Iron Cross Documents that include the recipient's actions on the reverse are my favorite type. They are relatively uncommon but seem to have been done by various units throughout the entire war. By far, the unit that seems to have done it the most was Grossdeutschland; even in the latter years when it would be less expected given the hectic times. I have also seen at least three examples from 1. Gebirgs-Division - one from 1939, one from 1940 and one from 1942. Other units include 376. ID, 46. ID, 3. Pz. Gren. Div., and 5. SS Pz. Div.
The one shown below is my most recent acquistion. It was offered on a site in Europe and I was able to secure via the generous help of Kevin H. The specific details are actually relatively brief, but interesting nonetheless. It was awarded to a radioman and member of Artllerie Regiment 188 for fighting against the Soviet airborne operation west of the Dneiper River on September 25, 1943. The details on the reverse specifically speak to the fact that the recipent was effective against Soviet Fallschirmjaeger. To me, the retreat to the Dneiper is one of the most interesting parts of the war on the Eastern Front. And, to have an award document that is the result of fighting the Soviet airborne operation, one of the most extraordinary of the war, is that much more interesting. In this case, the award was made by 57. ID even though Art. Rgt. 188 was actually organic to 88. ID. The lending of units to different divisions was quite common throughout the war, and it was probably quite common at this point given the race to the Dneiper and beyond. Another interesting aspect of this citation are the various dates. The actions for which he won the award, the date it was proceessed on division level and then the date it was processed/completed by his Battalion (this is when the details were added) are all included. These three dates shed some light on the award process of the EK in this case.
I'd be interested in seeing other examples of these types of award documents. Please post yours.
Also, can anyone tell me what the V.B. means in front of Funker?
The one shown below is my most recent acquistion. It was offered on a site in Europe and I was able to secure via the generous help of Kevin H. The specific details are actually relatively brief, but interesting nonetheless. It was awarded to a radioman and member of Artllerie Regiment 188 for fighting against the Soviet airborne operation west of the Dneiper River on September 25, 1943. The details on the reverse specifically speak to the fact that the recipent was effective against Soviet Fallschirmjaeger. To me, the retreat to the Dneiper is one of the most interesting parts of the war on the Eastern Front. And, to have an award document that is the result of fighting the Soviet airborne operation, one of the most extraordinary of the war, is that much more interesting. In this case, the award was made by 57. ID even though Art. Rgt. 188 was actually organic to 88. ID. The lending of units to different divisions was quite common throughout the war, and it was probably quite common at this point given the race to the Dneiper and beyond. Another interesting aspect of this citation are the various dates. The actions for which he won the award, the date it was proceessed on division level and then the date it was processed/completed by his Battalion (this is when the details were added) are all included. These three dates shed some light on the award process of the EK in this case.
I'd be interested in seeing other examples of these types of award documents. Please post yours.
Also, can anyone tell me what the V.B. means in front of Funker?
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