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An excellent German Cross in Gold grouping of Major von B. serving with Infanterie-Regiment 119. Killed in action in 1941 near Smolensk, Russia. Posthumously promoted to Major. Unfortunately, we do not know the soldier's full name.
German Cross in Gold. Made by Deschler & Sohn, München. No maker's mark. Black enameled swastika. It has a chip. Multi-piece construction. Weigth: 69.47 gr. (heavy type).
4-place meal bar with 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class, Bavarian Military Merit Order 4th Class Cross with Swords (no chipping), Hamburg Hanseatic Cross (no chipping), and Honor Cross of WWI.
1914 Iron Cross 1st Class. Three-part construction. Non-magnetic core. Original black paint.
1914 Iron Cross 1st Class. Three-part construction. Iron core. Original black paint. The catch shows a repair.
1939 Clasp to 1914 Iron Cross 1st Class. 2nd pattern. Silvered tombak clasp.
1939 Clasp to 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class. 2nd pattern. Silvered tombak clasp. Reduced size, so-called "Prinzengröße". Comes with the original ribbon.
1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class. Three-part construction. Iron core. Original ribbon.
WWI Wound Badge in Black.
Honor Cross of WWI 1. Original ribbon.
Prussian State Railway Long Service Award for 25 years. "Joh. Wagner & Sohn" maker marked.
Three ribbon bars.
His cigarette case. Silvered. Wooden inlay. Marked on the bottom.
Heer officer's dagger. Nickel-plated steel blade showing the maker's mark of "Rich. A. Herder Solingen". A small piece of the tip is missing. An orange handle with nickel-plated fittings. The scabbard (magnetic) is free of dents. Comes with the original dagger hangers. Fully working snap clips.
A beautiful portrait (aquarelle) shows him as a Hauptmann. Painted by Kurt Weinhold (1896-1965) from Calw. Dated "1940". Framed. Size: 78x56 cm.
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Overall condition 2.
Condition
2
Historical information
NAME
German Cross in Gold
DATE OF INSTITUTION
28. September 1941 as a military order in two grades. A special grade, the German Cross in Gold with Diamonds was planned and prototypes were made.
AWARD CRITERIA
The golden grade was awarded for multiple exceptional deeds of bravery or leadership and the silver grade for exceptional deeds in troop leadership. The award of the Iron Cross 1. Class, the Spange 1. Class , or the War Merit Cross 1. Class was a pre-requisite for the awarding of the German Cross. The German Cross was located above the Iron Cross 1. Class and War Merit Cross 1. Class but below the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross, respectively the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross.
MANUFACTURERS
The German Cross was awarded by the decision of the supreme commanders of the three army branches.
The German Cross was produced by five known manufacturers and maybe one or two not yet known companies. The known manufacturers are Deschler & Sohn, who designed the cross, Gebrüder Godet, C.E. Juncker, C.F. Zimmermann, and Otto Klein.
Early crosses are unmarked and from the end of 1942/early 1943 onwards, the crosses were marked with the Präsidialkanzlei numbers of the companies.
Due to the heavy and slightly bulky nature of the award, a cloth version was authorized in June 1942. The cloth version can be found with eight different cloth backing colors: field gray (army), dark blue (navy), blue-gray (LW), black (tank forces), stone gray (assault gun), olive (Africa Heer), light khaki (Africa LW), and white (summer uniform).
AWARD NUMBERS
Accurate numbers are not known but the closest estimation based on surviving documents are 25,964 for the gold grade and 2,471 for the silver grade. A known total of eleven soldiers were awarded both grades.
The crosses were mainly stored and registered at the Präsidalkanzlei and were given out by this office. It is possible that smaller numbers were stored at the personnel offices of the three army branches.
AWARD DOCUMENTS
The Heer issued preliminary award documents in the format A5, followed by a larger (356 mm x 254 mm) formal document. The Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine never issued any preliminary documents, only the formal ones in the same size as the formal document of the Heer.
WEARING METHOD
The German Cross was worn at the right side of the uniform on the breast pocket.
