The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks, from a senior commander for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a low-ranking soldier for a single act of extreme gallantry. A total of 7,321 awards were made between its first presentation on 30 September 1939 and its last bestowal on 17 June 1945. This number is based on the analysis and acceptance of the order commission of the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR). Presentations were made to members of the three military branches of the Wehrmacht—the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Luftwaffe (Air Force)—as well as the Waffen-SS, the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD—Reich Labour Service) and the Volkssturm (German national militia). There were also 43 recipients in the military forces of allies of the Third Reich.

These recipients are listed in the 1986 edition of Walther-Peer Fellgiebel's book, Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945. Fellgiebel was the former chairman and head of the order commission of the AKCR. In 1996, the second edition of this book was published with an addendum delisting 11 of these original recipients. Author Veit Scherzer has cast doubt on a further 193 of these listings. The majority of the disputed recipients had received the award in 1945, when the deteriorating situation of Germany in the final days of World War II in Europe left a number of nominations incomplete and pending in various stages of the approval process.

Listed here are the 82 Knight's Cross recipients of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS whose last name starts with "C". The recipients are initially ordered alphabetically by last name. The rank listed is the recipient's rank at the time the Knight's Cross was awarded.

Background

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment, Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573 of 1 September 1939 instituted the Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz), the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). Article 2 of the enactment mandated that the award of a higher class be preceded by the award of all preceding classes. As the war progressed, some of the recipients of the Knight's Cross distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub), was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 of 3 June 1940. In 1941, two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of 28 September 1941 introduced the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten). At the end of 1944 the final grade, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit goldenem Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten), based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11 of 29 December 1944, became the final variant of the Knight's Cross authorized.

Recipients

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (C)

Service	Number of presentations	Posthumous presentations
Heer	51	3
Kriegsmarine	5	0
Luftwaffe	22	1
Waffen-SS	4	1

The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Supreme Command of the Armed Forces) kept separate Knight's Cross lists for the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Waffen-SS. Within each of these lists a unique sequential number was assigned to each recipient. The same numbering paradigm was applied to the higher grades of the Knight's Cross, one list per grade. Of the 82 awards made to servicemen whose last name starts with "C", ten were later awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and five presentations were made posthumously. Heer members received 51 of the medals, five went to the Kriegsmarine, 22 to the Luftwaffe, and four to the Waffen-SS.

  This along with the + (plus) indicates that a higher grade of Knight's Cross was awarded as well.
  This along with the * (asterisk) indicates that the Knight's Cross was awarded posthumously.

