Alfred Schneidereit

Alfred Schneidereit

Alfred Schneidereit
Born 29 October 1919
Insterburg, East Prussia
Died 22 February 1999 (aged 79)
Nördlingen
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch Waffen SS
Years of service 1939–45
Rank Untersturmführer
Unit 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
Battles/wars Second World War
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Iron Cross 1st Class
Iron Cross 2nd Class
Infantry Assault Badge
Close Combat Clasp
Wound Badge

Alfred Schneidereit (29 October 1919 – 22 February 1999) was an Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant) in the Waffen SS who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

He was born on the 29 October 1919 at Insterburg in East Prussia. On the 15 November 1939, he joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe and was posted to the 18th Company of Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Regiment.[1]

He was attached to the Guard Battalion in Berlin and did not see active service in the Polish Campaign or the Battle of France.[1]

Then in 1940 he was posted to the 8th Company LSSAH in time for the Balkans Campaign. After the Balkans the LSSAH was moved to the east for Operation Barbarossa where Schneidereit was involved in the battles at Lutsk, Kherson, Taganrog and Rostov. In 1942 - 1943 the Division was sent to France to refit and Schneidereit now in the 8th Company, II./1st SS-Panzer Grenadier Regiment, returned to the Eastern Front to participate in the Third Battle of Kharkov, where Schneidereit was awarded the Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze.[2]

For his part in Operation Citadel he was awarded the Close Combat Clasp in Bronze and the Wound Badge in Black.[2]

In November 1943 Schneidereit's Division was returned to the Eastern Front for the Battle of Kursk where he was wounded twice more and was awarded the Iron Cross 1st class and the Knight's Cross from Adolf Hitler. Schneidereit, in command of a Panzerschreck anti-tank weapon knocked out five T34 tanks and two personnel carriers and also commanded a counterattack against Russian Infantry that was threatening to overrun his company's position.[3]

Schneidereit was also promoted to Scharführer (Staff Sergeant) for bravery in the face of the enemy, and posted to the officer training school at Bad Tölz, which he graduated from in October 1944 as a senior officer candidate (SS-Standartenoberjunker). In January 1945, he was promoted to SS-Untersturmführer (Second Lieutenant) and from April - May 1945, was involved in operations east of Berlin as a company commander within the replacement battalion LSSAH. Once again he was wounded and surrendered to the Russians on 12 May 1945.[2]

Awards

References

Citations
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Infantry Aces By Franz Kurowski p.307
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "fronfkjemper".
  3. ↑ Infantry Aces By Franz Kurowski pp.339 - 342
  4. ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 677.
Bibliography
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Krätschmer, Ernst-Günther (1999). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Waffen-SS [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Waffen-SS]. Coburg, Germany: Nation Europa Verlag. ISBN 978-3-920677-43-9.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.