Herbert Fries

Herbert Fries
300px Herbert Fries (left) in 1944
Born	1 March 1925 Waldmühlen
Died	6 January 2014 (aged 88)
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1943–45
Rank	Oberfähnrich
Unit	Fallschirm-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 1
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of Monte Cassino
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Herbert Fries (1 March 1925 – 6 January 2014) was a highly decorated Oberfähnrich in the Fallschirmjäger during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Herbert Fries was captured by American troops in May 1945 and held until July 1947. He died in January 2014, aged 88.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (22 May 1944)
  • 1st Class (22 May 1944)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 September 1944 as Gefreiter and Geschützführer (gun layer) in the 2. / Fallschirm-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 1
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (27 May 1944)

Wehrmachtbericht reference

The daily Wehrmachtbericht (Wehrmacht propaganda report) noted the following:

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
27 May 1944	Als Einzelkämpfer haben sich der Jäger Fries, Richtschütze in einer Fallschirm-Panzerjägerkompanie, durch Abschuß von 17 feindlichen Panzern innerhalb von zwei Tagen, der Obergefreite Schrems in der Sturmkompanie eines Jägerregiments, durch Vernichtung von drei Panzern im Nahkampf hervorgetan.	As individual fighters distinguished themselves, the rifleman Fries, gunner in a parachute armored infantry company, by shooting 17 enemy tanks within two days, Lance Corporal Schrems in the assault company of a hunter regiment, by the destruction of three tanks in close combat.

External links

• World War 2 Awards.com
• Ritterkreuztraeger 1939-1945