Irnfried Freiherr von Wechmar

Irnfried Freiherr von Wechmar^[a] (12 February 1899 – 27 November 1959) was a highly decorated Oberst in the Wehrmacht during World War II and an Oberst der Reserve in the Bundeswehr. 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.

Irnfried Freiherr von Wechmar
Irnfried Freiherr von Wechmar (in the middle) during the North African campaign
Born	(1899-02-12)12 February 1899 Frankfurt
Died	27 November 1959(1959-11-27) (aged 60) Bonn
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany (to 1945)  West Germany
Service/branch	Army Bundeswehr
Years of service	1914–22 1933–45 1956–59
Rank	Oberst (Wehrmacht) Oberst der Reserve (Bundeswehr)
Commands held	Aufklärungs-Abteilung 3
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France North African Campaign
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations	Rüdiger von Wechmar (son)
Other work	Journalist

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross (1914)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• German Cross in Gold (16 January 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 13 April 1941 as Oberstleutnant and commander of Aufklärungs-Abteilung 3^[1]
• Knight of Honor of the Order of Saint John
• Italian silver medal "Al valore militare" (1942)

Footnotes

• ^a Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a former title (translated as Baron). In Germany since 1919, it forms part of family names. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.

References

Citations

1. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 355.

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

External links

• Lexikon der Wehrmacht
• TracesOfWar.com