Niels Bätge

Niels Bätge (19 April 1913 in Reval – 12 December 1944 near the Åland Islands) was a German Schnellboot commander in World War II and 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. Bätge was promoted to Kapitänleutnant on 1 September 1943. Shortly after his promotion he took command of the destroyer Z-35 on 25 September 1943. The destroyers Z-35 and Z-36 both ran into a German naval mine in the Gulf of Finland on 12 December 1944. Bätge and 24 members of the crew managed to save themselves in a life boat. However, they all froze to death and were later washed ashore near the Åland Islands.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (15 September 1940)
 * 1st Class (11 June 1941)
 * Destroyer War Badge (12 January 1941)
 * Fast Attack Craft War Badge (30 March 1941)
 * Wound Badge (1939) (7 October 1940)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (4 January 1942) as chief of the 4. Schnellbootflottille
 * Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 25 November 1941