Balthasar Woll

Who was Balthasar Woll?

Balthasar "Bobby" Woll was an Oberscharführer in the Waffen SS who was also awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was born in Wemmetsweiler on 1 March 1922,.

After an apprenticeship as an electrician, he reported on 15 August 1941 as a volunteer for the Waffen SS. He was posted as a machine gunner to the 3rd Company, 1st SS Totenkopf Infantry Regiment. He was wounded during the fighting at the Demyansk Pocket and sent to hospital in Germany. While recovering from his wounds he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class and the Wound Badge in black, in July 1942.

After his recovery he retrained as a tank gunner and at the end of 1942 posted to the 13th Heavy Tank Company, SS Panzer Regiment 1, 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler where he met his tank commander Michael Wittmann.

By the time of Operation Citadel they were one of the best tank crews in the Division, and in September 1943 was awarded the Iron Cross 1st class, having destroyed 80 tanks and 107 anti tank guns.

He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in January 1944 the 1st and only tank gunner to receive the award and in October 1944 promoted to Oberscharführer.

When Wittmann was killed in Normandy in 1944, Woll was severely wounded and in a field hospital, but survived the war.