Herbert-Ernst Vahl

Herbert-Ernst Vahl
Herbert-Ernst Vahl
Born	(1896-10-09)9 October 1896
Died	22 July 1944(1944-07-22) (aged 47) near Thessaloniki, Hellenic State
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Waffen-SS
Years of service	1914–44
Rank	SS-Brigadeführer
Commands held	SS Division Das Reich SS Polizei Division
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Herbert-Ernst Vahl was a high-ranking member in the Waffen-SS during World War II who commanded the SS Division Das Reich and the 4th SS Polizei Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.

In February 1943, Vahl was promoted to Oberführer, and given command of the SS Division Das Reich which was stationed in the Soviet Union. While in command during the Third Battle of Kharkov he was seriously wounded and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. After recovering from his wounds he became the Inspector of Panzer troops in the SS Führungshauptamt (SS Leadership Main Office). In July 1944 Vahl returned to active service with the SS Polizei Division which was stationed in Thessalonika, Greece. Vahl arrived to assume command of the Division on 13 July 1944 but was killed in an auto accident on 22 July 1944.

His SS # was 430 348 and he joined the SS on 1 August 1942.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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 Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

Military offices
Preceded by SS-Obergruppenführer Georg Keppler	Commander of 2. SS-Division Das Reich 10 February 1943 – 18 March 1943	Succeeded by SS-Oberführer Kurt Brasack
Preceded by SS-Oberführer Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock	Commander of 4th SS Polizei Division 7 May 1944 – 22 July 1944	Succeeded by SS-Standartenführer Karl Schümers

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich

Staff	Otto Baum¹ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Paul Hausser² (Oak Leaves & Swords) Matthias Kleinheisterkamp³ Walter Krüger⁴ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Werner Ostendorff Herbert-Ernst Vahl

Units	Wilhelm Bittrich⁵ (Oak Leaves) Heinz Harmel⁶ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Heinz Macher (Oak Leaves) Günther-Eberhardt Wisliceny (Oak Leaves) Fritz Witt⁸ (Oak Leaves) Georg Keppler Otto Kumm⁹ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Heinz Lammerding Sylvester Stadler¹⁰ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Ernst Barkmann Christian Tychsen (Oak Leaves) Johann Veith Karl Kreutz Hans Schabschneider Walter Kniep Fritz Klingenberg Ernst Krag (Oak Leaves) Fritz Rentrop Alfred Siegling Felix Steiner⁷ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Otto Weidinger¹¹ (Oak Leaves) Fritz Vogt¹² (Oak Leaves)

¹Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves with the SS Division Totenkopf). ²Oak Leaves with the II SS Panzer Corps, Swords with the 7th Army. ³Oak Leaves with the XI SS Panzer Corps. ⁴Knight's Cross with the SS Polizei Division, Swords with the VI Waffen-SS Army Corps. ⁵Oak Leaves with the II SS Panzer Corps, Swords with the SS Division Florian Geyer. ⁶Swords with the SS Division Frundsberg. ⁷Oak Leaves with the SS Division Wiking, Swords with the III SS Panzer Corps. ⁸Oak Leaves with the SS Division Leibstandarte). ⁹Oak Leaves with the SS Division Prinz Eugen. ¹⁰Swords with the SS Division Hohenstaufen. ¹²Oak Leaves with the SS Division Nordland).

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