WW1 / WW2 / 20th Century
A Most Incredible and Intriguing European Art Deco Bronze Table Lamp, Decorated With the Subject of a Prisoner in an Ancient Chinese 'Cangue' Torture Device Beneath a Lamp
A seated figure with the torture block of a Chinese 'cangue' . Likely designed from small portable carved wooden figures purchased and brought back to Europe by travellers to the Treaty Port of Ningbo in China, sometime in the early 20th century. The European fascination with all things oriental, from the exotic east, has influenced western art considerably for centuries, and it is frequently known as Chinoiserie Art, although the depiction of Chinese torture implements was somewhat niche, but they were especially popular, and depicted in decorative art, paintings, prints and sculpture. But this is the first time we have seen an old rendition of one in the form of a beautiful bronze table lamp. This very nice quality and fascinating piece of object d'art in bronze and enamel painted glass, is one of those incredible creations. This kind of tortuous affair using the cangue was usually unique to the far east from the ancient period up to relatively modern times. In fact the legendary Genghis Khan himself was imprisoned in such a terrible device when he was captured by another mongol leader as a youth before he grew into becoming the world greatest conqueror.
the bronze is signed at the reverse base, the front lamp base bears Chinese script, as does the cangue panel around the prisoners neck, which often details the prisoner's crimes, and the French bronze founder's label is on the underneath.
Although there are many different forms, a typical cangue would consist of a large, heavy flat board with a hole in the centre large enough for a person's neck. The board consisted of two pieces. These pieces were closed around a prisoner's neck, and then fastened shut along the edges by locks or hinges. The opening in the centre was large enough for the prisoner to breathe and eat, but not large enough for a head to slip through. The prisoner was confined in the cangue for a period of time as a punishment. The size and especially weight were varied as a measure of severity of the punishment. The Great Ming Legal Code (大明律) published in 1397 specified that a cangue should be made from seasoned wood and weigh 25, 20 or 15 jīn (roughly 20–33 lb or 9–15 kg) depending on the nature of the crime involved. Often the cangue was large enough that the prisoner required assistance to eat or drink, as his hands could not reach his own mouth, or even lie down. The word "cangue" is French, from the Portuguese "canga," which means yoke, the carrying tool has also been used to the same effect, with the hands tied to each arm of the yoke. Frequently translated as pillory, it was similar to that European punishment except that the movement of the prisoner's hands was not as rigorously restricted and that the board of the cangue was not fixed to a base and had to be carried around by the prisoner. the condition overall is very good, the lamp has four hand painted enamel glass panels but the interior somewhat concealed one has been long past repaired in the mid section 13.5 inches high x 7 inches deep, x 3.2 inches wide. If one wishes to use it for illumination once more It will need safely rewiring to approved standards, what remains of any past wiring should not be used under any circumstances. read more
545.00 GBP
An Excellent German WW2 Wehrmacht Leather K98 Bayonet Frog With RBNr.
Reichsbetriebsnummer german frog stamped 0/0365/0012 RB.Nr Pößneck (Thüringen) read more
A Most Desirable & Rare Canadian WW1 Historical Regimental Ross Bayonet of The 1st Depot Battalion, 1st Quebec Regt. One Of The Great Heroic Regiments Of Canada From The Close of the Great War.
A veritable museum grade collectors piece. With superb regimental markings from the small number of conscripts and heroes of the ill fated, 1st Depot Batt. The Quebec Regt. Who suffered a terrible percentage of casualties at the Western Front.
