A True, Veteran Worn Knight's Cross

[Gene]

Gents,

I'm not tired of seeing minty Knight's Crosses, but what about ones that were actually worn in combat? Here's mine:

[Gene]

Reverse

A pic of the back

[Ron Westerduin]

Nice

Great cross.....would like to see more of those !!

[Prosper Keating]

Gene,

That looks like a Steinhauer & Lück Ritterkreuz. Of course, it lacks the pronounced ridges along the frame beading of the horizontal arms that are, according to some sources, sure indicators of originality.

Here's a nice, worn Zimmermann RK. Cross unmarked, ovaloid riband ring marked for silver content and L/52. Original riband. Close examination reveals all the dinks and marks from everyday wear over a period of time.

This cross was brought back to France by an officer, now dead, of de Lattre de Tassigny's Army, which landed in the South of France and fought all the way up to Strasbourg and into Germany. It hung in his study for many years.

PK

[Gene]

I don't know who made my RK but I do know it's genuine. Here's an angled shot, hopefully it'll provide some help.

[Gene]

250+ posts and only two replies? I would have thought a thread on combat-worn Knight's Crosses in our collections would have generated a lot more interest. Hmmm. . . lemme think of another item to post

[Dez H]

Hi Gene

I think most people would have to agree this piece has a lot of character. Sure there is nothing wrong with mint cased awards, we all dream of them. Personally I prefer pieces with a few dings and dents, not beaten to death with a sledgehammer but just genuine age and field use. Just enough so they have seen the action. Again a nice piece and thanks for sharing, what type of attachment method does this piece have for the wearer? Anyone else with a field worn knights cross?


Dez

[Ludwig]

RK

Dear Gene,

Do you know the full story of that cross?
What happened to it? Run over by a tank and buried for some years? where did you get it?

Dear Prosper,
Can we have a look at the back of your Zimmermann cross? And the L/52 stamped loop?

[Gene]

Knight's Cross was obtained in Linz, Austria by an American soldier in a trade with a Russian soldier. I have the vet's provenance and story of how he came to acquire it, and it's most interesting. No, it wasn't run over by a tank or left in the ground. It simply belonged to a combat vet.

[Dez H]

Hi Gene

Would you mind sharing the story with us? I do not doubt this piece or the accompanying story. I enjoy hearing the tales for the war, from the people who were actually there and fought tooth and nail to see their homes again. Sadly most of the vets who I used to talk with when I was younger have passed on to greener pastures.


Dez

[Prosper Keating]

Ring detail:

[Prosper Keating]

And the reverse of the cross:

[Prosper Keating]

And a view, for those who aren't too familiar with the Zimmermann RK, showing what is meant when we speak of the 'ovaloid' riband or ribbon loop:

[Tony Barto]

Prosper;

That is a wonderful looking piece.

Tony

[Prosper Keating]

Thanks Tony! As far as all the things that have been or are in my collection (I prefer not to think of it as 'owning' them but merely keeping them safe for posterity) go, this RK is one of my all-time favourites. I was very lucky to get it. One of these days, I will find a Juncker RK in the same sort of condition. Hopefully as part of a Fallschirmjäger group. Impossible goals? Me? Hey...dreaming's free! And I have one of Martin Kühne's documents, his EKII document for Moerdijk, so at least I have part of an FJ RK group to be going on with. Kühne won the RK on Leros as commander of I/FJ-R2. Recently acquired but already in the 'all-time favourites' category. Sadly, I don't know who owned this L/52 RK but whoever he was, he wore it everyday for quite a while before it ended up in the hands of the French officer who brought it home and hung it up in his den for decades. The riband still smells of pipe smoke! You can't see it in the pictures but there is a wear pattern on the beading on the reverse that indicates rubbing and bouncing against a tunic button so it is reasonable to assume that the man who won it was Army or Waffen-SS rather than a sailor or an airman.

PK