Following his 37th aerial victory, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 30 July 1941. The following day, III. "Gruppe" moved to an airfield at Soltsy, located west of Lake Ilmen. From this airfield, the "Gruppe" fought over the combat areas near Staraya Russa, south of Lake Ilmen, and Veliky Novgorod which is north of Lake Ilmen. On 10 August, Kageneck claimed a SB-3 bomber shot down. He became an "ace-in-a-day" on 14 August, claiming his 39th to 43rd aerial victory. On 20 August, Kageneck made a forced landing in his Bf 109 E-4 ("Werknummer" 1326—factory number) near Chudovo. Kageneck had logged his 300th combat mission in this aircraft.