Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Gefreiter (Lance Corporal)

Unit:

MG-Schütze 1./Grenadier-Regiment 755

Awarded on:

January 14th, 1945

On the night of 12-13.12.1944, during the British effort to break through to the Po valley before the end of the year, an offensive was launched against the German positions at Tossignano (near Bologna). In the hard nocturnal close combat which followed, the attacking British were thrown back four times. However, with strong fire support, they managed to break into the NW part of the city at dawn on the next day. During the following night they launched further probes which were repulsed. On the 14.12.1944 the British launched a new attack that got as far as the marketplace, following tough urban combat.

After the fall of his squad leader, Gefreiter Neumayr decided on his own initiative to storm a heavily fortified hostile building at the entrance to the city. Only in his fifth attempt at doing so was he able to enter the place with a few men. Following the hardest of close-quarter combat, during which Neumayr was wounded more than once, the occupying British soldiers finally gave up. 40 prisoners were taken, including a full battalion staff. This precipitated a chain reaction of events that saw the German recapture all lost positions in the city.

The strategically important city of Tossignano thus remained in German hands, and Neumayr was taken to the hospital in Verona to recover. For his actions here he would be decorated with the Iron Cross First Class and later the Knight’s Cross.