Scharnagel, Hermann

Date of birth:: May 26th, 1914 (Dischingen/Baden-Würtemberg, Germany)
Date of death:: May 8th, 1944 (Sevastopol, Ukrain)
Nationality:: German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

Biography

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Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Hauptmann (Captain)
Unit:: Kommandeur Pionier-Bataillon 173
Awarded on:: October 6th, 1943

On the night of the 09./10.10.1943 the Soviets landed in the harbour of Novorossiysk with considerable forces, seizing a beachhead. The Germans quickly assembled a group of forces (including Pionier-Bataillon 173) and set out to first contain the landing and then eliminate this. During the battle Hauptmann Scharnagel and his Pioniers particularly distinguished themselves by recapturing a portion of the harbour in a counterattack and then holding it for 5 days against ceaseless Soviet assaults. For this he would be awarded the Knight’s Cross.

Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Major
Unit:: Pi.Btl.173 p.m.
Awarded on:: September 30th, 1944

Awarded for his actions during the German retreat from the Perekop isthmus to the fortress of Sevastopol in early 1944.

Sources

Photo 1: Known to STIWOT
- SCHERZER, VEIT, Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939-1945, VDM Heinz Nickel, Zweibrücken, 2015.