German WWII Signed Photo of Knights Cross Winner Reinhard Peters-Peters won the knights cross in February of 1944 as leader of the 4th panzer Regiment 35. The 4th Company fought as part of Panzer-Regiment 35 from the beginning until the end of the Second World War, and for most of that period as part of the 4th Panzer Division. It fought on many fronts, but the bulk of its combat time was spent in the battles on the central sector of the Eastern front. Fighting back from Moscow all the way to East Prussia, the 4th Panzer division emerged as the most decorated division of the Heer. 4th Company was able to achieve the impressive feat of producing five Knights Cross Holders in the space of just under 2 years despite its relatively unremarkable status. It thus was the most distinguished non-Tiger panzer company in the German army.
Peters was the commander of 4th Company throughout the first part of 1944. He received the Knights Cross for actions in early January 1944, where his company fought successfully in the defensive battles around Kalinkowitschi and played a vital role in defending Hill 147. The most important engagement took place on the morning of 6 January, when Peters had to defend the hill with four tanks against a large Soviet armoured attack. Peter’s men were able to catch the Soviets off-guard during their approach and destroyed 14 tanks without loss (in fact, only one Soviet tank even returned fire), forcing the rest to retreat. Peters also led 4th company successfully in the fighting later that year around Warsaw, where in one action the company overran a Soviet gun position in a swift advance and destroyed or captured 48 tubes of assorted artillery. This black and white photos measures approx. 5 ½ inches (13.97cm) tall and 3 ½ inches (8.89cm) wide. You can see the signature across the bottom. These panzer companies were some of the highest decorated, it would be very interesting to do a deep dive on the commanders.