Karl-Heinz Dietrich

Karl-Heinz Dietrich
Born	(1915-06-15)15 June 1915 Magdeburg
Died	Bad Lauterberg am Harz
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1939–45
Rank	Major
Unit	3rd Panzer Division
Battles/wars	World War II Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Karl-Heinz Dietrich (15 June 1915 – 22 March 1983) was a German infantry commander and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career

Major Dietrich, commander of a Panzergrenadier battalion in the 3rd Panzer Division, received the Knight’s Cross for executing a daring counterattack on 5 April 1944. On the previous day the division’s two weak Panzergrenadier regiments had occupied positions around the village of Orhei, facing towards the north. The next day the Russians attacked with two battalions and fourteen tanks in support. They forced the Germans to evacuate the village and even got a tank over the bridge beyond it, cutting off the German line of retreat, before it was destroyed by an immobilized Panther. After another Russian tank had been knocked out by an AT gun the remainder fled. Confused, the Russian infantry began to abandon their gains as well. It was at this point that Major Dietrich decided to take advantage of the situation and he launched a counterattack with his battalion, retaking the old defensive positions at Orhei and giving his division valuable breathing space. This action would later be known to the soldiers of the division as “The Miracle of Orhei.”

Awards & decorations

• Iron Cross
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 June 1944 as Kommandeur II./Panzergrenadier-Regiment 3
• German Cross in Gold on 15 September 1943 as Hauptmann 5./Panzergrenadier-Regiment 3

External links

• Awards Page