Matthäus Hetzenauer – Wikipedia

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Matthäus Hetzenauer (Brixen im Thale, 23 December 1924 – 3 October 2004) was a German soldier, and sniper who fought in the Second World War. In ten months of combat on the eastern front, he killed 345 between soldiers and red army officers and other allies armies [ without source ] .

He was born on December 23, 1924 in the village of the Austrian Tyrol of Brixen im Thale, son [N 1] by Simon and Magdalena Hetzenauer, inside a family [N 2] of original peasants in the Kitzbühel region, all passionate hunters. [first] In this context he was enrolled in the Wehrmacht in September 1942, at the age of 17, framed in the 140th battalion of the Gebirgsjäger complements based in Kufstein. [2] He remained in the city for the following two years, and between March 27 and July 1, 1943 he completed the formation as Granatwerfer-Schütze of the Gebirgsjäger by training on the Kaiser mountains. [3] Then complete the training at the Gebirgsjäger school in Mittenwald, the Hochgebirgsjäger school in the Stubaital and at the School of the Gebirgsjäger of the Army in Wörgl. [4] Between March and July 1944 he trained to operate as a sniper at the Truppenübungsplatz Seetaler-Alpe of Steiermark, before being assigned as Gefreiter at 7./gebirgsjäger-regiment 144 [5] of the 3. Gebirgs-Division. Using both a cecchino variant of the Mauser Karabiner 98k with Zielsech 6 × (ZF 42) telescopic viewfinder and a Walther Gewehr 43 with ZF4 4X telescopic viewfinder, it entered into action against the troops of the red army operating in carpathians, Hungary and in Hungary and in Slovakia.
On November 6, 1944 he suffered a head injury caused by the fire of the artillery and three days later the distinctive was given for injured. Given the exceptional results he obtained, the Generalleutnant Paul Klatt, commander of the division, recommended him for the granting of the riding cross of the iron cross [3] which was conferred on him on April 17, 1945. [5] This recommendation had been approved by both General Der Gebirgstrupe Karl Von Le Sire and General Der Panzertrupe Walther Nehring. [6] Captured as a prisoner of war from Soviet troops the following month, he remained in a prison camp until January 10, 1950, when he was released. [3] He died on October 3, 2004, while his wife Maria Sonnleithof died in 2006. [7]

Annotations [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

  1. ^ The couple had two other males and one female.
  2. ^ Of Catholic religion was baptized on Christmas Eve in the medieval church of the village.

Sources [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

  1. ^ Kaltenegger 2017, p. 3 .
  2. ^ Kaltenegger 2017, pp. 17-21 .
  3. ^ a b c d Thomas, Wegmann 1994, p. 305 .
  4. ^ Kaltenegger 2017, pp. 22-25 .
  5. ^ a b c Scherzer 2007, p. 388 .
  6. ^ Thomas, Wegmann 1994, p. 306 .
  7. ^ Gravestone .
  8. ^ a b c d Thomas, Wegmann 1998, p. 304 .
  • ( OF ) Walther-Peer Fellgiebel, The bearers of the Knight Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 – The owners of the highest award of the Second World War of all parts of the Wehrmacht , Friedberg, Podzun-Pallas, 2000, ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • ( IN ) Roland Kaltenegger, Eastern Front Sniper: The Life of mathehaus hears , London, Greenhill Books, 2017, ISBN 1-78438-218-3.
  • ( IN ) Robert A. Sadowski, Shooter’s Bible Guide to Tactical Firearms: A Comprehensive Guide to Precision Rifles and Long-Range Shooting Gear , Mouton, Skyhorse Publishing, 1976, ISBN 978-1-63220-935-1.
  • ( OF ) Veit Scherzer, The Knight Cross carriers 1939–1945 The owners of the Knight Cross of the Iron Cross in 1939 by Heer, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and with Germany allied forces according to the documents of the Federal Archives , Jena, Schers Syster Miltaer-Publiser, 2007, ISBN 978-39,93885-175-175-175
  • ( OF ) Franz Thomas e Günter Wegmann, The knight’s crossers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 – Part IV: The mountain team. Volume 2: L-Z , Osnabrück, Biblio-Verlag, 1994.
Periodic
  • Luca Poggiali, The snipers of the third Reich – The German snipers of the II G.M. , in History & battles , n. 206, Vicchio, Poggiali Editore, November 2019, pp. 2-13.

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