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| Kepplinger as SS-Sturmbannführer and commander in Normandy |
The Austrian SS-Hauptscharführer Ludwig Kepplinger was the first NCO in the Waffen-SS to be awarded the Knight's Cross. On May 10 1940 Kepplinger was part of a 18 man unit of SS-Standarte Der Führer that was given the task of capturing the Dutch fort of Westervoort and an important rail and road bridge across the IJssel river near Arnhem. Finding the bridge that was his primary objective blown, he and his men stormed over the tangled remains and attacked the enemy positions on the opposite bank. Kepplinger and two other SS men managed to reach the other side of the bridge and attacked the enemy bunker with machine pistols and hand grenades. Part of Kepplinger's Knight's Cross recommendation reads as follows
…“With only two men Kepplinger clambered over the destroyed Ijssel bridge with the aim of taking possession of the village of Westervoort, which was bristling with MGs... During the crossing of the river Kepplinger and his two men came under strong fire. Even though the probability of this operation's success was considerably small, maybe impossible, Kepplinger was able to enter the village in a terrific charge by using every bit of available cover. Then a tough battle began between the 90-man garrison and the three German troops. Kepplinger was able to force the surrender of one part of Westervoort after another. This was only possible by a ruthless disregard of his own life... At 10:00 the village of Westervoort was in the hands of the three SS men. The soldiers of the village, heavily fortified with MGs, had previously held a position that rendered a crossing of the 100 metre wide Ijssel essentially impossible. Now they laid down their arms before a force that was laughably inferior in numbers and equipment. It should be noted that the German artillery had neither conducted a preparatory barrage nor supported the attack of the three SS men... An attack of the Bataillon across the Ijssel without control of Westervoort would likely have resulted in a great many soldiers losing their lives... In the following battles, which saw the Grebbe position reached, Kepplinger once again distinguished himself in an outstanding way as a Zugführer. Wounded several times, Kepplinger made the choice to remain on the battlefield and once again stormed at the head of his Zug...“ Kepplinger was shot once in the hand, twice in the upper thigh and twice in the lower abdomen during the attacks on Dutch bunkers and fortified positions. After recovering from his wounds he was given command of the 10.Kompanie of SS-Regiment Westland of SS-Division Wiking. Kepplinger subsequently rose to the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer and commanded SS-Panzer-Abteilung 17 of 17.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen during the
Normandy Invasion in 1944. On August 6 1944 the Knight's Cross holder Kepplinger was ambushed and murdered by French partisans in Villiers-Charlemagne in Normandy. His body was found 35 years later. Top image: SS medics and grenadiers of SS-Standarte Der Führer at the IJssel bridge at Westervoort. The photo was taken just after Kepplinger's capture of Westervoort on May 10 1940. The German ambulance to the right is a Phänomen Granit 25 H (Kfz.31). Credit: Stadtarchiv Emmerich am Rhein. FU. Second image from top: SS-Commander Paul Hausser presenting the Knight's Cross to the then SS-Untersturmführer Kepplinger on September 4 1940. Credit: OTL Marwan. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Third still from top: Kepplinger as SS-Hauptsturmführer at SS-Junkerschule
Bad Tölz. Bottom still: Kepplinger as SS-Sturmbannführer and commander of SS-Panzer-Abteilung 17 of Götz von Berlichingen on a Sd.Kfz. 251 armored vehicle in Normandy in June 1944. Stills from Die Deutsche Wochenschau.
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