The following press article, dated 23.10.1940, describes how Ruge would receive the Knight’s Cross…
“The Führer and Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht has at the recommendation of the Commander in Chief of the Kriegsmarine, Grand Admiral Raeder, awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross to Kapitän zur See and Kommodore Ruge.
Kapitän zur See and Kommodore Ruge, Commander of the Minesweepers, distinguished himself in a special way during the Polish campaign. He has had an overwhelming share in the swift and thorough establishment of our Minesweeper formations and in their uninterrupted and successful operations. During the Norwegian campaign he participated in sweeping and clearing operations, leading units far up north along the Norwegian coast. A Räumbootflottille commanded by Kommodore Ruge was the first German naval formation to pass through the Dover Straits by day. The operating areas of our minesweeping units have since been extended as far as the Spanish coast.”
