Simon Grascher
Encyclopedia
Simon Grascher 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.
Simon Grascher was born in Klagenfurt
Austria
on the 18 December 1920.
He volunteered to join the SS and was posted to the Das Reich, he was promoted to Unterscharführer
and made a platoon commander in the 9th Company, SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Der Führer.
He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class in the Battles around Moscow
and in 1943 he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st class.
He was awarded the Knight's Cross posthumously in July 1943, when his platoon attacked a strong Russian
position near Belgorod
. His unit was under heavy fire from Infantry weapons, mortars and anti tank guns which eventually defeated the German assault with the assistance of two T-34
Tanks.
Grascher despite the heavy fire destroyed the two tanks the first with an anti tank charge and the second with a hand grenade
He then took over command of the company and led another attack which achieved all there targets, but lead to the death of Graascher.
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 during World War II.
Simon Grascher was born in Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
on the 18 December 1920.
He volunteered to join the SS and was posted to the Das Reich, he was promoted to 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 made a platoon commander in the 9th Company, SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment Der Führer.
He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class in the Battles around 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 in 1943 he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st class.
He was awarded the Knight's Cross posthumously in July 1943, when his platoon attacked a strong Russian
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
position near Belgorod
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
. His unit was under heavy fire from Infantry weapons, mortars and anti tank guns which eventually defeated the German assault with the assistance of two 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.
Grascher despite the heavy fire destroyed the two tanks the first with an anti tank charge and the second with a hand grenade
He then took over command of the company and led another attack which achieved all there targets, but lead to the death of Graascher.