Name	Service	Rank	Role and unit	Date of award	Notes	Image
Werner Canders	Heer	15-HMajor	Commander of the III./Grenadier-Regiment 408	6 April 1944	—	—
Ulrich Freiherr von Canstein	Heer	16-HOberstleutnant	Commander of Grenadier-Regiment 220	12 February 1944	—	—
Kurt Capesius	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann	Deputy Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Kampfgeschwader 66	30 November 1944	—	—
Wilhelm Cappel	Heer	16-HOberstleutnant	Commander of Grenadier-Regiment 424	23 February 1944	—	—
Horst Carganico	Luftwaffe	13-LOberleutnant	Staffelkapitän of the 6./Jagdgeschwader 5	25 September 1941	—	—
Otto Carius+	Heer	12-HLeutnant of the Reserves	Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 2./schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502	4 May 1944	Awarded 535th Oak Leaves 27 July 1944
Friedrich Carl	Heer	13-HOberleutnant	Leader of the 11./Artillerie-Regiment 269	9 May 1942	—	—
Rolf Carls	Kriegsmarine	20-MAdmiral	Marinegruppenbefehlshaber Ost (Naval Group Commander East)	14 June 1940	—
Alfredo Carpaneto	Heer	06-HUnteroffizier	Panzer commander in the 2./schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502	28 March 1945*	Killed in action 26 January 1945	—
Carl Casper	Heer	17-HOberst	Commander of Infanterie-Regiment 118 (motorized)	22 September 1941	—	—
Prosper Graf zu Castell-Castell	Heer	12-HLeutnant of the Reserves	Leader of the 9./Panzergrenadier-Regiment 14	23 February 1944	—	—
Horst Castka	Heer	10-HOberwachtmeister	Vorgeschobener Beobachter (Artillery observer) in the 11./Artillerie-Regiment 1562	11 March 1945	—	—
Albert Celerin	Luftwaffe	13-LOberleutnant	Pilot and observer in the Fernaufklärungs-Gruppe 4	10 October 1944	—	—
Wolfgang von Chamier-Glisczinski	Luftwaffe	17-LOberst	Geschwaderkommodore of Kampfgeschwader 3	6 October 1940	—	—
Friedrich-Wilhelm von Chappuis	Heer	19-HGeneralleutnant	Commander of the 15. Infanterie-Division	15 August 1940	—	—
Hans-Georg von Charpentier	Waffen-SS	14-WSS-Hauptsturmführer	Chief of the 3./SS-Reiter-Regiment 1	29 October 1942	—
Hellmut von der Chevallerie	Heer	18-HGeneralmajor	Commander of the 13. Panzer-Division	30 April 1943	—	—
Kurt von der Chevallerie+	Heer	19-HGeneralleutnant	Commander of the 99. leichte Division	23 October 1941	Awarded 357th Oak Leaves 19 December 1943	—
Botho von La Chevallerie	Heer	15-HMajor	Commander of the I./Infanterie-Regiment 408	24 July 1941	—	—
Kurt Chill	Heer	19-HGeneralleutnant	Commander of the 122. Infanterie-Division	25 October 1943	—	—
Max Chmel	Heer	04-HObergefreiter	Group leader in the 8./Grenadier-Regiment 200 (motorized)	18 November 1944	—	—
Dietrich von Choltitz	Heer	16-HOberstleutnant	Commander of the III./Infanterie-Regiment 16 (LL)	18 May 1940	—
Otto Chowanetz	Heer	09-HFeldwebel	Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 1./Grenadier-Regiment 17	8 August 1943	—	—
Torsten Christ	Luftwaffe	16-LOberstleutnant im Generalstab	Chief of the general staff of the VIII. Fliegerkorps	21 October 1942	—	—
Kurt Christel	Heer	14-HHauptmann	Company chief in Bau-Bataillon 132	4 March 1942*	Killed in action 3 March 1942	—
Fritz Christen	Waffen-SS	03-WSS-Sturmmann	Richtschütze (gunner) in the 2./SS-Panzer-Jagd-Abteilung 3 "Totenkopf"	20 October 1941	—	—
Hans Christern	Heer	15-HMajor	Commander of the II./Panzer-Regiment 31	31 January 1941	—	—
Georg Christiansen+	Kriegsmarine	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of Schnellboot S-101 in the 1. Schnellbootflottille	8 May 1941	Awarded 326th Oak Leaves 13 November 1943	—
Georg Christl	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann	Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Zerstörergeschwader 26 "Horst Wessel"	18 March 1942	—	—
Karl Christmann	Luftwaffe	10-LOberfeldwebel	Observer in the 6./Kampfgeschwader 53 "Legion Condor"	5 April 1944	—	—
Kurt Christofzik	Heer	13-HOberleutnant of the Reserves	Chief of the 6./Grenadier-Regiment 530	22 August 1943	—	—
Egon Christophersen	Waffen-SS	06-WSS-Unterscharführer	Group leader in the 7./SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 24 "Danmark"	11 July 1944	—	—
Bruno Chrobek	Heer	15-HMajor	Commander of I./Infanterie-Regiment 54	4 July 1940	—	—
Günter Chrzonsz	Heer	10-HOberwachtmeister	Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 2./Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 277	12 November 1943	—	—
Walter Cierpka	Heer	15-HMajor	Commander of Heeres-Artillerie-Abteilung 774	5 April 1945	—	—
Otto Ciliax	Kriegsmarine	19-MVizeadmiral	Befehlshaber der Schlachtschiffe	21 March 1942	—
Oskar Cipa	Heer	06-HUnteroffizier	Group leader in the 1./Infanterie-Regiment 305	13 November 1942	—	—
Wilhelm Cirener	Heer	13-HOberleutnant	Chief of the 3./Pionier-Bataillon 33	13 July 1940	—	—
Paul Claas	Luftwaffe	15-LMajor	Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Kampfgeschwader 100	14 March 1943	Killed in action 20 June 1943	—
Richard Claassen	Heer	16-HOberstleutnant	Commander of Infanterie-Regiment 517	29 January 1943	—	—
Theo Claassen	Heer	12-HLeutnant	Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 14.(Panzerjäger)/Grenadier-Regiment 899	27 August 1944	—	—
