Adolf Raegener

Adolf Raegener
Born	17 February 1895 Kleinleinungen
Died	17 August 1983 (aged 88) Braunschweig
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1914–45
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	Infanterie-Regiment 9
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Annexation of the Memelland Invasion of Poland Battle of Belgium Battle of France Battle of Dunkirk Operation Barbarossa Battle of Białystok–Minsk Battle of Smolensk (1941) Battle of Moscow
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Adolf Raegener (17 February 1895 – 17 August 1983) was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Adolf Raegener was captured by American troops in May 1945 and was released in July of that year.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class (5 June 1916)^[1]
  • 1st Class (2 March 1917)^[1]
• Wound Badge (1914)
  • in Black
• Baltic Cross
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Military Merit Cross (Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
  • 2nd Class
• Hanseatic Cross of the city of Hamburg
• Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Memel Medal
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (1 October 1939)^[1]
  • 1st Class (17 May 1940)^[1]
• Wound Badge (1939)
  • in Silver
• Infantry Assault Badge
• Eastern Front Medal
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 25 June 1940 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 309^[2]
  • 842nd Oak Leaves on 17 April 1945 as Generalleutnant and commander of Verteidigungsbereich Magdeburg^[3]

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1998, p. 179.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 284.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 84.

Bibliography

• 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.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.

External links

• Lexikon der Wehrmacht
• Adolf Raegener @ Axis Biographical Research at the Wayback Machine (archived November 17, 2010)