A fairly uncommon bayonet to find, even unmarked of regimental details these days, but, very rare indeed to find with good regimental markings, especially by such a small detachment of conscripts from a regiment of such noble history. A draft of Military Service Act, 1917 conscripts from the 1st Depot Battalion, Quebec Regiment, Montreal sailed on the S.S. Scandinavian March 25, 1918 arriving in England April 3, 1918. The total size of this draft at present is unknown probably about 500 soldiers. What is known is that 140 of this draft were channelled through the 23rd Reserve Battalion into the 14th (Royal Montreal) Battalion. Of this draft of 140 soldiers,100 were casualties with 22 deaths all within the last 100 days of the war! Photo in the gallery of Headquarters, Depot Battalion, Quebec Regiment, Montreal, March 27, 1918, Lt.-Col. L.J. Daly-Gingras, D.S.O., O.C. A photo in the gallery of a mounted soldier, Onil Basette of Marieville, 1st Depot Battalion, 1st Quebec Regiment, taken in 1918. The bayonet metal is unusually painted red . Details of their noble and heroic service in just those 100 days are including in the following engagements; The Advance in Picardy (8 August 3 September, 1918) Amiens 8-11 August 1918
The Breaking of the Hindenburg Line (26 August ? 12 October, 1918) Arras, 1918 26 August 3 September 1918
Scarpe, 1918 26-30 August 1918
Drocourt-Queant Line 2-3 September 1918
Hindenburg Line, Battles of the 12 September 9 October 1918
Canal du Nord 27 September 2 October 1918
Picardy (17 October 11 November) Pursuit to Mons 11 November 1918 read more
365.00 GBP
A British Officer's Webbing Service Revolver Holster Government Issue Dated 1942 A Souvenir of a British Normandy Veteran 9th Battalion Cameronians {Scottish rifles} Combat Against 12th SS Hitlerjugend Panzergrenadiers
His uniform souvenir of a British Normandy veteran deployed to combat in Caen In 1944 after his landing on D.Day.
Used by the British officer during his combat with a soldier from the 12th SS German Hitlerjugend Panzergrenadier and where he acquired his Hitlerjend membership badge and with his wound badge, and K98 bayonet {all sold separately} with the 9th Battalion Cameronians {Scottish rifles} officer's pistol holster. A great little historic collection but all likely of interest to different collectors. 1/SS-Panzergrenadierregiment 26. 1/SS-Panzergrenadierregiment 26.
Raised in 1943 with seventeen-year-olds from the Hitler Youth movement, and following the twin disasters of Stalingrad and ‘Tunisgrad’, the Hitlerjugend Panzer Division emerged as the most effective German division fighting in the West. The core of the division was a cadre of offices and NCOs provided by Hitler’s bodyguard division, the elite Leibstandarte, with the aim of producing a division of ‘equal value’ to fight alongside them in I SS Panzer Corps.
During the fighting in Normandy, the Hitlerjugend proved to be implacable foes to both the British and the Canadians, repeatedly blunting Montgomery’s offensives, fighting with skill and a degree of determination well beyond the norm. This they did from D+1 through to the final battle to escape from the Falaise Pocket, despite huge disadvantages, namely constant Allied air attack, highly destructive naval gunfire and a chronic lack of combat supplies and replacements of men and equipment.
In 1944 the 12th SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend was deployed during the Battle of Normandy against the British and Canadian forces to the north of Caen. Over 20,000 German youths participated in the attempt to repulse the D-Day invasion; while they knocked out 28 Canadian tanks during their first effort, they ultimately lost 3,000 lives before the Normandy assault was complete. During the following months, the division earned a reputation for ferocity and fanaticism. When Witt was killed by Allied naval gunfire, SS-Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer assumed command and became the divisional commander at age 33
In 1944, Hitler was counting on an elite group: "the Werwolf." A secret group formed by the combat section of the Waffen-SS. They had only one mission: to resist the advance of the Allied forces at all cost. Their training was based on guerrilla tactics. But the fearsome Waffen-SS, in 1945, were almost exterminated and for that reason Hitler gave the order that children who at most reached 14 years, would become soldiers of the Werwolf. The young people of the Werwolf were under the command of the lieutenant general of the SS, Hans Prützmann. Commanding him was the leader of the SS, Heinrich Himmler.
The group would commit other resounding crimes, such as the killing of Major John Poston (liaison officer of Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery), General Nikolai Berzarin (Soviet commander in Berlin) and General Maurice Rose, the oldest Jewish officer in the US Army.
A very interesting book on the 12th Hitlerjugend SS-Panzer to be found on this link below;
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/12th-Hitlerjugend-SS-Panzer-Division-in-Normandy-ePub/p/19736
Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading, as Britain’s oldest established, and favourite, armoury and gallery read more
95.00 GBP
George Orwell 1984 1st Edition, Ist Printing In Red RESERVED.. Now SOLD
"Nineteen Eighty-Four is a book that goes through the reader like an east wind, cracking the skin, opening the sores... I do not think I have ever read a novel more frightening and depressing; and yet, such are the originality, the suspense, the speed of writing and withering indignation that it is impossible to put the book down." VS Pritchett
"Already we know almost literally nothing about the Revolution and the years before the Revolution. Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right." George Orwell 1984 published in 1949 by Secker and Warburg and, of course, is one of the most important novels of the 20th century. Orwell died in January 1950. Printed in both red and green in 1949 and it is still not known which colour came first.
