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of USM Inc. Those images and the text may be used by others ONLY AFTER completion
of a formal international licensing agreement and payment of a licensing fee!
This is a wonderful, absolutely authentic piece of World War II history, not so much for its beauty or the value of the metal used to make it, but rather because of the circumstances under which it was made and the materials it was made from.
It is a 3-1/8 x 4-7/8 inch (78 x 123 mm) hand formed aluminum tray with German bullets and shell casings in each corner. Engraved by hand on the top surface of the tray are the words Wolchow-Brückenkopf Grusino 10.10.43 HW. The words mean “the Bridgehead over the Wolchow at Grusino 10 October 1943”, and HW are almost certainly the initials of the man who made it.
We won’t spend any time explaining what happened on the Wolchow in 1942 and 1943 (you can easily find out on wikipedia and many other websites) but will just mention that it was one of the great, horrible stand-offs on the Russian front that cost tens of thousands of German lives.
It was a protracted slug-fest during which German troops were driven deep into their trenches awaiting the next round of fighting. In those trenches the troops carved the famous Wolchow Stock or Wolchow canes and manufactured trench art trophies like the one we offer here. This piece of trench art has spent the last 65+ years in a home in Munich, Germany where we acquired it recently.
The bottom side of the aluminum tray is lacquered with a gold color. The slugs or bullets appear to be 8 mm rifle rounds and the shells on the bottom appear to be 9 mm shell casings such as those used in the MP40 Schmeisser and the PO8 Luger pistol. One of the four 9 mm shell casings is missing. The perfect companion piece in a display featuring an Ostfront medal and an Iron Cross.
NAZI TRENCH ART FROM THE BRIDGEHEAD AT WOLCHOW
A SMALL TRENCH
ART TRAY MADE
BY A NAZI SOLDIER
AT THE WOLCHOW
BRIDGEHEAD
AT GRUSINO,
10.10.43
ART TRAY MADE
BY A NAZI SOLDIER
AT THE WOLCHOW
BRIDGEHEAD
AT GRUSINO,
10.10.43
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This superb piece of Nazi East Front trench art is offered for sale for $125.00 delivered in the continental United States We will be happy to ship abroad at additional cost. Please inquire. |
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