Georg Preuß

Who was Georg Preuß?

Georg Preuß was a Hauptsturmführer in the Waffen-SS who was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on the 5 February 1945, for his part in the Ardennes Offensive, he was also one of only 631 members of the German armed forces to receive the Close Combat Clasp in Gold.

He commanded the 12th and then the 10th Companies of the III./2nd Panzer Grenadier Regiment, LSSAH.

During the operations around the Falaise Gap he gave this report:

A report from SS-Obersturmfόhrer Preuss, 10.Kp./SS-Panzergrenadierregiment 2 describes the impossible situation:

"It is true that one fighter bomber we shot down landed on a Panzer and destroyed it. Most other Panzer and Schützenpanzer, however, fell victim to this intensive air bombardment, which lasted hours. Those Grenadiere still able to fight had spread themselves out to the left and right through the terrain's many hedges. They were happy to see that the bombers swarming like bees over our heads were finding more rewarding targets than individual men. I agreed with them. I heard that Peiper had suffered a heart attack. Diefenthal lost his hearing when a bomb fell right next to him. Kuhlmann was unable to get the attack moving forward again.