Hermann von Oppeln-Bronikowski

Hermann Leopold August von Oppeln-Bronikowski (2 January 1899 – 19 September 1966) was a German Army officer and panzer ace. Oppeln-Bronikowski fought during World War I and World War II. At the 1936 Summer Olympics he won the Gold Medal in the team Dressage. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Biography
Oppeln-Bronikowski was born in Berlin. On 1 April 1912 he entered the Bensberg Cadet School near Cologne. Two years later he was transferred to the cadet institute at Groß-Lichterfelde near Berlin. On 23 March 1917 the cadet reported to the Ulan Regiment "Prinz August von Württemberg" No. 10 at Züllichau in East Brandenburg. A few weeks later he was transferred from the reserve troop to the active regiment, which was stationed in Poland as part of the occupying force.

Oppeln-Bronikowski volunteered for front-line service in the infantry and was transferred to the Western Front to the ''Infanterie-Regiment "Prinz Carl" Nr. 118''. He received the Iron Cross, Second Class and three months later became one of the youngest Leutnants ever to receive the Iron Cross, First Class. On 14 October 1918 he also received the Hessian Medal of Bravery.

After World War II he worked as a civilian advisor and helped setting up of the German Bundeswehr. He also worked for the Canadians as a riding instructor at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He died in Gaißach, in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, Bavaria.

On 17 June 1931 Oppeln-Bronikowski married Edelgard von Kleist, the daughter of Lieutenant-General Adolf von Kleist and Gertrud von Sydow.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1914)
 * 2nd Class (28 May 1918)
 * 1st Class (14 October 1918)
 * Hessische Tapferkeitsmedaille (14 October 1918)
 * Panzer Badge in Silver (2. Class)
 * German Cross in Gold (7 August 1943)
 * Wound Badge in Black
 * Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (25 September 1939)
 * 1st Class (10 November 1939)
 * Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
 * Knight's Cross on 1 January 1943 as Oberst and commander of Panzer-Regiment 204
 * 536th Oak Leaves on 28 July 1944 as Oberst and commander of Panzer-Regiment 22
 * 142nd Swords on 17 April 1945 as Generalmajor and commander of the 20. Panzer-Division