- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
- Unit:
- Stoßtruppführer 7. / Infanterie-Regiment 124 / 72.Infanterie-Division
- Awarded on:
- June 13th, 1941
The following wartime excerpt describes why Droste would be awarded the Knight’s Cross…
“During the struggle to penetrate through the Metaxas Line Droste and his assault troop carried on beyond the ordered attack objective in an independent action that was carried out with a correct recognition of the combat situation. Droste’s outstanding personal bravery motivated his soldiers to give their best in the combat through the difficult, heavily fortified and toughly defended mountainous terrain on the northwestern slope of the Malianga. The local combat success of his assault troop and the elements that followed in his wake enabled the bulk of the Bataillon to break through the flank of the Malianga fortifications on the 07.-08.04.1941.”