(Verleihungsurkunde für Orden der Krone König Zvonimirs I. Klasse). A rare and well-preserved award document for an Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir I Class, Military Division, to a Wehrmacht Officer, constructed of off-white paper stock with black ink and finely scalloped edges, named to “OBERST ALFRED GRAMPE” of Oberkommando (Supreme Command) of Heeresgruppe (Army Group) E, issued and dated 30 August 1943, bearing a dedication of “ZA UPJEŠNU SURADNJU SA HRVATSKIM VOJNIM VLASTIMA” (“FOR SUCCESSFUL COOPERATION WITH CROATIAN MILITARY AUTHORITIES”), the lower quarter of the document bearing a detailed embossed seal of the Independent State of Croatia, flanked by the handwritten signatures of a State Minister and Notary of the Order, measuring 289 mm (w) x 370 mm (h), with two folding creases evident, in extremely fine condition.
Footnote: A recipient of the German Cross in Gold (24 December 1941), Alfred Grampe’s recorded Wehrmacht service began on the Eastern Front, where he participated in Operation Barbarossa as a company commander of Panzer-Regiment I (a position held from 15 April 1941-31 January 1942). He was later appointed regimental commander (1 February 1942-31 December 1942). His transfer to service in the Balkans followed immediately when, on 1 January 1943, he took up a staff position with the Supreme Command of newly-formed Army Group E, overseeing anti-Partisan operations in Greece and Yugoslavia. This unit gradually retreated through the Balkans with the reversal of Germany’s war fortunes, withdrawing from Greece and southern Yugoslavia by the end of 1944. By April 1945, fleeing aggressive pursuit by the Yugoslav Partisans, only scattered remnants of Army Group E managed to cross the Slovenian border into Austria to surrender to British forces.