Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Rittmeister

Unit:

I. / Schützen-Regiment 33

Awarded on:

January 19th, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant-colonel)

Unit:

Kommandeur Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 113 / 1.Panzer-Division

Awarded on:

December 15th, 1943

Bradel’s Knight’s Cross recommendation reads as follows…

“On the 13.11.1943 Kampfgruppe Bradel (composed of his Pz.Gren.Rgt. 113, the II./Pz.A.R. 73 and elements of a Pz.Jäg.Kp.) had the mission of thrusting northwards out of the area north of Skwira and capturing Popelnja. As the Regiment set out out of Strokoff at 03:45 it transpired that Pawolotsch and Paripssy were both strongly occupied by the enemy. Oberstleutnant Bradel nevertheless decided to carry on through without worrying about this consequent flank threat from both sides. Under cover of darkness and the thick mist, he led his Kampfgruppe between the two enemy occupied villages with extreme skill and therefore managed to reach Kriwoje already at 08:30 without encountering significant enemy resistance.

From here the thrust continued to Kornin, and the Kampfgruppe encountered a strong enemy force on the southern edge of the village that was supported by tanks and artillery. At the same time the enemy also sent in large numbers of ground-attack planes. Despite this Oberstleutnant Bradel immediately attacked from the march and managed to break into the southern part of Kornin at the head of his foremost Bataillon without friendly Panzer support. The enemy was clearly surprised by this swift forward drive, and Kornin was already captured by 14:30 following a fierce urban battle. Thanks to Oberstleutnant Bradel’s skillful and determined leadership it was also possible to simultaneously force a bridgehead over the Irpen river, and this would later serve as a base for the continued northern advance by both the 1. Pz.Div. and the SS-Leibstandarte ‘Adolf Hitler’. This success can be attributed to the independently made decision to initially shift 6 km in a westerly direction before turning northeast and unhinging the main enemy defenses. This movement was not without risk, as the Kampfgruppe was required to move parallel to enemy defensive fire for 6 km.

During the offensive operation on the following day Oberstleutnant Bradel would once again show outstanding personal bravery alongside determined and resilient leadership. On the 14.11.1943 Bradel and his Kampfgruppe seized Sapadnja from a particularly bitterly defending enemy without regard for the enemy forces thrusting into the flank from the east that managed to sever the foremost Bataillon (along with the commander himself) from the bulk of the Kampfgruppe at Gnilez. Bradel thus had to strike out of Sapadnja towards the rear on the following day in order to open up the Sapadnja—Gnilez road. He and his Bataillon were all alone in Sapadnja for 12 hours, and he had to simultaneously fend off hostile attacks from the northwest. During the hard fighting near Gnilez 13 enemy tanks were destroyed without friendly Panzer support. By capturing Sapadnja Bradel won a decisive springboard from which to strike out against the Zhitomir—Kiev road.

At 12:30 on the 16.11.1943 he struck out from here towards the north and, after breaking through a strong enemy tank screen north of Shaferotowka, managed to already reach a point 2 km south of Korostyschew at 24:00. Although his troops had been in battle for days without any respite Bradel managed to rally his Kampfgruppe into launching another advance from here. And thus, despite the very bad road conditions in the swampy forest terrain, the main highway was reached in the eastern part of Korostyschew at 05:00 on the 17.11.1943. By 07:30 all of Korostyschew was captured despite the blown up river crossings over the Teterew. With this the enemy’s vital road link along the Zhitomir-Kiev highway was broken. This was the decisive precondition for the capture of Zhitomir. An enemy withdrawal along the road to Kiev was rendered impossible by the bold thrust of Kampfgruppe Bradel.

Bradel would go on to distinguish himself through his particularly bold and prudent leadership during the continued drive to Zhitomir. Driving from the east along the road to the city, he decided to pivot southwards from a point west of Wazkoff. The enemy had expected an advance along the road, and so this course of action meant that he was able to swiftly enter into the southeastern part of the city. This significantly supported the advance of the 7. Panzer-Division, which was thrusting into the city from the northeast. During this advance along the highway the Russians again tried to push in their forces between the elements of his Kampfgruppe from time to time. Undeterred by these new threats, Bradel continued his drive towards Zhitomir with his uncommitted units.

During all this time Oberstleutnant Bradel showed both outstanding personal bravery as well as determined and skillful leadership. Always present among the foremost elements, his unflagging energy was persistently able to inspire his troops to carry on despite the days of unbroken combat. In every situation he knew how to independently carry out his assigned missions. His exemplary readiness for duty and swift initiative played a major part in the decisive successes that led to the recapture of the highway and, by extension, the city of Zhitomir.”

Amongst the additional comments by the higher ups, the following note by Manstein is particularly illustrative of the significance of these successes due to the infrequency of such lengthy endorsements at the Heeresgruppe level…

“Oberstleutnant Bradel distinguished himself with his Kampfgruppe through his independent initiative and outstanding personal bravery during the offensive battle in the area west of Fastov in the time period 13.-19.11.1943, a battle which led to the destruction of strong elements of an enemy shock army and the recapture of Zhitomir. As seen in the recommendation justification, Oberleutnant Bradel did an outstanding job during the course of this battle despite being isolated on multiple occasions. He continued to exude bold daredevilry as well as firm dedication to his mission during the most difficult of battle crises, and by doing so he cleared the way for his Division through the enemy.

The preconditions for the award of the Knight’s Cross are completely fulfilled. I endorse the recommendation.”

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)