Germany, Wehrmacht. A Rare War Merit Cross I Class with Swords, Spanish-Made for Blue Division Veterans Hold Footnote: This cross was a

Footnote: This cross was a private purchase

paper covering peeling and exposing the wooden frame on the bottom side

and folding creases

The paper is written in Dutch

Some of the Xª MAS men who were stationed in German-occupied northern Italy enlisted to fight for Mussolini's newly formed Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI) and retained the unit title

Germany, Wehrmacht. A Rare War Merit Cross I Class with Swords, Spanish-Made for Blue Division Veterans Hold Footnote: This cross was a(Kriegsverdienstkreuz I. Klasse mit Schwertern eines spanischen Freiwilligen der Blauen Division). Constructed of gilded brass, consisting of a vaulted Maltese Cross with crossed swords piercing the centrepiece, the obverse with pebbled arms and a central wreathed mobile swastika, the reverse with a clip hinge and vertical pinback meeting a round wire catch, flanked on each side by downward pointing hooks, unmarked, measuring 47. 39 mm (w) x 47. 64 mm