Hermann Maringgele Hermann Maringgele ( November 29 , 1911 – July 21 , 2000 ) was a Untersturmführer ( Second Lieutenant ) in the Waffen - SS during World War II . He 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 was also one of only 631 men to be awarded the very rare Close Combat Clasp in Gold . It was awarded for 50 battles of hand - to - hand or close combat . Maringgele is recorded having served in 84 battles of close combat , more than any other member of the German Armed Forces . Early life . Hermann Maringgele was born on the 29 November 1911 , in Tschars in Tyrol in the Austrian Empire and was the tenth child in the family . At the end of World War I and the defeat of the Austro - Hungarian Empire the rest of the Tyrol where the Maringgele family lived was ceded to Italy . This resulted in Hermann Maringgele learning both German and Italian in school . He graduated from school in 1932 and had to do his national service in the Italian Army and served in Abyssinia in the Second Italo - Abyssinian War in 1935 , until he was released from the Italian Army in 1937 . World War II . During World War II Hermann Maringgele volunteered to join the Waffen SS in 1940 . After completing basic training he was posted to the 1st SS Cavalry Regiment , which was part of the SS Cavalry Brigade , under the command of Hermann Fegelein . Maringgele was then in action as a part of Operation Barbarossa , the German invasion of the Soviet Union , and was awarded his first combat award , the Iron Cross 2nd class , in December , 1941 . In 1942 , the 1st SS Cavalry Regiment was located in the Wjasma Rzhev sector in front of Moscow and suffered some heavy losses . Maringgele was again awarded for bravery with the General Assault Badge and the Iron Cross 1st class in June , 1942 . He was seriously wounded in August , 1942 , which required his evacuation from combat for treatment in hospital . On his return to active service he was posted as a platoon commander in the 2nd Squadron , 15th SS Cavalry Regiment , ( formed by renaming the 1st SS Cavalry Regiment ) , which was part of the new 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer . In 1943 , Maringgele took part in the Battle of Kharkov and in 1944 the fighting withdrawal from the Ukraine and Romania into Hungary . During the winter of 1944 , Maringgele along with the rest of the Division fought in the Battle of Budapest , where he was awarded the Close Combat Clasp in Silver , for 25 battles of hand to hand combat , leading 47 successful assault operations in ferocious street fighting . He was awarded the German Cross in Gold on the 28 January 1945 for his achievements during the fighting for Budapest and by the 8 February had qualified for the Close Combat Clasp in Gold , with 50 battles of hand to hand combat . He would reach an unprecedented 84 battles by the end of the siege . In an attempt to escape the encirclement of Budapest , Maringgele then led a Kampfgruppe out and with sixty men managed to reach the new German front line . Almost immediately after reaching the German line , Maringgele and Obersturmführer ( First Lieutenant ) Joachim Boosfeld were ordered to report to Berlin . There , they were both decorated with the Knight ' s Cross and the Close Combat Clasp in Gold by Adolf Hitler in person . Hermann Maringgele was also promoted to Untersturmführer and given command of the SS Cavalry reserve Battalion . At the end of the war , he was captured by the Americans , and became a prisoner of war . Post war . After being released from captivity he returned to his family and set up home in Solingen , where he lived until his death on the 21 July 2000 .