Stock photo read more
NOW SOLD!! The Most Historical German Officer’s Dagger War Trophy of WW2. Recovered From The Map Room Aboard U-110. The Most Important Capture of WW2. U110 Commanded by Kptlt Fritz Julius Lemp, Hero Of Germany, For His Attack on Battleship HMS Barham
Every single day we try our upmost to acquire, and thus offer to our collectors, interesting and fascinating souvenirs of history going back thousands of years. Today is no exception. We are showing the ‘Operation Primrose’ WW2 Kriegsmarine Dirk from Kptlt. Fritz Julius Lemp’s U-boot Top Secret Code Room Cabin. It was from U110 that the boarding party men from HMS Bulldog, after six hours, recovered an Enigma Machine, and the Kapitan's all too vital super top secret Kriegsmarine code books, the service dagger, the crew’s film of U110 at sea {filmed from the conning tower} and several other vital pieces of secret intelligence. His U-boot dagger was 'retreived' by the Royal Naval engineering officer Lt. Commander who boarded to U110 to ensure it was safe to tow safe haven after its capture {it was however ordered to be scuttled}. U-110 was at sea for approximately two months before its capture on May 9, 1941. Its second patrol, which ended with its capture, lasted from April 15 to May 9.
When the British officer who recovered this trophy was personally decorated with his Distinguished Service Cross by His Majesty King George VIth, the king confirmed to LT Commander Dodds, that his involvement in the ultra top secret action was probably the most important maritime combat success of the entire war. The dagger is in superb condition with a near mint blade with superb full naval etching and all its original frost finish, and small scabbard dent at its base, with more photos of the blade to add tomorrow.
"The Secret Capture"
U-110 was captured by the Royal Navy on May 9 1941. This was perhaps the most important capture of the entire war and was so secret that even the crew of U-110 did not know of it! U-110, under the command of Kptlt. Fritz Julius Lemp, had been attacking a convoy in the Atlantic south of Iceland together with U-201 (Oblt. Adalbert Schnee), when Lemp left his periscope up too long (probably to confirm a kill: he sank two ships totalling 7500 GRT that day) and the escort corvette HMS Aubretia sighted it and rushed to the scene and began depth charging.
U-110 survived the first attacks, but then HMS Bulldog and HMS Broadway joined the hunt. U-110 was forced to surface, and HMS Bulldog immediately set course to ram (its commander realised it might be possible to capture U-110, and veered aside at the last moment) which caused Lemp to order "Abandon Ship". Lemp assumed the boat would be sunk, and its confidential material would go down with it. When he was in the water he realised the boat was not sinking, and attempted to swim back to prevent capture. That was the last seen of him. Members of U-110s crew later claimed he was shot in the water by the British boarding party, but that was never confirmed.
The boarding party commanded by Lt David Balme, followed by Lt Commander Dodds, made several journeys between U-110 and HMS Bulldog to collect whatever they could get their hands on inside the boat. This proved to be very fruitful, as U-110 was abandoned in a hurry, and being a Type IXB U-boat, did not sink as rapidly as a Type VIIC would have. It is almost certain that many U-boats were sunk as a result of the material found inside U-110, including from the kapitan's code room an Enigma machine with rotors set, current code books & his kriegsmarine officer's dirk.
The day after the capture, the British Admiralty realised the importance of this, and that if the Germans knew the boat had been captured, they would assume the worst and change their codes and cipher system. The boat was accordingly ordered to be scuttled while being towed to Britain, the surviving crew were taken straight to Iceland to be interned, and everyone involved in the capture sworn to secrecy. 15 of U-110's crew died in the action and 32 were interned.
This amazing and supremely important action was portrayed in the Hollywood movie, U-571, but its name changed and the capture was made, not by the Royal Navy, but by American vessels.
This event was the subject of a British parliamentary motion in 1999 condemning the portrayal of the capture of U-110 and subsequent breaking of German codes as an American success in the film U-571.
