Ostmedaille Award Certificate – Unteroffizier – Regimentsgruppe 163

Original German award certificate (Urkunde) for the Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42 (Ostmedaille), awarded to Unteroffizier Wilhelm Rettberg, serving with 4./Rgt.-Gruppe 163. The certificate is dated 20 August 1942 and formally awards the Ostmedaille for participation in the winter campaign on the Eastern Front of 1941/42. It bears an original period unit stamp and is signed in the capacity of Oberstleutnant und Div.-Gruppen-Kommandeur.

The unit designation Rgt.-Gruppe 163 is particularly interesting. The 163 designation was associated with Infanterie-Regiment 163 of the 52. Infanterie-Division, a regiment formed in 1939 and which served with the division during the campaigns in France and, from 1941, on the Eastern Front. During 1941–42 the regiment fought in the central sector, including the Moscow campaign and subsequent fighting around Juchnow, Orel and Newel. Infanterie-Regiment 163 was redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 163 in October 1942, only a few months after this certificate was issued.

The 20 August 1942 award date is also significant: by this point the 52. Infanterie-Division was still fighting on the central sector of the Eastern Front, having been involved in particularly heavy fighting around Juchnow and later north of Orel. The Ostmedaille itself was awarded to personnel who had taken part in the winter campaign of 1941/42, making this certificate a direct piece of documentation for a soldier who had experienced that extremely demanding period of the Eastern Front campaign.

Condition

Original wartime document with a horizontal fold across the centre, light age-related toning, minor discoloration and general handling/storage wear. The printed text remains strong and clearly legible, while the original period stamp and handwritten signature remain visible.