Matthäus Hetzenauer

Matthäus Hetzenauer was born in Brixen, the son of the Austrian farmer Simon Hetzenauer and his wife Magdalena, née Pöll. He attended elementary school and worked on his parents' farm. [ 4 ]

At the age of 18, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht in September 1942 and assigned to Mountain Replacement Battalion 140 ( Kufstein ). After basic training, he was allowed to return to his parents' farm, but was called up again in January 1943. [ 4 ] From March 27, 1943, to July 1, 1943, he first underwent training as a medium grenade launcher gunner with the mountain troops . [ 5 ] The 19-year-old was then trained as a sniper until July 16, 1944, at the Seetaler Alpe high-altitude training area ( in Styria, Austria , and a training ground for future mountain troops snipers). After completing his training, he joined the 3rd Mountain Division , specifically the 7th Company of the 144th Mountain Infantry Regiment. [ 4 ] With the division, he participated in numerous fighting during the retreat. The retreat began in early 1944 in Ukraine ( clearing the Nikopol bridgehead ) and led through Romania to Slovakia.

His weapons were the Mauser K98k carbine with a six-fold magnifying telescopic sight and the Gewehr 43 rifle with a four-fold magnifying telescopic sight ZF 4 .

Hetzenauer suffered a head injury following an artillery attack on November 6, 1944. For this injury, he received the Wound Badge in Black .

He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on April 17, 1945. The division commander, Lieutenant General Paul Klatt, gave the following justification for the award: Hetzenauer's successes as a sniper had, in total, "disabled two combat-ready enemy companies"—Hetzenauer had acted "without regard for friendly or enemy artillery fire or enemy attacks." [ 5 ] The recommendation for the award was endorsed by General of Mountain Troops Karl von Le Suire and General of Panzer Troops Walther Nehring . Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class 2nd Class – ( September 1, 1944 ) 1st Class – ( November 25, 1944 ) Wound Badge (1939) in Black – ( November 9, 1944 ) Infantry Assault Badge in Silver – ( November 13, 1944 ) Sharpshooter Badge in Gold – ( 3 December 1944 ) (golden sharpshooter eagle) [ 5 ] Close Combat Badge in Gold Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross – ( April 17, 1945 ) as Private First Class of the Reserve and Sharpshooter of the 7th Company of the 144th Mountain Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Mountain Division. Matthäus Hetzenauer (German pronunciation: [maˈtɛːʊs ˈhɛtsənaʊ̯ɐ], 23 December 1924 – 3 October 2004) was an Austrian sniper in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He served in the 3rd Gebirgsjäger Division on the Eastern Front of World War II. With 345 confirmed kills, he was the most successful German sniper and one of the deadliest snipers in history. In Nazi Germany, confirmed kills were only valid in the presence of an officer, so Hetzenauer's estimated kills are many times higher. His longest confirmed kill was reported at 1,100 meters (1,200 yards).[1] Hetzenauer received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 April 1945. Matthäus Hetzenauer was born on 23 December 1924 in the Austrian Tyrolean village of Brixen im Thale to Simon and Magdalena Hetzenauer, descendants of a long line of Austrian peasantry in the Kitzbühel region. He was baptized as a Catholic on Christmas Eve in the medieval parish church and was raised with his two brothers and sister on his parents' farm above the village. Hetzenauer trained as a sniper from March to July 1944 at the Truppenübungsplatz Seetaler-Alpe in Steiermark, before being assigned as a Gefreiter to the 3rd Gebirgsjäger Division. He utilized both a Karabiner 98k sniper variant with 6× telescopic sight and a Gewehr 43 with ZF4 4× telescopic sight.[4] He saw action against Soviet forces in the Carpathians, Hungary, and Slovakia.

On 6 November 1944, he suffered head trauma from artillery fire and was awarded the Wound Badge three days later.

Gefreiter Hetzenauer received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 April 1945. Generalleutnant and division commander Paul Klatt had recommended Hetzenauer because of his numerous sniper kills, which totalled two enemy companies, without fear for his own safety under artillery fire and enemy attacks. This recommendation was approved by General der Gebirgstruppe Karl von Le Suire and General der Panzertruppe Walter Nehring.