Harry Paletta
| Harry Paletta | |
|---|---|
| Born |
29 August 1922 Scholastikowo, West Prussia |
| Died |
14 November 1944 (aged 22) Killed in action Batina, Yugoslavia |
| Allegiance |
.svg.png){kind=small} Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch |
 Waffen SS |
| Years of service | 1940–44 |
| Rank | Hauptsturmführer |
| Unit |
5th SS Panzer Division Wiking 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Iron Cross 1st Class Iron Cross 2nd Class Infantry Assault Badge in Bronze Panzer Badge in Silver Close Combat Clasp in Bronze Wound Badge in Black |
Harry Paletta (29 August 1922 – 14 November 1944) was a Hauptsturmführer (Captain) in the Waffen SS during World War II. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II.
Harry Paletta was born in Scholastykowo, West Prussia. He volunteered to join the Waffen SS and was posted to the newly formed SS Division Wiking. He took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union where he was awarded the Iron Cross. He was also awarded the Wound Badge when wounded in August 1941 and the Infantry Assault Badge in February 1942.
Harry Paletta was posted to the 105th Sturmgeschütz (Assault Gun) Battalion, V SS Mountain Corps in Banat. It was never more than a battery but maintained the battalion designation. After service in Bosnia, with the 92nd Grenadier Regiment, and a security mission with the corps command post near Mostar, the battalion was assigned to the 7th SS Panzerjäger Battalion in September 1944.[1]
Paletta was awarded the Knight's Cross posthumously after being killed in action on the 14 November 1944, during fighting at the Batina bridgehead in Yugoslavia.[2][3]
References
Further reading
- 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.
- Mitcham, Samuel W (2007). Retreat to the Reich : the German defeat in France, 1944. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3384-7.
- Mitcham, Samuel W (2007). The German Defeat in the East, 1944–45. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3371-7.