Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

September 23rd, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

January 31st, 1943

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

September 16th, 1943

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

November 24th, 1943

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

December 9th, 1943

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

October 26th, 1944

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

November 3rd, 1944

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

November 21st, 1944

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Oberfähnrich

Unit:

Führer, 2. Kompanie, Panzer-Pionier-Bataillon 51, 23. Panzer-Division, Heer

Awarded on:

January 11th, 1945

On the 06.11.1944 the Panzer-Pionier-Bataillon 51 was deployed for defense on the left wing of the 23. Panzer-Division between points 193 and 157, north of Czegledberczel. Oberfähnrich Kleemann, positioned on the left wing of the Bataillon, had the task of covering an 800 metre sector with his 9 man strong Kompanie. More than anything he was to hold the commanding Hill 157 against all enemy attacks.

In the course of the morning Kleemann recognized enemy movements about 800 metres to the east, aimed in the direction of his right neighbour, and furthermore that it posed a great threat which only he was in a position to effectively combat. Since they were too far out Kleemann at once rallied 4 men and a 2-cm Flak from his right strongpoint and advanced 500 metres forward. From here he took the enemy columns of infantry, anti-tank guns and artillery under fire, keeping this up until the enemy troops had left their guns and vehicles in a panic and taken cover.

After consulting a map, Kleemann concluded that he had a very real chance of completely smashing the impending enemy attack given the current circumstances. He thus took the 5 men from his left strongpoint (thereby completely abandoning his frontline) and reached the point where the enemy had dug in. Using a sniper rifle he shot up the six-horse team of a heavy artillery cannon, blocking the way for the enemy vehicles behind it.

The effective flanking fire of Gruppe Kleemann, which created the impression of a much stronger force, compelled the enemy to attack Gruppe Kleemann with assault troops in company strength (supported by AT and mortar fire) a total of 3 times. These were however each held off with bloody losses.

After that the enemy launched an attack against Kleemann’s positions with two battalions, a total of 500-600 men, with support from heavy weapons. Kleemann and his men fought until the last round even after losing both machine-gunners (with Kleemann himself firing an MG thereafter), inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. However the overwhelming enemy pressure and the loss of the 2-cm Flak prevented Kleemann’s force from preventing the enemy from approaching to a distance of 20 metres. Even then however they did not yield, commencing a hand grenade duel until all of these were expended. He then fell back to his old line with his remaining 7 men, took up new ammunition and from here continued to defend against the enemy attacks.

After hours of hard fighting, during the afternoon Kleemann’s unit was down to a strength of just 4 men. Yet even now he still held off the attacking enemy. When the enemy attacked with a new battalion however the situation became critical. In response an armoured group was allotted to support Gruppe Kleemann, however Kleemann turned this down due to the multiple enemy Pak guns that were well-positioned and in range of his frontline. If the armoured group intervened they had a good chance of getting shot up. And so Kleemann continued to hold out alone with his troops. Following the onset of darkness the enemy tried one more futile attack, before finally giving up.

Gruppe Kleemann had thus prevented a breakthrough of strong enemy forces, inflicted heavy losses and held the critical Hill 157. In the sector of Gruppe Kleemann 93 enemy dead were counted, as well as a great number of horses, vehicles and weapons.

The outstanding performance of Kleemann’s force, despite being deployed without contact with friendly forces and the overwhelming enemy superiority, succeeded in large part due to the bravery and skill of Oberfähnrich Kleemann himself. They were ultimately able to prevent an enemy penetration which would have almost certainly led to dangerous consequences for the whole German frontline in the area. As a result Kleemann would be awarded the Knight’s Cross.