Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds

Date Instituted:

September 28th, 1941

Awarded To:

Officers and men of all ranks within any branch of the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS or the auxiliary service organizations.

Required Qualifications*:

In general:

The previous award of the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords, and
Continued performance of outstanding actions of combat bravery above and beyond the call of duty.

For the Luftwaffe:

The previous award of the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords, and
Continued accumulation of points, 1 point for downing a single-engine aircraft, 2 points for a twin-engine aircraft and 3 points for a four-engine aircraft. All points werex2 at night. This total was continuously raised as the war went on.

For the Kriegsmarine:

The previous award of the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords, and
Continued accumulation of tons of shipping sunk for Uboots, and/or
Continued performance of outstanding actions of combat bravery above and beyond the call of duty.

*Criteria often changed throughout the war

First Awarded:

July 15th, 1941 – to Werner Mölders

Number Awarded:

27 – Distribution Statistics of the Knights Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds | Complete listing of Diamond Holders

Grades/Variations:

During the time of the Third Reich, the range of categories of the Iron Cross were as follows:

The Iron Cross
The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross
The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross

The various grades of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross specifically are discussed within separate entries due to the great importance of each grade. The grades of the Knight’s Cross were as follows:

Knight’s Cross
Knight’s Cross w. Oakleaves
Knight’s Cross w. Oakleave, Swords
Knight’s Cross w. Oakleaves, Swords, Diamonds
K.Cross w. Golden Oakleaves, Swords, Diamonds

Method of Wear:

The Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds was worn in the same manner as the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords, the only difference being the addition of a set inlaid diamonds in the oak leave and sword cluster above the Knight’s Cross itself.

Notes:

The Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds was the next higher grade of the Knight’s Cross above the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords. It was the highest award presented to more than one person in the Third Reich, and it was reserved for the most highly decorated and heroic figures in the German Wehrmacht. This grade of the RK, like the one previous to it, was instituted after the first award of it had actually been presented. Of the 27 holders of this award, none are alive today and 9 (33%) were killed in action or are listed as missing in action during WWII.

Erwin Rommel Photo Wearing Knights Cross — **Erwin Rommel**
Knight’s Cross
with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds holder

Distribution Statistics of the Knights Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds 1941-1945*

Rank on day of award	Heer	Waffen-SS	Kriegsmarine	Luftwaffe	Totals
Generalfeldmarschall /Grossadmiral	2	–	–	1	3
Generaloberst /Generaladmiral	1	1	–	–	2
General d.Inf. usw. / Admiral	4	–	–	–	4
Generalleutnant / Vizeadmiral	1	1	–	1	3
Generalmajor / Konteradmiral	1	–	–	–	1
Oberst /Kapitän zur See	2	–	–	2	4
Oberstleutnant /Fregattenkapitän	–	–	–	1	1
Major / Korvettenkapitän	–	–	2	2	4
Hauptmann / Kapitänleutnant	–	–	–	2	2
Oberleutnant/ Oberleutnant zur See	–	–	–	3	3
Grand Totals	11	2	2	12	27
* These stats are only for the distribution of the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds, and not the many other grades of the RK

Holders:

Number of Holder	Rank	Name	Position at time of award	Date of Award
1.	Oberst	Werner Mölders	General der Jagdflieger	7.16.41
2.	Generalleutnant	Adolf Galland	General der Jagdflieger	1.28.42
3.	Oberst	Gordon M Gollob	General der Jagdflieger	8.30.42
4.	Hauptmann	Hans-Joachim Marseille	Staffelkapitän 3./Jagdgeschwader 27	9.4.42
5.	Oberst	Hermann Graf	Kommodore Jagdgeschwader 52	9.16.42
6.	Generalfeldmarschall	Erwin Rommel	OB Heeresgruppe B	3.11.42
7.	Kommodore	Wolfgang Lüth	Kommandant der Marineschule Flensburg-Mürwik	8.11.43
8.	Major	Walter Nowotny	Kommandeur Erprobungsgruppe “Nowotny”	10.20.43
9.	Generalmajor	Adalbert Schulz	Kommandeur 7.Panzer-Division	12.14.44
10.	Oberst	Hans-Ulrich Rudel	Kommodore Schlachtgeschwader 2 “Immelmann”	3.29.44
11.	Generalmajor	Hyazinth Graf von Strachwitz	Kommandeur einer Panzer-Kampfgruppe bei der Heeresgruppe Nord	4.15.44
12.	General der Waffen-SS	Herbert Otto Gille	Kommandierender General des IV. SS-Panzer-Korps	4.19.44
13.	Generaloberst	Hans Valentin Hube	OB 1.Panzer-Armee	4.20.44
14.	Generalfeldmarschall	Albert Kesselring	OB Süd	7.19.44
15.	Oberst	Helmut Lent	Kommodore Nachtjagdgeschwader 3	7.31.44
16.	Generaloberst der Waffen-SS	Josef “Sepp” Dietrich	OB 6.SS-Panzer-Armee	8.6.44
17.	Generalfeldmarschall	Walter Model	OB Heeresgruppe B	8.17.44
18.	Oberst	Erich Hartmann	Kommodore Jagdgeschwader 71 “Richthofen”	8.25.44
19.	General der Panzertruppen	Hermann Balck	OB Heeresgruppe G	8.31.44
20.	General der Fallschirmtruppen	Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke	Kommandant Festung Brest	9.20.44
21.	Major	Wolfgang Schnaufer	Kommodore Nachtjagdgeschwader 4	10.16.44
22.	Fregattenkapitän	Albrecht Brandi	Chef der Kleinkampfverbände Holland	11.24.44
23.	Generalfeldmarschall	Ferdinand Schörner	OB Heeresgruppe Mitte	1.1.45
24.	General der Panzertruppen	Hasso von Manteuffel	OB 3.Panzer-Armee	2.18.45
25.	Generalleutnant	Theodor Tolsdorf	Kommandierender General des LXXXII. Armee-Korps	3.18.45
26.	General der Panzertruppen	Dr. Karl Mauss	Kommandeur 7.Panzer-Division	4.15.45
27.	General der Panzertruppen	Dietrich von Saucken	OB Armeegruppe Ostpreussen	5.8.45

* Dates are listed as month.date.year