Viktor Eberhard Gräbner Viktor Eberhard Gräbner ( 24 May 1914 – 18 September 1944 ) was originally an officer in the German Army who in 1943 transferred to the Waffen - SS . On 23 August 1944 he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross , the highest Third Reich award for bravery , and 26 days later he died in the Battle of Arnhem . Biography . Gräbner was born on 24 May 1914 in Leipzig . He joined the Allgemeine SS as SS - Mann in 1937 , about the same time he entered military service in the German Army . At the outbreak of World War II , he had advanced to " Leutnant " ( Second Lieutenant ) . In 1941 , he participated as front line soldier during Operation Barbarossa . On 1 October 1941 , he was promoted to Oberleutnant ( First Lieutenant ) in command of the 2nd Company , 256th Reconnaissance Battalion of the 256th Infantry Division and participated in the Battle of Moscow , which started the following day . He was awarded the German Cross in Gold in May 1942 , probably in the Battles of Rzhev , as his unit moved there after Moscow . in January 1943 he transferred to the newly formed Waffen - SS unit 9th SS Panzer Division " Hohenstaufen " with the equivalent rank of Obersturmführer , and in March 1943 he was promoted to Hauptsturmführer ( Captain ) . In June , his division moved to Normandy and was inivolved in heavy fighting during the Battle for Caen , followed by a series of battles in France . In July 1944 , he was awarded the Close Combat Clasp , Bronze Class , for 15 battles of close combat . In August 1944 he was given command of the division ' s reconnaissance battalion and on 23 August 1944 he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions in July , following a recommendation signed 6 August 1944 by his commander , Oberführer Friedrich - Wilhelm Bock , and approved by Obergruppenführer Willi Bittrich , head of the II SS Panzer Corps . He did , however , not receive the award until 17 September 1944 , the day before he died . Market Garden . Hauptsturmführer Gräbner is perhaps most famous for his part in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of Arnhem ( as depicted in the film " A Bridge Too Far " ) . On 17 September 1944 , his 40 - vehicle 9th Reconnaissance Battalion was ordered south of Arnhem , to carry out a reconnaissance of the airborne landings between Arnhem and Nijmegen . On his return to Arnhem , the bridge across the Rhine had been captured by Lt . Col . John Frost ' s 2nd Battalion , The Parachute Regiment . Gräbner was informed from radio messages that evening about enemy paratroopers having captured the northern end of the Arnhem bridge . Leaving behind a few of his vehicles from his unit at the town of Elst , Gelderland , midway between Arnhem and Nijmegen , he traveled during the night north towards Arnhem to take it upon himself to clear the area around Arnhem bridge of whatever paratroopers where there . At 9 : 30 a . m . on the morning of 18 September , Hauptsturmführer Gräbner ordered his battalion , numbering about 22 armored cars , half - tracks , and a few trucks with infantry , to assault the bridge . The first five German armored cars of the column managed to make it across the bridge unscathed due to the fact that they took the defenders by surprise . The British had laid mines on the bridge ' s approaches and these were expertly avoided by the speeding German drivers . In the resultant two - hour battle , the battalion was beaten back with heavy losses in which 12 out of the 22 vehicles were destroyed or knocked out and over 70 men killed , including Gräbner who was killed in action during the assault .