Description
KNIGHTS CROSS WINNER PRESS PHOTO – RUDOLF UHL – 6. GEBIRGS DIV.
Original wartime press photo with caption “slug” attached on reverse.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes
Adjutant, II. Bataillon, Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 141, 6. Gebirgs-Division, Heer
Awarded on: November 5th, 1944
On the night of the 14.10.1944 the Soviet 126th (light) rifle corps established a roadblock on the only escape route for the German forces at the Petsamo fjord. The II./Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 141 was ordered to retake the road and the 369.4 meter high peak of Isenkiventunturi. En-route to the objective however the German Bataillon came under Soviet fire. Though panic threatened to unhinge the whole Bataillon, Leutnant Uhl was able to stay calm, and along with an attached 2 cm Flak-Batterie he first defeated the ambush and then proceeded with the original attack. The Kompanien of Pinsker and Schlapp took the Soviet positions in a violent bushfight while Uhl managed to seize the road itself with elements of the Bataillon supply troops (cooks, drivers, clerks, etc.). The road to Norway was thus reopened for the German forces in Petsamo, and Uhl was decorated with the Knight’s Cross for his decisive role in bringing about this outcome.
