Emil Dürr
Encyclopedia
Emil Dürr was a Unterscharführer
in the Waffen SS during World War II
who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
during World War II
.
Emil Dürr was born on the 1 June 1920, in Mühlacker
. During World War II he volunteered to join the Waffen SS and was posted to the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend which was formed in 1943.
Located in France
during the Normandy Invasion the Division was moved to the front near Caen
, Dürr by now a Unterscharführer
and Assault gun commander in the 4th (Heavy) Company, 26th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment.
He was awarded the Iron Cross
II class on the 23 June and the Iron Cross I class the next day on the 24 June.
For almost three hours Dürr and the 26th Panzergrenadiers had been subjected to a naval bombardment salvo after salvo landing in the line of main defense outside the village of Saint Manvieu
and on the village itself. They had been awaiting a major offensive on the Carpiquet
airfield and the Orne river
.
When the gunfire stopped they observed Sherman tanks advancing onto their location. They broke through the positions and overran St. Manvieu and surrounded the Battalion command post in the park. They engaged the tank force with mortar
fire and some of the tanks turned away, assuming that the forces in the park were much stronger and did not attempt to break through. Then a flamethrower tank set up at the entrance to the park, dominating the command post, and able to harass any movement. “That tank has to go”, the commander ordered.
Unterscharführer Dürr had heard the order, he picked up a Panzerfaust
and went out to scout the situation. It was difficult to get close to the tank as it was sitting in a position that dominated the terrain on all three sides. Unterscharführer Dürr jumped across the inner wall of the yard and ran straight at the tank and opened fire with the Panzerfaust which did not pierce the tanks armour. Dürr was wounded in the chest, but he ran back along the path he had come, picked up another Panzerfaust and ran up to the tank a second time. This time, since the distance was unfavorable, he aimed at the tracks. But again, Dürr was hit by machine gun fire. Crawling, he worked his way back and spotted a magnetic charge. For a third time, weak from his wounds, he jumped across the wall and ran, towards the tank. Paying no attention to the bullets he attached the charge to the tank and turned away when he heard a rumbling sound behind him as the charge dropped to the ground, with no regard for his own safety he picked up the charge and held it against the tank. When it exploded he fell to the ground paralyzed and wounded now in the legs.
He was taken to rest in the command post and died four hours later.
Emil Dürr was awarded a posthumous Knight's Cross in August 1944, and entered on the Honour Roll
in September 1944.
Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the Schutzstaffel between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives...
in the Waffen SS during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Emil Dürr was born on the 1 June 1920, in Mühlacker
Mühlacker
Mühlacker is a town in the eastern part of the Enz district in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Mühlacker station has direct rail connections with Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, Pforzheim and the Northern Black Forest....
. During World War II he volunteered to join the Waffen SS and was posted to the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend which was formed in 1943.
Located in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during the Normandy Invasion the Division was moved to the front near Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
, Dürr by now a Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer
Unterscharführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party used by the Schutzstaffel between 1934 and 1945. The SS rank was created after the Night of the Long Knives...
and Assault gun commander in the 4th (Heavy) Company, 26th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment.
He was awarded the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
II class on the 23 June and the Iron Cross I class the next day on the 24 June.
Knight's Cross
The Knight's Cross was for the action on the 26 June 1944.For almost three hours Dürr and the 26th Panzergrenadiers had been subjected to a naval bombardment salvo after salvo landing in the line of main defense outside the village of Saint Manvieu
Saint-Manvieu-Norrey
Saint-Manvieu-Norrey is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-History:The commune was formed in 1972, with the merger of the two former communes of Norrey-en-Bessin and Saint-Manvieu.-Demographics:...
and on the village itself. They had been awaiting a major offensive on the Carpiquet
Carpiquet
Carpiquet is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France. Caen – Carpiquet Airport is located in Carpiquet.-Geography:Carpiquet is on the western side of the Caen metropolitan area...
airfield and the Orne river
Orne River
The Orne is a river in Normandy, within northwestern France. It discharges into the English Channel at the port of Ouistreham. Its source is in Aunou-sur-Orne, east of Sées...
.
When the gunfire stopped they observed Sherman tanks advancing onto their location. They broke through the positions and overran St. Manvieu and surrounded the Battalion command post in the park. They engaged the tank force with mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
fire and some of the tanks turned away, assuming that the forces in the park were much stronger and did not attempt to break through. Then a flamethrower tank set up at the entrance to the park, dominating the command post, and able to harass any movement. “That tank has to go”, the commander ordered.
Unterscharführer Dürr had heard the order, he picked up a Panzerfaust
Panzerfaust
The Panzerfaust was an inexpensive, recoilless German anti-tank weapon of World War II. It consisted of a small, disposable preloaded launch tube firing a high explosive anti-tank warhead, operated by a single soldier...
and went out to scout the situation. It was difficult to get close to the tank as it was sitting in a position that dominated the terrain on all three sides. Unterscharführer Dürr jumped across the inner wall of the yard and ran straight at the tank and opened fire with the Panzerfaust which did not pierce the tanks armour. Dürr was wounded in the chest, but he ran back along the path he had come, picked up another Panzerfaust and ran up to the tank a second time. This time, since the distance was unfavorable, he aimed at the tracks. But again, Dürr was hit by machine gun fire. Crawling, he worked his way back and spotted a magnetic charge. For a third time, weak from his wounds, he jumped across the wall and ran, towards the tank. Paying no attention to the bullets he attached the charge to the tank and turned away when he heard a rumbling sound behind him as the charge dropped to the ground, with no regard for his own safety he picked up the charge and held it against the tank. When it exploded he fell to the ground paralyzed and wounded now in the legs.
He was taken to rest in the command post and died four hours later.
Emil Dürr was awarded a posthumous Knight's Cross in August 1944, and entered on the Honour Roll
Honour Roll Clasp of the Army
The Honour Roll Clasp of the Army or Ehrenblatt des Heeres was a Decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. The total number awarded was 4,556. -History:...
in September 1944.
Further reading
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
- Mitcham, Jr.Samuel, Retreat to the Reich, Stackpole books 2007. ISBN 0-8117-3384-X
- Henschler Henri & Fay Will, Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS, 1943-45 Stackpole Books, 2003. ISBN 0-8117-2905-2
- Mitcham Samuel, The German Defeat in the East, 1944-45,Stackpole Books, 2007. ISBN 0-8117-3371-8
- Meyer Hubert, The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division, Stackpole Books, 2005. ISBN 0-8117-3198-7
- Reynolds, Michael (1997). Steel Inferno: I SS Panzer Corps in Normandy. Spellmount. ISBN 1-873376-90-1