Erwin Clausen+	Luftwaffe	13-LOberleutnant	Staffelkapitän of the 6./Jagdgeschwader 77	19 May 1942	Awarded 106th Oak Leaves 23 July 1942
Karl-Ulrich Clausen	Heer	14-HHauptmann	Chief of the 2./Artillerie-Regiment 30	16 April 1944	—	—
Nicolai Clausen	Kriegsmarine	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of U-129	13 March 1942	—
Ernst Clemente	Heer	04-HObergefreiter	PAK (anti tank) gunner in the 16./Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 13	30 September 1944	—	—
Dieter-Hans Clemm von Hohenberg	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann	Gruppenkommandeur of the II.(K)/Lehrgeschwader 1	18 November 1944*	Killed in action 29 June 1944	—
Rudolf Cleve	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann	Chief of the 3./Flak-Regiment 4 (motorized)	4 May 1944	—	—
Erich Clößner	Heer	19-HGeneralleutnant	Commander of the 25. Infanterie-Division	29 September 1940	—	—
Hans Clüver	Heer	15-HMajor of the Reserves	Commander of the II./Grenadier-Regiment 266	22 January 1944	—	—
Joachim Coeler	Luftwaffe	18-LGeneralmajor	Commander of the 9. Flieger-Division	12 July 1940	—	—
Erwin Cohrs	Heer	15-HMajor	Commander of the II./Panzergrenadier-Regiment 67	9 December 1944	—	—
Hans Collani	Waffen-SS	16-WSS-Obersturmbannführer	Commander of the SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 49 "De Ruyter" (niederländische Nr. 2)	19 August 1944*	Killed in action 29 July 1944	—
Robert Colli	Heer	17-HOberst	Commander of Grenadier-Regiment 547	19 February 1944	—	—
Johann Condné	Heer	14-HHauptmann	Leader of the II./Panzergrenadier-Regiment 6	5 April 1945	—	—
Dipl.-Ing. Gerhard Conrad	Luftwaffe	17-LOberst	Geschwaderkommodore of Kampfgeschwader z.b.V. 2	24 May 1940	—	—
Hermann Conrad	Heer	10-HOberfeldwebel	Shock troop leader in the 7./Infanterie-Regiment 330	9 July 1941	—	—
Alexander Conrady+	Heer	16-HOberstleutnant	Commander of the I./Infanterie-Regiment 118 (motorized)	17 October 1942	Awarded 279th Oak Leaves 22 August 1943	—
Paul Conrath+	Luftwaffe	17-LOberst	Commander of Flak-Regiment (motorized) "General Göring"	4 September 1941	Awarded 276th Oak Leaves 21 August 1943
Klaus Coracino	Heer	13-HOberleutnant of the Reserves	Chief of Sturmgeschütz-Begleitkompanie 254 in the I./Grenadier-Regiment 431	2 September 1944	—	—
Udo Cordes	Luftwaffe	12-LLeutnant	Pilot in the 9.(Eis)/Kampfgeschwader 3 "Lützow"	12 June 1943	—	—
[Prof. Dr.] Günter Corßen	Heer	14-HHauptmann	Department leader of Panzer-Regiment 39	8 February 1943	—	—
Helmut Corts	Luftwaffe	13-LOberleutnant	Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 2./Flak-Regiment 64 (motorized)	20 June 1940	—	—
Hans-Detloff von Cossel+	Heer	13-HOberleutnant	Leader of the 1./Panzer-Regiment 35	8 September 1941	Awarded 285th Oak Leaves 29 August 1943	—
Georg le Coutre	Luftwaffe	12-LLeutnant	Leader of the 10./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6	7 February 1945	—	—
Hans Cramer	Heer	16-HOberstleutnant	Commander of Panzer-Regiment 8 im DAK	27 June 1941	—
Heinz Cramer	Luftwaffe	15-LMajor	Gruppenkommandeur of the II.(K)/Lehrgeschwader 1	18 September 1940	—	—
Wilhelm-Ernst Freiherr von Cramm	Heer	15-HMajor	Commander of Divisions-Füsilier-Abteilung 58	11 April 1944	—	—
Friedrich Crantz	Heer	13-HOberleutnant of the Reserves	Chief of the 10./Grenadier-Regiment 416	3 March 1943	—	—
Friedrich-Carl Cranz	Heer	19-HGeneralleutnant	Commander of the 18. Infanterie-Division (motorized)	29 June 1940	—	—
Eduard Crasemann+	Heer	16-HOberstleutnant	Commander of Artillerie-Regiment 33 (motorized)	26 December 1941	Awarded 683rd Oak Leaves 18 December 1944
Peter-Erich Cremer	Kriegsmarine	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of U-333	5 June 1942	—	—
Wilhelm Crinius+	Luftwaffe	09-LFeldwebel	Pilot in the 3./Jagdgeschwader 53	23 September 1942	Awarded 127th Oak Leaves 23 September 1942	—
Wilhelm Crisolli	Heer	16-HOberstleutnant	Commander of Schützen-Regiment 8	15 July 1941	—	—
Arved Crüger	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann	Staffelkapitän of the 5./Kampfgeschwader 30	14 June 1940	—	—
Ludwig Crüwell+	Heer	18-HGeneralmajor	Commander of the 11. Panzer-Division	14 May 1941	Awarded 34th Oak Leaves 1 September 1941
Heinz Crusius	Heer	13-HOberleutnant	Chief of the 4./Infanterie-Regiment 453	3 May 1942	—	—
Kurt Cullmann	Heer	10-HOberfähnrich	Deputy leader of the 2./Divisions-Füsilier-Bataillon 260	9 June 1944*	Killed in action 29 March 1944	—
Kurt Cuno	Heer	17-HOberst	Commander of Panzer-Regiment 39	18 January 1942	—	—
Leo Cygan	Heer	12-HLeutnant of the Reserves	Zugführer (platoon leader) in the 1./Pionier-Bataillon 102	5 January 1944	—	—
Richard Czekay	Luftwaffe	14-LHauptmann	Staffelkapitän of the 3./Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 "Immelmann" and adjutant of the I./Schlachtgeschwader 2	30 December 1942	—	—
Gerhard Czernik	Luftwaffe	13-LOberleutnant	Staffelkapitän of the 6./Kampfgeschwader 2	16 May 1941	—	—
Wilhelm Czorny	Heer	03-HGefreiter	Machine gun leader in the 2./Panzergrenadier-Regiment "Großdeutschland"	4 October 1944	—	—