D-203

Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class Award Documents to Fallschirmjäger-Oberjäger Peter Bammes

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Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class Award Documents to Fallschirmjäger-Oberjäger Peter Bammes was a paratrooper who fought in Normandy and was killed there on 31 July 1944. The Iron Cross 2nd Class document was issued to Bammes on 14 July 1943 and shows that he was assigned to the Headquarters of the IlIrd Battalion of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 4, with which he fought in Russia as part of the 7. Flieger-Division (7th Airborne Division). The document is signed by Generalmajor Richard Heidrich, the commander of the division (Heidrich was awarded the Knight's Cross on 14 June 1941, the German Cross in Gold on 31 March 1942, the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross on 5 February 1944, and the Swords to the Knight's Cross on 25 March 1944). The Iron Cross 1st Class document is a more ornate version than general issue and was awarded posthumously on 1 September 1944. It reveals that Oberjäger Bammes was serving with the IlIrd Battalion of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 15, which was engaged at Normandy west of St. Lô in July 1944, and placed under the command of the 353. Infanterie-Division (353rd Infantry Division). The document is signed by Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) Kurt Gröschke, the divisional commander of the 5. Fallschirmjäger-Division (5th Paratrooper Division). Includes photocopies of the losses of the IlIrd Battalion, specifically the 12th Company, of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 15 from the Bundesarchiv (National Archives) in Freiburg, Germany, in which Bammes is named. The information shows that Bammes was a machine gunner and was killed on 31 July 1944 in Haute Chèvre near Torigny-sur-Vire during the heavy fighting in St. Lô, France.