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Rare grouping to Major Heinrich Moll serving with Lehrregiment Brandenburg z.b.V. 800 and Panzergrenadier-Regiment 125 (destroyed in Tunis 1943) as well as Sonderverband 288 (renamed Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment "Afrika"). German Cross in Gold winner on 29. March 1943. Awarded in Africa!
Heer Soldbuch. Issued on 19.02.1941 without his photo. His units are listed on page 4. Awards: Heer Long Service Award IV. Class, Sudetenland Medal with Clasp "Prager Burg", 1939 Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class, Infantry Assault Badge, German-Italian Campaign Medal, Bravery Medal in Silver, German Cross in Gold on 29.03.1943, Cuff Title "AFRIKA", and Wound Badge in Black. Captured (POW) on 13.05.1943 in Tunis by the British Forces. Imprisoned in the Mexia camp. Noted on page 15. Comes with all the pages.
Certificate to 1939 Iron Cross 1st Class. Issued on 30.06.1940. Signed by a Generalleutnant.
Certificate to Wound Badge in Black. Issued on 10.05.1943. Signed by an Oberstleutnant.
A list showing which soldiers were awarded the German Cross in Gold, the so-called "List of Honor". Major Moll is listed there.
A 6-page report on the battle of Bonneval (France). Dated "10.07.1940". Written by Major Moll.
Two Heer officers' single shoulder boards and a 10-place ribbon bar (1957 type).
Signs of use. Condition 2/2-.
Condition
2/2-
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.
.jpg "Major H. Knauth (J.G.51) - German Cross \"1\"")
