Osprey's survey of the recipients of the Knight's Cross and Oak-Leaves and Swords awards during World War II (1939-1945). On 21 June 1941, as the Wehrmachtstormed forward across the frontiers of the Soviet Union, Hitler instituted a new higher grade of the Knight's Cross decoration for gallantry and leadership: the silver clasp of the Oak-Leaves with Swords. It would be awarded to only 159 men of the approximately 15 million who served in the German...