Bloch, Johann

Date of birth:: July 7th, 1915 (Schlechtenwegen/Hesse, Germany)
Date of death:: December 13th, 2004 (Herbstein OT-Schlechtenwegen/Hesse, Germany)
Nationality:: German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

Biography

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Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Oberfeldwebel (Warrant Officer)
Unit:: Kompanie-Truppen-Führer, 1. Kompanie, I. Bataillon, Grenadier-Regiment 44, 11. Infanterie-Division, Heer
Awarded on:: April 14th, 1945

At the start of the Fifth Battle of Courland, on the morning of the 15.02.1945, the Germans lost control of the important Hill 103.5. In response Grenadier-Regiment 44 was dispatched to the area for a counterattack. The Regiment’s 1. Kompanie managed to fight its way through knee deep snow and storm the hill, and thereafter it continued a fair ways past it into the hostile forest. The hill was subsequently held against determined Soviet efforts to recapture it.

Oberfeldwebel Bloch, the leader of the Kompanie HQ squad, was significantly involved in this success. He was subsequently awarded the Knight’s Cross in recognition of his actions here.