Leopold Schrems

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Leopold Schrems (born October 4, 1922 in Kirchberg near Mattighofen ( Austria ); † July 8, 2008 in Seekirchen am Wallersee ) was a soldier in the German Wehrmacht in World War II , most recently in the rank of corporal and bearer of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . He is one of the few knight cross bearers in the team stand.

Life

After attending school, Schrems was a farm worker until he was drafted into the Wehrmacht on October 3, 1941.

Second World War

  • October 3, 1941 to March 24, 1942: Recruit training at the 137 Mountain Infantry Regiment
  • March 25, 1942 to April 30, 1944: Soldier in the 9th / Mountain Infantry Regiment 85 ( 5th Mountain Division )
  • May 1 to July 14, 1944: Deployment in the headquarters company of the Mountain Infantry Regiment 85
  • July 15 to August 13, 1944: Group leader in the light mountain hunter column of the 85 mountain hunter regiment
  • August 14, 1944 to May 6, 1945: Group leader in the headquarters company of the 85 Mountain Infantry Regiment

Schrem's award of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross goes back to the destruction of three American tanks in close combat. In July 1944, Schrems and his unit were in Pignataro Maggiore ( Italy ). During the third casino battle, he defended a strategically important height with his 24 mountain troops against 25 advancing American tanks. The only available PaK gun (7.5 cm) failed after a few shots. While the majority of the American tanks waited in the background, two Allied tanks launched a first attack on the German positions in Schrems. Although not trained on a bazooka , Schrems managed to destroy a tank with the three bazookas available. The first shot missed the tank, the second only grazed the tank turret and the third and last shot finally penetrated the tank turret and set it on fire. Lying under heavy fire, crawling into another ditch to get to the bazookas that were still there, Schrems subsequently succeeded in shooting a second tank from a distance of fifteen meters unable to move. Its crew was able to get out of the burning vehicle to safety. Shortly thereafter, two more tanks intervened in the fighting, in the course of which Schrems was able to destroy the third tank, also with a bazooka. The surviving crew were then captured by Schrems and his men. The fourth armored car then turned to its waiting combat group, which then withdrew. Schrems was proposed by the 90th Panzer Grenadier Division as an entry for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the prevented attempt to break through at this point and named in the Wehrmacht report on May 27, 1944 together with Herbert Fries, who fought independently on Monte Cassino . On May 6, 1945, Schrems was taken prisoner by the US , from which he was released on August 1, 1945. After his release, Schrems was a farmer well into old age . He spent his twilight years in his home town of Salzburg .

Promotions

  • 1942: Private
  • 1943: Corporal

Awards

See also

literature

  • The knight's cross bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Volume II, letters L – Z
  • The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Volume VI "The Mountain Troops"

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Personal data of Leopold Schrems
  2. ↑ The reports of the High Command of the Wehrmacht . Volume 5, January 1, 1944 to May 9, 1945, Cologne 2004. ISBN 3-89340-063-X . P. 154.
  3. ↑ Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 190.
personal data
SURNAME Schrems, Leopold
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian soldier of the German Wehrmacht in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH October 4, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Kirchberg near Mattighofen , Austria
DATE OF DEATH July 8, 2008
Place of death Seekirchen am Wallersee