Willy Marienfeld

Willy Marienfeld
Born	1 October 1895 Reppen
Died	7 June 1944 (aged 48) Constanţa, Romania
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Years of service	1914–44
Rank	Oberstleutnant der Reserves
Commands held	Grenadier-Regiment 658
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Battle of Greece Operation Barbarossa Siege of Sevastopol (1941-1942) Battle of the Caucasus Kuban bridgehead Crimean Offensive (1944)
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Willy Marienfeld (1 October 1895 – 7 June 1944) was a highly decorated Oberstleutnant der Reserves 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. Willy Marienfeld died from wounds on 7 June 1944 in Constanţa, Romania. He was married to Elisabeth Paeschke and they had Three children.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (16 September 1939)^[1]
  • 1st Class (3 July 1940)^[1]
• Eastern Front Medal
• Crimea Shield
• Kuban Shield
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 17 August 1942 as Major der Reserves and commander of II./Infanterie-Regiment 123^[2]
  • 482nd Oak Leaves on 25 May 1944 as Major der Reserves and commander of Infanterie-Regiment 123^[3]

References

Citations

1. Thomas 1998, p. 60.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 248.
3. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 71.

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 Miltaer-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.