Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

January 30th, 1941

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

October 20th, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Hauptmann (Captain)

Unit:

I. / Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25

Awarded on:

January 27th, 1945

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Hauptmann (Captain)

Unit:

Führer Kampfgruppe / 12.Panzer-Division / 16.Armee / Heeresgruppe Kurland

Awarded on:

March 28th, 1945

The following article, taken from the Feldzeitung, Nachrichtenblatt einer Armee im Osten (dated 11.04.1945), describes why Gauss was awarded the Knight’s Cross…

“The Führer has awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross to Hauptmann Jürgen Gauss, born in Stettin, leader of an armoured Kampfgruppe in a Pomeranian Panzer-Division:

During the last days of the Fifth Battle of Courland the Russians achieved a deep penetration near Frauenburg with strong tank/infantry forces, and threatened an important railway line. Two motorized enemy battalions pushed forward into a patch of forest with about 15 AFVs, and another 30-40 enemy tanks occupied a different forest.

Thus Hauptmann Gauss commenced a counterattack with his numerically inferior Kampfgruppe. He smashed the foremost enemy armoured spearheads, destroyed the bulk of the escorting infantry, drove far beyond the ordered objective and cleared a second Soviet position in a swift attack, meaning that a village captured by the enemy as well as the edge of a forest was retaken. During this bold strike the Russians sustained bloody losses, which included 17 tanks, 4 anti-tank guns and numerous light infantry weapons destroyed. This was achieved with minimal friendly armour losses.

These heavy losses forced the enemy to suspend their breakthrough attempts here.”

Submitted on March 17th 1945.
Preliminary document and decoration on March 30th 1945 to Heeresgruppe Kurland.