- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Oberfeldwebel der Reserve (Warrant Officer of Reserves)
- Unit:
- Zugführer 5. / Infanterie-Regiment 124
- Awarded on:
- October 15th, 1942
The following wartime excerpt describes why Merten received the Knight’s Cross…
“Oberfeldwebel Peter Merten… received the Knight’s Cross on the 15.10.1942 while serving as a Zugführer in an Infanterie-Regiment. In the area around Rzhev he led a handful of infantrymen in an immediate counterattack that brought a Bolshevik attack to a halt. Then, although he was himself twice wounded, he decided to continue storming ahead. In doing so he definitively crushed the enemy attack.”