Schlacht von Rschew
Wolf claimed his first aerial victory over an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft, shot down on 6 August 1942 in the vicinity of Zubtsov during the Battles of Rzhev. Following his fourth claim, filed on 30 September, he was awarded Iron Cross 2nd Class () the next day. On 23 March 1943, his number of aerial victories had increased to 18 following combat in the vicinity of Leningrad. This resulted in the presentation of the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe () on 30 April 1943. On 12 July, during the Battle of Kursk, Soviet forces launched its counteroffensive named Operation Kutuzov. The next day, General Paul Deichmann dispatched the equivalent of eight "Jagdgruppen" to defend against the Soviet 15th Air Army. That morning, Wolf claimed a Soviet fighter aircraft shot down. He achieved his aerial victories 37–40 on 2 August 1943. By 4 September 1943, he had accumulated 78 victories. In November 1943, Wolf was credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 59th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. Wolf received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () for 117 victories on 22 November 1943.