KptLt. Lemp had previously achieved great success in his second U boat, U-30, sinking 17 ships and damaging two, including his part in damage and sinking of the British battleship HMS Barham. She was the first U-boat to make use of the French bases in July 1940, and on 14 August 1940 Lemp, aged 26, became the seventh U-boat commander to be awarded the Knights Cross.
The secret was the capture of the Enigma machine by the Royal Navy from U-110. We will have {arriving next week} the Kriegsmarine dagger, made by Carl Eikhorn in 1941, probably of Kptlt. Fritz-Julius Lemp (Knights Cross) taken from the captain's map room of U110 by the RN officer of HMS Bulldog, who was the Lt Commander Chief Engineer of HMS Bulldog, who had to inspect U110 to enable towing after all the ships booty, including the enigma machine and code books, officer's dagger, had been stored aboard HMS Bulldog.
The Captain of Bulldog realised how important the items recovered from U-110 were, so decided not to send an informative radio message about the capture which avoided the Germans learning of the loss, instead sailing to Iceland and then Scotland with the German prisoners kept isolated. Acquiring an Enigma machine was of some help, but the capture of the code books was of immense help to the Government Code and Cypher School in that the codes were still valid until 30 June 1941 enabling six weeks of unfettered and immediate access to the German naval code, their insight making the breaking of future German naval codes much easier.
Kptlt. Lemp’s U-boot’s dirk, and the Lt Commander's RN sword, was sold by the family by a special auction in Bonhams about 20 years ago. Including the letters of provenance, scanned photos of the RN officer holding his sword, and catalogue etc. that we now have. Some of the paperwork and copies of the scanned Admiralty photographs. We will offering with both items.
Lt Commander Dodds Royal Naval officer's sword that is to be offered for sale seperately.
The Lanes Armoury partner's both agree this is probably the most important Kriegsmarine dirk from WW2. And possibly, only the dirk of Kapt. Hans Langsdorff of the Kriegsmarine Pocket Battleship, Graf Spee, could possibly be comparable if it was to appear one day. Before the secret of U110 was revealed, The Graf Spee and the Battle of the River Plate was the previously the most famous engagement of the Royal Navy vs the Kriegsmarine in WW2.
Photo in the gallery of Admiral Donitz and Kapitanlt. Lemp aboard his U-boot, before his last combat mission and the capture by the Royal Navy of his U-boot.
Both sword and dagger with provenance were offered by us for sale separately, but have been acquired by a collector together in order to the keep the integrity of their history together since 1941
Film by a 1941 Pathe News War photographer { link below} of the tragic sinking of British capital ship, the Battleship HMS Barham.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdrISbwy_zI
Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading, as Britain’s oldest established, and favourite, armoury and gallery read more
An Excellent German WW1 Iron Cross, Near Mint Condition, Silver Mount rim and Iron Centre Issued in WW1 But Worn in both WW1 and WW2. WW2 Souvenir of a Former D.Day Combat Veteran
Souvenir from a WW2 veteran. Taken from a veteran German soldier, by a British soldier after landing on Juno Beach at the Normandy landings in 1944 in the early summer.
From a 1st Btn. Suffolk Regt. veteran fighting continually right through to the end of the war near Bremen. We acquired his WW2 campaign medals about 3 years ago. A very good medal with silver rim and iron centre. Next to the Victoria Cross, it is the most famous medal in the world. The Iron Cross was awarded for bravery in battle as well as other conspicuous military contributions in a battlefield environment. The Iron Cross 2nd Class was worn in one of two different methods: When in formal dress, the entire cross was worn mounted alone or as part of a medal bar. For everyday wear, only a ribbon was worn from the second hole in the tunic button.
The Iron Cross is a black four-pointed cross with white trim, with the arms widening toward the ends, similar to a cross pattée. It was designed by the neoclassical architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and reflects the cross borne by the Teutonic Knights in the 14th century.
The ribbon for the 1813, 1870 and 1914 Iron Cross (2nd Class) was black with two thin white bands, the colours of Prussia. The non-combatant version of this award had the same medal, but the black and white colours on the ribbon were reversed.
Initially the Iron Cross was worn with the blank side out. This did not change until 1838 when the sprig facing could be presented.
