Kurt Knispel

Kurt Knispel (20 September 1921 – 28 April 1945) was a Sudeten German Heer panzer loader, gunner and later commander, and was the highest scoring tank ace of World War II with a total of 168 confirmed tank kills; the actual number, although unconfirmed, may be as high as 195. He is counted with Johannes Bölter, Ernst Barkmann, Otto Carius and Michael Wittmann as being one of the, if not the, greatest tank ace of all time.

Childhood
Knispel was born in Salisfeld (Salisov), a small settlement near the town of Zuckmantel in Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia. He spent most of his childhood in nearby Niklasdorf. After completing his apprenticeship in an automobile factory in 1940, Knispel applied to join the armoured branch of the German Army.

Training
For his basic training, Knispel went to the Panzer Replacement Training Battalion at Sagan in Lower Silesia. There he received basic infantry training before tank training on the Panzer I, Panzer II, and Panzer IV. On 1 October 1940, he was transferred to the 3rd Company of the 29th Panzer Regiment, 12th Panzer Division. Knispel completed his training as a loader and gunner in a Panzer IV. Training lasted until 11 June 1941 and consisted of courses at Sagan and Putlos.

World War II
Knispel was the gunner of a Panzer IV under Lt. Hellman at the time of Operation Barbarossa, where he participated in the initial assault as part of Panzergruppe 3, LVII Army Corps (later LVII Panzer Corps), commanded by General Adolf-Friedrich Kuntzen. Knispel saw action from Yarzevo to the gates of Stalingrad, in the north around the Leningrad-Tikhvin area and also in the Caucasus under Eberhard von Mackensen.

Knispel returned to Putlos at the end of January 1943 and became familiar with the new Tiger I tanks. At this time, Knispel was credited with 12 kills.

From Putlos, a group of men was sent to the 500th Panzer Battalion at Paderborn. This group, led by Oberfeldwebel Fedensack, was to become the 1st Company of the 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion which fought at Kursk as flank cover for the 7th Panzer Division (Armee Abteilung Kempf). Knispel saw further action during the relief attack on the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket, Vinnitsa, Jampol, and Kamenets-Podolsk. Transferred from the east, the company was re-equipped with Tiger IIs and fought around Caen and in the retreat from Normandy. From there, the unit was transferred back to the Eastern Front and saw action around Mezőtúr, Törökszentmiklós, Cegléd, Kecskemét and the Gran bridgehead, Gyula, Nitra, Bab Castle (in one action, Knispel reported 24 enemy hits on his Tiger II), Laa and finally Wostitz, where he was fatally wounded together with another tank commander Feldwebel Skoda (Skoda was buried in Socherl). Knispel died in a field hospital in Urbau and was buried at a local cemetery. Ten days after his death, the war in Europe ended. On April 10, 2013 Czech authorities confirmed that Knispel's remains were found among 15 other German soldiers behind a church wall in Urbau. He was identified by his dog tag. It is likely that he will be reburied at the military cemetery in Brno.

Legacy
With 168 confirmed (possibly as high as 195) kills, Knispel was by far the most successful tanker of the Second World War and is even credited with knocking out a T-34 at 3000 m. He fought in virtually every type of German tank as loader, gunner and commander. He was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class, after destroying his fiftieth enemy tank and the Tank Assault Badge in Gold after more than 100 tank battles. When Knispel had destroyed 126 enemy tanks (with another 20 unconfirmed kills), he was awarded the German Cross in Gold. He became the only non-commissioned officer of the German tank arm to be named in a Wehrmacht communique. As commander of a Tiger I and then a Tiger II, Knispel destroyed another 42 enemy tanks.

Though he was recommended for it four times, Knispel never received the coveted Knight's Cross, a standard award for most other World War II German tank aces. Unlike some other commanders, Knispel was not consumed by the pursuit of decorations and did not suffer from a "sore throat", Heer slang for those who lusted after the Knight's Cross. When there were conflicting claims for a destroyed enemy tank, Knispel always stepped back, always willing to credit success to someone else.

Knispel's slow promotion is attributed to several conflicts with higher Nazi authorities (for instance, he assaulted an Einsatzgruppen officer whom he saw mistreating Soviet POWs) and general lack of military bearing, sporting a goatee and hair longer than regulations. Only his impressive track-record saved him from ending up in a military prison.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939) 1st and 2nd Class
 * Panzer Badge (silver)
 * German Cross in Gold on 20 May 1944 as Unteroffizier in the 1./schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503
 * Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 25 April 1944

Popular culture
The online game, World of Tanks names a gunnery award after him.