Career
The Knight"s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Gerhard Engel joined the Prussian military in October 1925, in the 5th Prussian Infantry Regiment. In 1930, he received his lieutenant promotion and was put in charge of two infantry companies in Dresden.
From 1933 to 1937, Engel served as an adjutant to the battalion commander of Rostock, where he was promoted to captain.
In 1938, while working as commander of the 11th Infantry Regiment, he was transferred and served as adjutant to the Commander-in-Chief of the Army. In 1941, he was promoted to major, and appointed an army adjutant to Hitler.
In 1943, Engel was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and, by his own request, transferred to the Western Front. He would go on to be an extremely experienced soldier, serving in notable battles like the Battle of Aachen, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Battle of Halbe.
In May 1944, he was promoted to major general, and would spend the rest of the war commanding infantry divisions.
With the unconditional surrender of Germany, he was held in American captivity and released in December 1947. After his release, Engel was manager of a sugar factory in Nörvenich, and then of a machine factory in Düsseldorf. From April 1958 to December 1976, he worked as State Commissioner of the Society for Military Customer in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Engel died in 1976.
Infantry Assault Badge German Cross on 16 October 1943 as Oberstleutnant in Füsilier-Regiment 27 Wehrmachtbericht reference.