Since the Iron Cross was issued over several different periods of German history, it was annotated with the year indicating the era in which it was issued. For example, an Iron Cross from the First World War bears the year "1914", while the same decoration from the Second World War is annotated "1939". The reverse of the 1870, 1914 and 1939 series of Iron Crosses have the year "1813" appearing on the lower arm, symbolizing the year the award was created. The 1813 decoration also has the initials "FW" for King Frederick William III, while the next two have a "W" for the respective kaisers, Wilhelm I and Wilhelm II. The final version shows a swastika.
It was also possible for a holder of the 1914 Iron Cross to be awarded a second or higher grade of the 1939 Iron Cross. In such cases, a "1939 Clasp" (Spange) would be worn on the original 1914 Iron Cross. (A similar award was made in 1914 but was quite rare, since there were few in service who held the 1870 Iron Cross.) For the First Class award the Spange appears as an eagle with the date "1939" that was pinned above the Cross. Although two separate awards, in some cases the holders soldered them together.
A cross was the symbol of the Teutonic Knights (a heraldic cross pattée), and the cross design (but not the specific decoration) has been the symbol of Germany's armed forces (now the Bundeswehr) since 1871. As with all our items, each one comes with our unique, lifetime guarantee, certificate of authenticity read more
220.00 GBP
A Beautiful Antique Royal Vienna Porcelain Cabinet Plate By Griener Hand Painted by One of the Finest Artists of Royal Vienna, and Signed Griener.
A portrait bust of Count Graf von Zeppelin. With gold reflief border. Pre WW1 early 20th Century. Royal Vienna mark in underglazed blue. Gilding of the finest quality 99% good or better condition. The great inventor of the amazing Zeppelin Airships that eventually spanned the globe. DELAG German: Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft was founded on 16 November 1909 as a subsidiary of the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin Corporation to commercialize airship travel. It became the world's first passenger airline in revenue service with the launch of LZ 7 Deutschland in 1910. While DELAG's initial flights were primarily sightseeing tours, by 1919 it was operating a regular schedule between Berlin and Friedrichshafen with a stop at Munich. Between 1910 and the outbreak of World War I DELAG transported over 34,028 passengers on 1,588 commercial flights.
The first DZR (1935?1940)
The creation of the DZR as successor to DELAG occurred for both political and business reasons. Luftschiffbau Zeppelin (LZ) chairman Hugo Eckener, who had intended to run against Hitler in the 1932 presidential election, was already disliked by the Nazis. When Eckener later resisted the new Nazi government's efforts to use zeppelins for propaganda purposes, Reich Minister of Aviation Hermann G?ring insisted that a new agency be created to extend Party control over LZ Group. A personal rivalry between G?ring and Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels also played a role. To complicate matters further, the Luftschiffbau was a loss-making concern and needed cash investment, in particular to complete construction of the Hindenburg.
Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei was therefore incorporated on 22 March 1935 as a joint venture between Zeppelin Luftschiffbau, the Ministry of Aviation, and Deutsche Luft Hansa. The LZ Group's capital contribution came primarily from its two airships LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin and LZ 129 Hindenburg, the latter of which was not yet complete on the date of incorporation. Nearly all of the rest was an infusion of cash by the Air Ministry and DLH. In exchange for this, the DZR agreed to ownership apportioned as follows: read more
985.00 GBP
Set of Three German Mutterkreuz, Early Ist Pattern in Silver, Two 2nd Patterns in Gold & Silver
The first is a very rare example of the first pattern Mutterkreuz Mother's Cross in silver in good condition. all awarded to the same lady, but she was supposed to return the first pattern as it was an error in the Third Reich distribution, which is why it is so rare. 85% of the value of the three medals is for the very rare Ist pattern medal
The Cross is more or less identical to the more common later pattern, except that on the back is stamped "Das Kindadelt dir Mutter' and the early style signature of Adolf Hitler. Later models have '16 Dezember 1938' and the later version of his signature. From 1933 to 1945 Hitler's signature changed a few times.
The 2nd is the gold cross 2nd pattern and the third a silver 2nd pattern.
The first pattern only existed for a very short time thus,. as a result, it is one of the rarest non military awards.
It was Adolf Hitler’s joint experiences of witnessing the manpower losses on the Western Front in WWI and deaths in his immediate family that were the behind a desire to encourage German mothers to have large families.
Three of Adolf’s siblings died as children and even his mother, who he doted on, died when he was just 18. By the time the National Socialists gained power Hitler had already formulated plans for expansion in the east with Lebensraum, or living space. The army, as well, would need those large families to provide a stream of new recruits. The honouring of motherhood was also another way of encouraging traditional German values to counter what Hitler, and many saw as the decadence of the more liberal, roaring ‘20s and early 1930s.
