Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

November 3rd, 1941

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

March 15th, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

May 5th, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

June 22nd, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Gefreiter (Lance Corporal)

Unit:

Gruppenführer 10. Kompanie, II. Bataillon, Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 98, 1. Gebirgs-Division, Heer

Awarded on:

July 20th, 1942

The following wartime excerpt describes why Doff would be awarded the Knight’s Cross…

“On the 17.05.1942 (the first day of the battle south of Kharkov) Gefreiter Doff took over command of part of the 8./Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 98 in an extremely critical situation. With his handful of comrades he achieved success at a decisive location through his outstanding bravery, and in doing so, significantly influenced the flow of combat for 2 Gebirgs-Jäger-Bataillonen.”

The following newspaper excerpt, dated 26.07.1942, provides further details concerning this action…

“After the heavy combat around N., as well as the loss of three Zugführer, the Kompanie commander was also wounded. The leader of the signals unit, Gefreiter Doff, crawled a distance of over 100 metres to reach the wounded Kompanie commander. He took out an enemy MG crew with machine-pistol shots and subsequently eliminated a Soviet mortar position. He then called up his signals unit along with 20 additional Jäger and gave them instructions. The heavily wounded commander was secured, and then the enemy counterthrust was successfully repelled under the direction of Gefreiter Doff.”