A Formal Croatian Document for the Award of the King Zvonimir Order; Third Class with Swords

Awarded to Leutnant Heinrich Walchner, 1. Kw.Kol./kroat./373.; dated 26. October 1943; awarded for the "meritorious and consistent duties in fights against the rebels (Tito's Partisans). A large document, measures 28cm x 36cm, with seal at the bottom, and facsimile signature of Air Force General M. Navratil on left, and original signature of Percevic (?) on the right side; document is folded and holed, in very good condition and scarce. Footnote: The 373rd (Croatian) Infantry Division (German: 373. (Kroatische) Infanterie-Division, Croatian: 373. (hrvatska) pješačka divizija) was a division of the German Army during World War II. It was formed in June 1943 using a brigade from the Home Guard of the Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH) with the addition of a German cadre. The division was commanded by Germans down to battalion and even company level in nearly all cases, and was commonly referred to as a "legionnaire division". Originally formed with the intention of service on the Eastern Front, it was used instead for anti-Partisan operations in the territory of the NDH until the end of the war. It fought mainly in the western areas of the NDH, and was involved in the attempt to kill or capture the leader of the Partisans, Josip Broz Tito, in May 1944. Severely depleted by desertion, the division withdrew towards the Reich border in the early months of 1945, eventually surrendering to the Partisans on 10 May 1945 near Brežice in modern-day Slovenia.