Background
Erwin Jollasse was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1892.
Erwin Jollasse was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1892.
The Knight"s Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Early years and World War I He entered the Imperial German Army in 1911 as a Fahnenjunker and was patented as a Leutnant on June 6, 1913. When World War I began he was in command of one of the companies of the 25th Reichsjager Regiment.
He later became a gas warfare officer and a pilot observer in the air force.
He left the armed forces at the end of the war and took a job as a civilian pilot. In 1933 he was commissioned as a Flieger Hauptmann (flight captain) in the new Luftwaffe.
By 1934 he left the Luftwaffe and reentered the Army as a Hauptmann. World World War II During the Anschluss, the annexation of Czechoslovakia and the Polish Campaign he was assigned to the West Wall.
When the Wehrmacht invaded Holland he was assigned to the 4.
Infanterie-Division. During this campaign he was awarded the 1939 clasps to his Iron Crosses. In 1941 he was promoted to Oberst (Colonel) and assigned to the 18.
Panzer-Division. On November 2, 1941, he was awarded the Knight"s Cross of the Iron Cross, for his actions in closing the Soviet pocket during the Battle of Kiev.
He took command of the 9. Panzer-Division on July 22, 1943 and held it until he was wounded in October, he later resumed command in November and held it to August 10, 1944, when he was wounded again. In late 1944 he was declared fit for limited service and was given a desk job at the Inspectorate of Panzer Troops.
In March 1945 he was named to replace Major
General Rudolf Goltzsch as commander of the 344. Volksgrenadier Division in Czechoslovakia, a command he held until April 30, 1945, when he and twenty-five other men broke out of the Soviet encirclement and eluded the Red and United States Armies until June 8.
He was released from prison on June 30, 1947, and died on March 14, 1987, in Tutzing. (1 June 1940) (21 June 1940) German Cross (7 January 1944) Fahnenjunker - October 3, 1911 Leutnant - June 6, 1913 Oberleutnant - August 18, 1916 Hauptmann - February 1, 1929 Major - North/A Oberstleutnant - March 1, 1938 Oberst - March 1, 1941 Generalmajor - October 1, 1943 Generalleutnant - April 20, 1945 Bibliography.