Hermann Kreß

Hermann Kreß (23 July 1895 – 11 August 1943) was a German Generalleutnant during World War II who commanded the 4th Mountain Division.

Hermann Kreß
Born	23 July 1895
Died	11 August 1943 (aged 48) Novorossiysk, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army (Wehrmacht)
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	4th Mountain Division
Battles/wars	Battles/Campaigns World War II Battle of France Invasion of Yugoslavia Operation Barbarossa Battle of Uman Battle of Kiev (1941) Battle of Rostov (1941) Second Battle of Kharkov Battle of the Caucasus †
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

In 1938 Kreß was appointed to command the 1st Mountain Division's 99th Regiment. He led the regiment until 1943,[1] receiving the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in December 1941 while serving on the Eastern Front.[2] After heavy losses to the 1st Mountain Division, he was given command of the 4th Mountain Division which he led as part of the XXXXIX Mountain Corps in the Battle of the Caucasus.[3] Kreß was killed by a Soviet sniper on 11 August 1943, near Novorossiysk on the Kuban bridgehead.[4]

Awards

• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 December 1941 as Oberst (colonel) and commander of Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 99[2]

References

Citations

1. Meyer 2008, p. 103.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 224.
3. Meyer 2008, p. 92.
4. Braun 1955, p. 44.

Bibliography

• Braun, Julius (1955). Enzian und Edelweiss. Die 4. Gebirgs-Division 1940–1945 [Gentian and Edelweiss. The 4th Mountain Division 1940–1945] (in German). Bad Nauheim: Podzun.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Meyer, Hermann Frank (2008). Blutiges Edelweiß: die 1. Gebirgs-Division im Zweiten Weltkrieg [Bloody Edelweiss: the 1st Mountain Division in the Second World War] (in German). Berlin, Germany: Ch. Links. ISBN 9783861534471.