German Forces

Greatest tanker of them all.

Feldwebel Kurt Knispel , 12th Panzer Division and Schwere Panzer Abteilung 503, 168 confirmed "kills" (perhaps as many as 200 in actuality). Knispel never made officer and, although he was awarded the German Cross in Gold, never received the Knight's Cross (although he was recommended for it four times). This anomaly (for such it certainly was) may have been a result of Knispel's somewhat eccentric approach to his profession. If Wittmann was a natural born killer with nerves of steel (if, indeed, he had nerves at all), and Carius was something of an engineer/scientist, Knispel seems to have been more of the artist-as-tank ace, and the bohemian attitude associated with this, perhaps unfortunately, seems to have spilled over into his life when not behind the cannon. He seems to have been involved in numerous scrapes (involving, for example, the purloining of wine from the officers' mess, and other such naughtiness) that would undoubtedly have seen him in serious difficulties with the Military Police had he not been such an effective tanker. In any event, and for whatever reason, his achievements did not gain proper recognition on the part of his superiors. Kurt Knispel was killed in action, commanding a Tiger II, on 28 April, 1945, aged just 23. Best regards, JR.