The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was principally the highest award given to German fighters to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II. The Gold Close Combat Clasp, awarded for at least 50 days of hand-to-hand fighting and often regarded in higher esteem than the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by the German infantry, was only awarded to 631 German soldiers. Out of the millions who fought for Germany in World War II, only 98 received both the Knight’s Cross and the Close-Combat Clasp in Gold; providing definitive reference with action-packed narrative and exhaustive footnotes, this volume includes profiles of those servicemen from the Army, the Luftwaffe, and the Waffen SS. Packed with hundreds of photos, many of them not available elsewhere, this is a fascinating profile of some of the bravest soldiers of World War II.