Siegfried Brosow
Encyclopedia
Siegfried Brosow was a Sturmbannführer
(Storm Unit Leader/Major), 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.
Siegfried Brosow joined the SS-VT(auxiliary) in 1937 and was issued the SS service number SS 353059.
He was selected to be an officer and sent to the SS-Junkerschule at Brunswick
from 1939 to 1940, while he was at the school he joined the NSDAP in December 1939 being given the party number NSDAP-Nr: 7 145 966.
During the Battle of France
Untersturmführer (Storm Leader/Second Lieutenatnt) Brosow was awarded the Iron Cross
2nd class for bravery and the Iron Cross 1st class, during the first assault on Moscow
and was promoted to Obersturmführer
(Senior Storm Leader/First Lieutenant) on 30 January 1942.
He returned to the Das Reich
Pionier battalion in January 1943 as the commander of the 1st Company, until he became the Ic
on the Divisional staff in October 1943.
During the rebuilding of Das Reich in 1944 he became the temporary Pionier Battalion Commander and assumed full command during the Normandy Campaign. He led the Battalion until February 1945 when he was reassigned to the SS-Pionierschule as the commander of training and remained here until captured by the Russians in May 1945.
Siegfried Brosow remained in Russian captivity until October 1955.
Upon his release he became a school teacher.
Siegfried Brasow died on the 18 November 2008.
(Captain) Brosow was ordered to establish unit-boundary security positions in the reserve sector between the SS-Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion Das Reich
and the 344th Grenadier Regiment. This area signified the southwesterly height 188, just forward of a small wooded area north of Kraschantschen. This strategic point along the front had to be held, at all costs, against any Soviet penetrations.
Heavy Russian artillery and mortar fire was directed against the German strategic point and the remaining earthworks that lay 500 meters to the north. Once the barrages lifted, but with added strong support from tanks, the Russian infantry assaulted the German Division's lines from positions near Perekop
. While the SS Reconnaissance Battalion had successfully knocked out 45 T-34
tanks and stopped the assault on the right, Russian infantry managed to breach the German lines in the area of the III. Battalion, 344th Grenadiers. Infiltrating the German trench system and moving 1200 meters forward, two Russian companies launched an attack against the reserve sector. The Russians were quickly tied down by the defending 1st Pionier Company, but tried again and again to gain ground along the street and tree line. Each time they were turned back.
Recognizing the immediate danger, regardless of his weak security reserve, Hauptsturmführer Brosow led a counterattack into the Russian flanks. With 45 men of the 1st Pionier Company, Brosow infiltrated the Russian occupied trenches under heavy fire. Close combat with submachine pistols and hand grenades ensued as they struggled to reclaim their ground, meter upon meter. After 700 meters and under Russian artillery fire, heavy German casualties and growing enemy resistance ground the German attack to a halt. Contact with their right flank could not be established. That night, Brosow and his men recaptured the remaining ground during a sweeping night-assault with flamethrowers. The German attack completely routed those Russian units that had breached the German lines, to include two Soviet battalions that were staging for an attack. Siegfried Brosow and his men not only ejected the Russian presence within the German lines, but they also removed the Russian threat of splitting the divisional forward positions of Das Reich in two. The Russians were denied use of the main road that led to the only bridge over the Worskla river.
For this action Brosow was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 13 November 1944.
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...
(Storm Unit Leader/Major), 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 during World War II.
Siegfried Brosow joined the SS-VT(auxiliary) in 1937 and was issued the SS service number SS 353059.
He was selected to be an officer and sent to the SS-Junkerschule at Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
from 1939 to 1940, while he was at the school he joined the NSDAP in December 1939 being given the party number NSDAP-Nr: 7 145 966.
During the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
Untersturmführer (Storm Leader/Second Lieutenatnt) Brosow 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....
2nd class for bravery and the Iron Cross 1st class, during the first assault on Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and was promoted to Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the SS and also as a rank of the SA. Translated as “Senior Assault Leader”, the rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung and the need for an additional rank in...
(Senior Storm Leader/First Lieutenant) on 30 January 1942.
He returned to the Das Reich
Das Reich
Das Reich is the name of:* a German SS-division, see 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich* a national socialist newspaper, see Das Reich * the main work of German right-wing intellectual Friedrich Hielscher...
Pionier battalion in January 1943 as the commander of the 1st Company, until he became the Ic
Ic
IC, ic, or i.c. may stand for:In computing and technology:* .ic.gov, a second-level domain name administered by the US Government for members of the intelligence community* Integrated circuit* Initial condition...
on the Divisional staff in October 1943.
During the rebuilding of Das Reich in 1944 he became the temporary Pionier Battalion Commander and assumed full command during the Normandy Campaign. He led the Battalion until February 1945 when he was reassigned to the SS-Pionierschule as the commander of training and remained here until captured by the Russians in May 1945.
Siegfried Brosow remained in Russian captivity until October 1955.
Upon his release he became a school teacher.
Siegfried Brasow died on the 18 November 2008.
Knight's Cross
On 13 September 1943, HauptsturmführerHauptsturmführer
Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. The rank of Hauptsturmführer was a mid-grade company level officer and was the equivalent of a Captain in the German Army and also the equivalent of captain in foreign armies...
(Captain) Brosow was ordered to establish unit-boundary security positions in the reserve sector between the SS-Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion Das Reich
Das Reich
Das Reich is the name of:* a German SS-division, see 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich* a national socialist newspaper, see Das Reich * the main work of German right-wing intellectual Friedrich Hielscher...
and the 344th Grenadier Regiment. This area signified the southwesterly height 188, just forward of a small wooded area north of Kraschantschen. This strategic point along the front had to be held, at all costs, against any Soviet penetrations.
Heavy Russian artillery and mortar fire was directed against the German strategic point and the remaining earthworks that lay 500 meters to the north. Once the barrages lifted, but with added strong support from tanks, the Russian infantry assaulted the German Division's lines from positions near Perekop
Perekop
Perekop is a village located at the Perekop Isthmus connecting Crimean peninsula to the Ukrainian mainland. It is known for the Fortress Or Qapi that served as the gateway to Crimea...
. While the SS Reconnaissance Battalion had successfully knocked out 45 T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
tanks and stopped the assault on the right, Russian infantry managed to breach the German lines in the area of the III. Battalion, 344th Grenadiers. Infiltrating the German trench system and moving 1200 meters forward, two Russian companies launched an attack against the reserve sector. The Russians were quickly tied down by the defending 1st Pionier Company, but tried again and again to gain ground along the street and tree line. Each time they were turned back.
Recognizing the immediate danger, regardless of his weak security reserve, Hauptsturmführer Brosow led a counterattack into the Russian flanks. With 45 men of the 1st Pionier Company, Brosow infiltrated the Russian occupied trenches under heavy fire. Close combat with submachine pistols and hand grenades ensued as they struggled to reclaim their ground, meter upon meter. After 700 meters and under Russian artillery fire, heavy German casualties and growing enemy resistance ground the German attack to a halt. Contact with their right flank could not be established. That night, Brosow and his men recaptured the remaining ground during a sweeping night-assault with flamethrowers. The German attack completely routed those Russian units that had breached the German lines, to include two Soviet battalions that were staging for an attack. Siegfried Brosow and his men not only ejected the Russian presence within the German lines, but they also removed the Russian threat of splitting the divisional forward positions of Das Reich in two. The Russians were denied use of the main road that led to the only bridge over the Worskla river.
For this action Brosow was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 13 November 1944.