Allegiance Nazi Germany Years of service 1939–44 Name Emil Durr | Service/branch Waffen SS Rank Unterscharfuhrer | |
Died 27 June 1944 (1944-06-28) (aged 24)
Saint Manvieu, France Buried at La Cambe German war cemetery
(Block 18-grave 349) | ||
Emil Durr (11 June 1920 – 27 June 1944) was an Unterscharfuhrer in the Waffen SS during World War II who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, (which was to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II).
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Emil Durr was born on 1 June 1920, in Muhlacker. During World War II he volunteered to join the Waffen SS and was posted to the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend which was formed in 1943.
Located in France during the Normandy Invasion, the Division was moved to the front near Caen, Durr was by now an Unterscharfuhrer and Assault gun commander in the 4th (Heavy) Company, 26th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment.
He was awarded the Iron Cross Second class on 23 June and the Iron Cross First class the next day on 24 June.
Knight's Cross
The Knight's Cross was for the action on 26 June 1944.
For almost three hours Durr and the 26th Panzergrenadiers had been subjected to a naval bombardment; salvo after salvo landing in the line of main defense outside the village of Saint Manvieu and on the village itself. The Germans had been awaiting a major offensive on the Carpiquet airfield and the Orne river.
When the gunfire stopped, the SS men observed Sherman tanks which were advancing onto their location. The armoured vehicles broke through the positions and overran St. Manvieu, surrounding the Battalion command post in the park. They engaged the tank force with mortar fire and some of the tanks turned away, assuming that the forces in the park were much stronger and did not attempt to break through. A flamethrower tank had set up at the entrance to the park, dominating the command post, and able to harass any movement. "That tank has to go", the commander ordered.
Unterscharfuhrer Durr had heard the order, he picked up a Panzerfaust (a one-shot anti-tank weapon) and went out to scout the situation. It was difficult to get close to the tank as it was sitting in a position that covered the terrain on three sides. Durr jumped across the inner wall of the yard, ran straight at the tank and discharged the Panzerfaust - which did not pierce the tanks' armour. Durr was wounded in the chest, but he ran back along the path he had come, picked up another Panzerfaust and ran towards the tank a second time. As the distance was unfavorable, he aimed at the tracks. But again, Durr was hit by machine gun fire. Crawling, he worked his way back and spotted a magnetic charge. For a third time, weak from his wounds, he jumped across the wall and ran towards the tank. Paying no attention to the bullets, he attached the charge to the tank and turned away when he heard a rumbling sound behind him as the charge dropped to the ground; with no regard for his own safety, he picked the charge up and held it against the tank. When it exploded he fell to the ground paralyzed and also wounded in the legs.
He was taken to rest in the command post but died four hours later.
Emil Durr was awarded a posthumous Knight's Cross in August 1944, and entered on the Honour Roll the following month.