RUDOLF VON RIBBENTROP. The Panzer IV ranks among the best-known of all German tanks. It was one of the most highly developed and most robust model, and was the "Workhorse" of the Panzer troops. It reached its definitive form when fitted with the L/48 caliber gun and Schurzen skirt armor plates around the turret and hull. It was the Panzerkampfwagen IV that was represented in the Panzerkampfabzeichen (Tank Battle Badge) to the armored crews, the badge represents an oval oak wreath which was surmounted by a Wehrmacht eagle, beneath which was shown a Pzkpfw IV, which at the time of the introduction of the badge was the most powerful German tank then in mass production, and was still in mass production right up until the end of the war with more than 9,000 Pzkpfw IV's produced. SS Hauptsturmfuhrer Rudolf Von Ribbentrop, of 6th company Panzer Regiment Leibstandarte, (and son of the Reichminister for foreign affairs) was a Panzer IV tank commander of good credentials. Possessed of extraordinary personal bravery, calm and circumspection. This distinguished the success of Rudolf Von Ribbentrop the man and his Pzkpfw IV; who was always ready to take part in and lead the attack. For his actions during the fighting in the Kharkov area in 1943, in the last major German victory of the Russian Campaign, which decisively smashed the soviets in the battle between the Donets and the Dniepr and returned the city of Kharkov (the capitol of the Ukraine) to German hands. In the urban warfare that followed inside the city, his Pzkpfw IV was enmeshed in deadly street fighting against grossly superior forces in heavy, critical fighting, street by street, house by house. He became a forward ground controller in his Panzer IV tank, in effect, pioneering this technique, and directing his tank accurately on to enemy tank and anti-tank positions. His trained instinct enabled him to smell danger and the ensuing decisions proved to be correct. Rudolf Von Ribbentrop became a virtuosic master of conventional hunting of enemy tanks in urban warfare. With his Panzer IV tank he destroyed 14 soviet tanks and 9 anti-tank guns inside the city itself. And Ribbentrop's Panzer Mark IV tank was one of the first vehicles to enter the city's Main Central Red Square in triumph which it was proudly and understandably re-named " Platz der Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler". Rudolf Von Ribbentrop favored stealth over these difficult and dangerous street battles in tank versus tank combat and was ultimately vindicated by his success. On July 20 1943, he was awarded the Knight's Cross and transferred to the newly-formed Hitlerjugend Division. As a military formation composed of Hitleryouth's, the 12 SS Panzer Division deserves special attention for several reasons: Its symbolic significance, its eliteness, and its extraordinary exploits upon the field of battle. Established after the defeat of Stalingrad, the division was a product of Germany's transition to a total war effort, which sought to harness all human and material resources of the Reich to the purpose of waging a struggle for existence. In this context; the division's creators envisioned it a symbol of the willingness of German youth to make the ultimate sacrifice for Fuhrer and Fatherland in a political-military milieu of growing crisis. The Hitlerjugend Division became a first-class formation of the Waffen SS, its special nature underscored by intimate ties to the Super-elite Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Division. These ties were symbolized by the divisional insignia of the 12th SS: a skeleton key, the emblem of the Leibstandarte, running diagonally through the center of a single gothic letter "S". Cadre personnel transferred from the Leibstandarte to the 12th SS provided the latter with an experienced nucleus and ensured that it would be imbued with the fighting qualities and elan of its sister division. The Waffen SS soldier, standing in the front line during World War II, who being deceived for their ideals, got right into the twilight of the world's opinion after the end of the war. The defamation of the German soldier in film, television, and the press has been trampled on and ridiculed for decades, whose memory has been stained. Wehrmacht war memorials have been destroyed and desecrated while memorials in honor of Communism have been ceremoniously dedicated . This despicable behavior is unthinkable, which has been so audaciously and successfully lied to the whole world. The historical picture has not been corrected, the "re-education" of the victors was a complete success. But the achievements of the Wehrmacht are finally getting recognized in the western community, its soldierly virtues and idealism even admired. Since 1945, there hasn't been a year without war somewhere in the world. In the delirium following victory after both of the world wars, the Allies have twice lost world peace in the century. The defamation of the German soldier has been openly and systematically carried on either intentionally or unintentionally since 1945, both in Germany and abroad. The public, however, has the right to know what the war and the common German soldier were really like. This is done as an attempt to vindicate the German front line soldier, in which they did exactly what all other fellow soldiers in all nations in their branches of service did---their duty!
