Matthäus Hetzenauer

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Matthäus Hetzenauer

Matthäus Hetzenauer (born December 23, 1924 in Brixen im Thale , Tyrol ; † October 3, 2004 ibid) was an Austrian sniper in World War II and had the rank of private . With 345 confirmed hits on target, he is considered the most successful sniper in the Wehrmacht .

Military career

From March 27, 1943 to July 1, 1943, Hetzenauer completed basic training as a medium grenade launcher for the mountain troops . The 19-year-old was trained as a sniper until July 16, 1944 at the high mountain training area "Seetaler Alpe" (in Styria). After completing this training, he joined the 3rd Mountain Division . His weapons were the carbine Mauser K98k with a six-fold magnification scope and the rifle 43 with a four-fold magnifying scope.

Hetzenauer suffered a head trauma on November 6, 1944 . For this wound he was awarded the Wound Badge in Black .

Matthäus Hetzenauer was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on April 17, 1945 . The reason for the award was formulated by the division commander Lieutenant General Paul Klatt as follows: Hetzenauer's successes as a sniper totaled “two powerful enemy companies incapacitated” - Hetzenauer acted “regardless of his own or enemy artillery fire or enemy attacks”. The proposal for the award was approved by the general of the mountain troops, Karl von Le Suire, and the general of the armored troops, Walther Nehring .

At the end of the war , Hetzenauer was taken prisoner by the Soviets , from which he was released on January 10, 1950.

Hetzenauer died on October 3, 2004 after a long illness.

Awards

  • Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
    • Class II - ( September 1, 1944 )
    • 1st class - ( November 25, 1944 )
  • Black Wound Badge (1939) - ( November 9, 1944 )
  • Infantry Assault Badge in Silver - ( November 13, 1944 )
  • Sniper badge in gold - ( December 3, 1944 ) (golden sniper eagle)
  • Melee clasp in gold (not confirmed!)
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross - ( April 17, 1945 ) as a private in the reserve and sniper of the 7th Company / Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 144 / 3rd Gebirgs-Division / XXXXIX. Mountain Army Corps / 1st Panzer Army / Army Group Center

literature

  • Interview by Hans Widhofner (1976) with the German snipers Hetzenauer, Allerberger and Wirnsberger , published in Troop Service , Issue 1967 Part I: pp. 109–113, Part II: pp. 224–229, Part III: pp. 297–299.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Brookesmith, p. 43 in Sniper-Training, Techniques and Weapons , London 2000, ISBN 3-613-02247-8 .
  2. ↑ Peter R. Senich, p. 113 in: The German Sniper - 1914-1945. Boulder, London and Melbourne 1982, ISBN 0-87364-223-6 .
  3. ^ Adrian Gilbert, p. 88 in: Sniper - The World of Combat Sniping, London 1994, ISBN 0-283-06165-0 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e Franz Thomas and Günter Wegmann (eds.): The knight's cross bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 - Part IV: The mountain troops. Volume 2: LZ, Biblio Verlag 1994, ISBN 3-7648-2430-1 ; P. 305ff.
personal data
SURNAME Hetzenauer, Matthäus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian sniper
DATE OF BIRTH December 23, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Brixen im Thale , Tyrol
DATE OF DEATH October 3, 2004
Place of death Brixen im Thale , Tyrol