German Tank Ace - Kurt Knispel

[KG_Panzerschreck]

Kurt Knispel was born in 1922 in the former Sudetenland. He had a carefree childhood and grew up to be a broad shouldered lad of medium heigh, whose dark hair was always a little too long, something he would be chided for later in life.

After completing his apprenticeship in an automobile factory in 1940 Knispel applied to join the armored forces. Predestined by build and training, he was accepted immediately.

For his basic training Knispel went to the Panzer Replacement Training Battalion at Sagan in Lower Silesia. There, like all other budding soldiers, he had to learn to march and salute, then progressed to basic weapons training. This included learning to handle the Kar 98k rifle and P 38 pistol, how to throw hand grenades and how to operate the MG 34, later followed training on the Pz I, II & IV.

On 1 October 1940 he was transferred to the 3rd Company of the 29th Panzer Regiment, 12th Panzer Div. Knispel completed his training as a loader and gunner in a Pz IV, training lasted until 11 June 1941 and consisted of courses at Sagan and Putlos.

Knispel was gunner in Pz IV under Lt. Hellman at the time of Barbarossa, where he participated in the initial assault as part of Panzergruppe 3, LVII Army Corps (later LVII Panzer Corps) commanded by General Adolf Kuntzen. Knispel saw action from Yarzevo to the gates of Stalingrad, in the North around the Leningrad-Tikhvin area and also in the Caucasus under Mackensen.

Knispel returned to Putlos at the end of January 1943 and became familiar with the new Tiger tanks, at this time, Knispel was credited with 12 kills.

From Putlos, a group of men was sent to 500th Panzer Battalion at Paderborn. This group was led by Oberfeldwebel Fedensack and included Kurt Knispel, it was to become the 1st Company of the elite 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion, and fought at Kursk as flank cover to 7th PzDiv (Armee Abteilung Kempf). Knispel saw further action during the relief attack on the Cherkassy Pocket (a.k.a. Korsun Pocket), Vinnitsa, Jampol, Kamenets-Podolsk. The Company re-equipped with Tiger IIs and fought around Caen and the retreat from Normandy. From there back to the Russian front and action around Mezőtúr, Törökszentmiklós, Cegléd, Kecskemét, the Gran bridgehead, Gyula, Neutra, Bab Castle(In one action, Knispel reports 24 enemy hits on his Tiger II), Laa and finally Wostitz, where he was killed in action.

With 168 (all confirmed, possibly as high as 195) kills, Kurt Knispel was by far the most successful tank soldier of the Second World War. He was an exception in the German armored forces. He fought in virtually every type of tank as loader, gunner and commander. He was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class after destroying his fiftieth enemy tank and the Tank Assault Badge in Gold after far more than 100 tank battles. When Knispel had destroyed 126 enemy tanks (with another 20 unconfirmed kills) he was awarded the German Cross in Gold. He became the only non-commissioned officer of the German tank arm to be named in the Wehrmacht communique. As commander of a Tiger and then a King Tiger Knispel destroyed another 42 enemy tanks. This raised his total to 168 enemy tanks destroyed, making him by far the world's top "tank killer".

Although it was richly deserved, he was never awarded the Knight's Cross although he was recommended four times.

Source - "Panzer Aces II" by Franz Kurowski