Lorenz Neumayr
| Lorenz Neumayr | |
|---|---|
 Lorenz Neumayr as Gefreiter (Private E-2) was one of only 256 recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross from the enlisted ranks (Ritterkreuzträger im Mannschaftsstand) | |
| Birth date | 10 December 1926 |
| Place of birth | Beckstetten near Jengen, Kreis Ostallgäu, Bavaria, German Reich |
| Death date | 15 March 2023 (aged 96) |
| Place of death | Krumbach, Bavaria, Germany |
| Allegiance |  National Socialist Germany
|
| Service/branch |  Heer
|
| Years of service | 1943–1945 |
| Rank | Unteroffizier (NCO) |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Iron Cross Wound Badge Infantry Assault Badge Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Lorenz Neumayr (10 December 1926 – 15 March 2023) was a German NCO of the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was the third last living recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. On 6 January 2024, Hugo Broch and Heinz Rafoth, the last two living decorated heros, celebrated their 102nd and 101st birthdays respectively.
Life
After finishing school, 16-year-old Neumayr served with the Reich Labor Service (RAD) from July to September 1943. At the beginning of Occtober 1943, he joined the military and received basic training until the end of December 1943 with the Grenadier Replacement Battalion in Traunstein. At the end of December 1943, Neumayr had just turned 17, the battalion was transferred to Italy, where it was to become part of the newly formed 334. Infanterie-Division (June 1943 in France), the old division had been destroyed in Africa only months before (May 1943).[1] Neumayr was assigned to the 1st Company//I. Bataillon/Grenadier-Regiment 755. In January 1944, the division, now subordinated to the 10th Army, was relocated to the Adriatic Front and deployed in the Pescara – Ortona – Orsogna area. Neumayr and his young regiment served as coastal protection near Pescara, at this time the training was completed.
As of March/April 1944, the regiment was in combat operations with Neumayr as a machine gunner. After a retreat via Perugia into the Apennines, the division was in the "Green" position (Grün-Stellung) south of Florence from July to October 1944. Neumayr, promoted to Gefreiter (Private E-2/Lance Corporal) in c. August 1944, was wounded for the first time in September 1944. On 1 December 1944 (possibly promoted in January 1945 with rank seniority from 1 December 1944), Neumayr was promoted to Unteroffizier (Sergeant; NCO). In the first half of December 1944, Neumayr had just turned 18, the 755 Grenadier Regiment fought near Bologna on the Italian Front when the major Allied offensive began. For hours there was dense barrage of fire on the German positions, followed by night attacks by British infantry and armored personnel. In hand-to-hand and house-to-house combat, attempts were made to overrun the Germans, but they held their positions. It was only at dawn that the front collapsed near Tossignano. House-to-house fighting with hand grenades, spades, knives, rocket-propelled grenades and flamethrowers had been raging for two days.
In April and May 1945, the division withdrew fighting through Bologna and through the Po Valley into the foothills of the Alps. At the end of the war, the division fell into American captivity in the Dolomites. But Neumayr did not experience these last few months, he had been wounded severly in close-quarter combat and was only released from hospital in July 1945.
Knight's Cross
On the night of 12 to 13 December 1944, during the British 8th Army's effort to break through to the Po valley before the end of the year, an offensive was launched against the German positions at Tossignano (near Bologna). In the hard nocturnal close combat which followed, the attacking British were thrown back four times. However, with strong fire support, they managed to break into the northwest part of the city at dawn on the next day. During the following night they launched further probes which were repulsed. On the 14 December 1944, the British launched a new attack that got as far as the marketplace, following tough urban combat.
After the squad leader was wounded and killed, Neumayr lay with a handful of soldiers at the entrance to the town. Gefreiter Neumayr decided on his own initiative to storm a heavily fortified hostile building. Only in his fifth attempt at doing so was he able to enter the fortification with a few men. Following the hardest of close-quarter combat, during which Neumayr was wounded severly, the occupying British soldiers finally gave up. 40 prisoners were taken, including a full battalion staff. This precipitated a chain reaction of events that saw the German recapture all lost positions in the city. The strategically important city of Tossignano thus remained in German hands, and Neumayr was taken to the military field hospital (Feldlazarett) in Verona to recover. Here he would be decorated with the Iron Cross First Class for his actions and one month later with the Knight’s Cross during a small ceremony led by division adjutant Major Fuchs.[2]
Awards and decorations
- Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class on 6 October 1944
- 1st Class on 18 December 1944
- Wound Badge in Black on 4 November 1944
- Infantry Assault Badge (Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen) in Silver on 10 December 1944
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 January 1945[3] as Gefreiter and machine gunner (MG-Schütze) in the 1st Company/I. Bataillon/Grenadier-Regiment 755/334. Infanterie-Division
Gallery
References
- ↑ The 334th Infantry Division was reorganized in France on 3 June 1943, subordinated to the 1st Army, from the staff of the 80th Infantry Division as well as remnants of the old division and replacement units. In October 1943, the division was relocated to the Genoa area in Italy as an occupation force.
- ↑ Neumayr, Lorenz
- ↑ Sources often state 14 January 1945, but Neumayr stated 18 January 1945. It is not impossible that the official award day was the 14th, but the Knight's Cross award ceremony did not take place until the 18th.
