Ludwig Bauer (officer)

Ludwig Bauer (born 16 February 1923) was a Leutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Bauer features in Greatest Tank Battles season 2, Episode 7. In the program Bauer describes his experiences as a Panzer crewman from training to his baptism of fire in the Battle of Moscow, after being wounded he returned to his unit (9th Panzer Division) for the German offensive in the Caucasus. When the 9th Panzer Division was transferred to the Western Front, Bauer went with them. Bauer was again in the thick of the action during the Ardennes Offensive as Bauer now commanding a Stug tank destroyer in the 9th's drive to help out the stranded 2nd Panzer Division on the east bank of the river Meuse. Bauer ended the war commanding a Panther tank, in the show he describes how he survived the burning Panther to end his war, the 9th time he'd managed to bail out of a burning tank.

Awards and decorations

 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class
 * 1st Class
 * Wound Badge (1939)
 * in Black
 * in Silver
 * in Gold
 * Panzer Badge
 * Eastern Front Medal
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 April 1945 as Leutnant and leader of the I./Panzer-Regiment 33