List of foreign recipients of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( German : " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " ) and its variants were the highest award in the military of the Third Reich during World War II . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross 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 . In total 43 individuals in the military of allies of the Third Reich were awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . Eight men were also honoured with the next higher grade the Oak Leaves to the Knight ' s Cross ( German : " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub " ) and one senior naval officer , Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto , with the Swords to the Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves ( German : " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern " ) . Among the recipients were eighteen Romanian , nine Italian , eight Hungarian , two Slovakian , two Japanese , two Spanish , two Finnish , and one Belgian . Background . The " Oberkommando der Wehrmacht " kept separate Knight ' s Cross lists , one for each of the 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 . Once the four lists of the Knight ' s Cross recipients were merged into one listing , the chronological order was abandoned and the list was converted to an alphabetical list of recipients . ' Foreign recipients ' were never integrated into this list and have been listed separately from the Wehrmacht recipients . The Wehrmacht also refrained from assigning a numbering scheme to the different lists of ' foreign recipients ' . Two principles were retained , the foreign Knights Cross recipients were ordered alphabetically and the recipients of the higher grades were ordered chronologically . 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 " ) and the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . As the war progressed , some of the recipients distinguished themselves further and a higher grade , the Oak Leaves to 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 and the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds . 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 , concluded the variants of the Knight ' s Cross . Recipients . The recipients of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross are initially ordered alphabetically whereas the recipients of the higher grades are initially ordered chronologically . The rank listed is the recipient ' s rank at the time the Knight ' s Cross or the Oak Leaves were awarded . Recipients of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords . The Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords is based on the enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 613 " of 28 September 1941 to reward those servicemen who had already been awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . Isoroku Yamamoto was the sole non - German combatant to be honoured with the Swords to the Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves . Recipients of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves . The Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves was based on the enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 849 " of 3 June 1940 . Recipients of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross is based on the enactment " Reichsgesetzblatt I S . 1573 " of 1 September 1939 " Verordnung über die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes " ( Regulation of the renewing of the Iron Cross ) .