The result was a civil award that recognised the contribution of German mothers to the nation. The Ehrenkreuz der Deutschen Mutter, translated as the Cross of Honour of the German Mother, or as it more informally known, the Mother’s Cross, was instituted by statutory order on 16 December, 1938 by Adolf Hitler. The Cross was originally to be awarded on the second Sunday in May, or Mother’s Day, but as some three million German women were already eligible this was extended to include other important national occasions. It did mean that the first awards weren’t given until May 1939. The Mother’s Cross came in three grades, as follows:
Gold Cross – for mothers with eight or more children
Silver Cross – for mothers with six or seven children
Bronze Cross – for mothers with four or five children
Size: 36 x 46mm
Acquired from the estate of a late collector, acquired by him from his collecting period that commenced in the 1950's. Please note 85% of the value of this small collection is the the most rare ‘1st pattern’ silver example, these single and highly rare medals can easily achieve over £1000 today, 10 times the value of the 2nd patterns as we show here.
Photo 5 in the gallery shows the rear view of this 1st pattern mutterkreuz medal that was used to illustrate the versions in Militaria History published in 2018 read more
1095.00 GBP
Autograph Photo Martin Kuehne Commander of the I./Fallschirmjager-Regiment
Martin Kuehne
Luftwaffe Hauptmann Commander of the I./Fallschirmjager-Regiment 2, awarded his Knights cross on 29 February 1944. Martin Kuehne (1 November 1918 - 25 March 2003) what a highly decorated Major in the Fallschirmjager during World War II . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross is awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Major Kuhne's Awards and decorations;
## Parachute Shield Badge (28 April 1940)
## Iron Cross (1939) ## 2nd Class (18 May 1940)
## 1st Class (18 May 1940)
## Ground Assault Badge of the Luftwaffe (26 May 1943)
## Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (7 October 1941)
## Medaglia d'Argento al Valor Militare (9 February 1942)
## Eastern Front Medal (16 July 1942)
## Libya Medal (11 February 1943)
## German Cross in Gold (23 July 1943)
## Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 February 1944 as Captain and commander of the I./Fallschirmjager-regiment 2
The campaigns he took part in were; ## Crete
## Battle of the Netherlands
## Battle of Crete
## Operation Barbarossa
## Victory of Leningrad
## Second Battle of El Alamein
## Italian Campaign
## Gothic Line Offensive
The Fallschirmjager Knights Cross winners between 1939-1945 are totalling 133 recipients.
1 was awarded in Norway
were awarded in Normandy
10 in Belgium
13 in Holland, early and late war
1 at Corinth
27 in Kreta
4 in Afrika
40 in Italy
8 on the Eastern Front
2 in the Ardennes
6 within the borders of Germany at the end of the war
Out of the 133 recipients:
69 were also awarded the German Cross in Gold
6 were awarded posthumously
20 recipients were KIA
1 was executed after the war
3 were killed in accidents
3 died from wounds received in action after the event
1 was a pilot. This autograph photo was given personally by Major Kuehne, detailed on the reverse and signed twice, dated 1991. On October 23rd 1942 the second battle of El Alamein was launched, German and Italian forces started their retreat from the area on 3rd November.
The British 8th army began to push the Axis forces westward through Egypt and Libya into Tunisia. The Allied high command decided on a plan to trap the Axis forces by landing a force into French North Africa and pushing Eastwards, while Montgomery?s 8th army pushed westwards and then northwards into Tunisia.
German paratroops had been in North Africa since July 1942 when Major General Bernhard Ramcke?s Fallschirm Brigade arrived to take part in the battles at El Alamein. His brigade consisted of 4 battalions, the 1st battalion commanded by Major Kroh, 2nd Battalion commanded by Major Baron von der Heydte, 3rd Battalion commanded by Major Heubner and the 4th Fallschirm-Lehr Battalion comanded by Maj Burkhardt. It gave a good account of itself in action but was almost destroyed in the fighting around El-Alamein and the retreat afterwards and many of his men were lost in the general surrender of May 1943. The remnant of his unit were reformed into part of the new 2nd Parachute division in 1943. Excellent condition. read more
150.00 GBP