOberst | Commander of Infanterie-Regiment 132 | 31 December 1941 | Awarded 21st Swords 19 December 1942 | — |
| 51 | Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock | Kriegsmarine | 14-MKapitänleutnant | Commander of U-96 | 31 December 1941 | — | |
| 52 | Otto Weiß | Luftwaffe | 15-LMajor | Gruppenkommandeur of the II.(Schlacht)/Lehrgeschwader 2 | 31 December 1941 | — | |
| 53 | Georg Freiherr von Boeselager+ | Heer | 14-HRittmeister | Chief of the 1./Divisions-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 6 | 31 December 1941 | Awarded 114th Swords 28 November 1944 | — |
| 54 | Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach | Heer | 18-HGeneralmajor | Commander of the 12. Infanterie-Division | 31 December 1941 | — | |
| 55 | Josef Harpe+ | Heer | 18-HGeneralmajor | Commander of the 12. Panzer-Division | 31 December 1941 | Awarded 36th Swords 15 September 1943 | |
| 56 | Reinhard Suhren+ | Kriegsmarine | 13-MOberleutnant zur See | Commander of U-564 | 31 December 1941 | Awarded 18th Swords 1 September 1942 | — |
| 57 | Hubertus Hitschhold | Luftwaffe | 15-LMajor | Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 "Immelmann" | 31 December 1941 | — | — |