Help with KC-holder of 6.GD

[Gran Sasso]

Anybody out there who knows who this Leutnant (?) might be? This foto is in an album showing the retreat of the 6.GD - Gebirgs-Division - from north Norway in late 1944.
The caption underneath the foto reads: "Am 09.12.(1944) dankt der Führer dem Kommandeur mit dem Ritterkreuz". Thanks.

[Ian Jewison]

Not sure but around the time frame I can not find anyone with the correct rank except...

Oberleutnant Rudolf Uhl.
RK on 05.11.1944 as Leutnant u. Adjutant II./GebJägRgt 141 .

/Ian

[harmel]

6thMtn Div

Hi,it looks like Lt Rudolf Uhl,who won the
Kc on 5/11/44 as Adjutant 11 Bn/141 Geb Jager Regt
6th Mtn Div,I cannot see his Kreta cuffband on photo,
it could be when awarded the actual date in Dec.
Harmel

[Gran Sasso]

Thanks a lot to both of you! I had him in mind, but wanted to be sure. There is another award-ceremony in the album, this time with names:

[Simon O.]

Fantastic photos!

The date on the photo and him seemingly still being a leutnant makes sense as Uhl was promoted oberleutnant on the 15th Dec. with seniority backdated to 1st Oct. The man awarding the medal is Max Pemsel divisional commander who was also awarded his RK on the same date.


The thing that interests me the most is where the award ceremony actually took place. By this time the division was moving into defensive positions around the Norwegian\Finnish border, in the area Skibotn (Norway) Kilpisjärvi (Finland) after a 1000km move from it's positions on the Murmansk front.

The second group of 3 photos showing the award ceremony for Karl Ruef (Kommandeur of III./GJR143) and Max Ropp (a zugführer in the 11 Kp. of the same btl. and rgt.) could well have been taken on the date of their award, the 28th Oct.44, or perhaps a little later. Again Max Pemsel is the awarding officer. It should, with a spot of research, be relatively easy to identify exactly where the ceremony took place thanks to the top photo. At this time the rearguard of the division was still in contact with Soviet forces pushing Westwards into Norway.

The division received a total of 8 RK for actions during the 3 week long Soviet offensive of october '44 which saw the XIX Geb.Korps pushed out of the positions they had held for more than 3 years inside Russia, to the west of Murmansk along the Litsa river. It was significant in several ways, not least because it was the largest battle ever to have been fought inside the arctic circle. Around 100 000 men on the Soviet side against around 60 000 on the German.