Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Oberleutnant der Reserve (1st Lieutenant of Reserves)

Unit:

Kompaniechef, Kampfgruppe des Sonderkommando, Abwehr, Oberkommando der Wehrmacht

Awarded on:

January 15th, 1943

From August to December 1942, Oberleutnant Lange was part of a special Brandenburger operation (Operation “Schamil”) deep behind Soviet lines. In this time he operated in the western region of Chechnya/Ingushetia, gathering valuable intelligence on a variety of factors such as Soviet troop movements, geography and the civilian dispositions. A particularly important task was his investigations into the possibility of collaboration with the local population, who were not exactly predisposed to rule by the USSR. However the frontline situation at the start of 1943 rendered his mission irrelevant, and thus Lange and his small team were forced to make their way back to German lines. On the 10.01.1943, after a trek of 550 km, the unit made contact with the German 50. Infanterie-Division.

For his success in completing his assigned intelligence gathering objectives, Lange would be decorated with the Knight’s Cross.