Balthasar Woll
Balthasar Woll | |
|---|---|
| File:Bobby woll.jpg | |
| Nickname(s) | Bobby |
| Born | 1 September 1922 Wemmetsweiler, Germany |
| Died | 18 March 1996 (aged 73) Wemmetsweiler |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service |  Waffen SS |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Rank | Oberscharführer |
| Unit | 3rd SS Division Totenkopf 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler 101st SS Heavy Panzer Detachment |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Iron Cross 1st Class Iron Cross 2nd Class Eastern Front Medal Tank Destruction Badge Wound Badge in Black |
Balthasar "Bobby" Woll was an Oberscharführer in the Waffen SS who was also awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was born in Wemmetsweiler on 1 March 1922, (died 18 March 1996).[1]
After an apprenticeship as an electrician, he reported on 15 August 1941 as a volunteer for the Waffen SS. He was posted as a machine gunner to the 3rd Company, 1st SS Totenkopf Infantry Regiment. He was wounded during the fighting at the Demyansk Pocket and sent to hospital in Germany. While recovering from his wounds he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class and the Wound Badge in black, in July 1942.[1]
After his recovery he retrained as a tank gunner and at the end of 1942 posted to the 13th Heavy Tank Company, SS Panzer Regiment 1, 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler where he met his tank commander Michael Wittmann.[1]
By the time of Operation Citadel they were one of the best tank crews in the Division, and in September 1943 was awarded the Iron Cross 1st class, having destroyed 80 tanks and 107 anti tank guns.[1]
He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in January 1944 the 1st and only tank gunner to receive the award and in October 1944 promoted to Oberscharführer.[1]
When Wittmann was killed in Normandy in 1944, Woll was severely wounded and in a field hospital, but survived the war.
See also
- Waffen SS
- 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
- List of Knight's Cross holders 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
- 101 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
References
Further reading
- Panzer Aces By Franz Kurowski
- Michael Wittmann and the Waffen SS Tiger Commanders of the Leibstandarte By Patrick Agte
- Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS, 1943-45 By Will Fey, Henri Henschler
- Nietrug, Gerd (2004). Die Ritterkreuzträger des Saarlandes 1939 - 1945. Zweibrücken: VDM Nickel. ISBN 3-925480-93-5.