Fritz Vogt

Fritz Vogt (17 March 1918 – 3 April 1945) was a Sturmbannführer (Major) in the Waffen-SS during World War II who was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves.

Vogt volunteered for the SS in April 1935 and was posted to the Germania Regiment. In 1938 he was selected as an officer candidate and sent to the SS Officer school at Braunschweig. After passing the commanding officer training course 20 April 1939 he was posted to the SS Das Reich division as a platoon leader in the 2nd SS Reconnaissance Battalion. In September 1939 he took part in the Polish Campaign, and in 1940 the Battle of France. He was promoted to Obersturmführer (First Lieutenant) for his leadership and his units performance, which also resulted in his award of the Knight's Cross on the 4 September 1940. During Operation Marita in the Balkans, while commanding the 2nd Company in SS Reconnaissance Battalion 2, 2nd SS Division Das Reich, during Operation Barbarossa he caught typhoid and fell seriously ill. After recovering he was posted as a training officer to the SS Officer school's at Bad Tölz and Lauenburg, until May 1943 when he was promoted and sent to the 3rd SS Division Totenkopf, replacement Regiment.

At the end of October 1943, he took over command of the 1st Battalion, 23rd Panzer Grenadier Regiment Norge, 11th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nordland at Leningrad. His Battalion was forced to retreat to Narva, during the Soviet winter offensive suffering such heavy losses, that the Battalion was withdrawn to Germany to refit.

At the end of 1944 the new I./23rd Panzer Grenadier Regiment was relocated to Hungary to reinforce the 5th SS Panzergrenadier Division Wiking and in January 1945 Vogt was promoted to Sturmbannführer (Major) and distinguished himself during the tank battle at Pettend.

Death
In March 1945 he took over as the Commander of the 5th SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion. It was during this command that he was awarded the Oak leaves to the Knight's Cross. Vogt was killed in action when he was seriously wounded during an air raid, and died on 3 April 1945.

Literature

 * Ulateig, Egil (2002). Veien mot undergangen – Historien om de norske frontkjemperne Vega Forlag. ISBN 978-82-8211-139-3 (Contains first hand accounts of his courageous leadership by the Norwegian volunteers he led in combat)