VWA Schwarz Award Doc – Panzer-Aufklärungs-Lehr-Abt. (1940 – Signed by Hans Cramer!)

Original Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (Wound Badge in Black) award document, issued to Leutnant Heinz von Rohdn, who was wounded in action on 8 June 1940 during the Western Campaign. At the time, he was serving with the 4. Kompanie / Panzer-Aufklärungs-Lehr-Abteilung, one of the Wehrmacht’s elite armored reconnaissance training formations.

The document is personally signed by Oberstleutnant Hans Cramer, later a highly decorated Panzer commander and recipient of both the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross and the German Cross in Gold.

Hans Cramer – Notable Signatory

Hans Cramer (1896–1968) rose to prominence as one of Germany’s skilled armored leaders during WWII.

• Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross – 27 June 1941, as Oberstleutnant and Kommandeur of Panzer-Regiment 8, 15. Panzer-Division.

• German Cross in Gold – 5 March 1942, as Oberst and commander of Panzer-Regiment 8.

Ritterkreuz Award Action (27 June 1941):
“Oberstleutnant Cramer, commander of Panzer-Regiment 8, led his Regiment in a march from Tripoli to its operations area (a distance of over 1600 km) without any friendly fallouts, and the result was that it was immediately available for operations in an excellent state. After a risky night march he captured Sidi Azeiz and Capuzzo in the morning hours of 16.05.1941. On that same day he led his Regiment in an attack against heavy English tanks, and at the end of that month he significantly contributed to the capture of the Halfaya Pass. By doing this latter act he decisively contributed to the favourable development of the situation for all elements of Kampfgruppe von Herff and for the relief of the strain of our forces at Tobruk.”
(Recommendation submitted 17 June 1941; preliminary document issued 2 July 1941 to Afrikakorps.)

Cramer later rose to the rank of General der Panzertruppen and served as commander of Afrikakorps in 1942–43, before being captured in Tunisia and briefly held as a POW in England.

Unit History – Panzer-Aufklärungs-Lehr-Abteilung

The Panzer-Aufklärungs-Lehr-Abteilung was the German Army’s specialized armored reconnaissance demonstration and training unit, stationed at Krampnitz before the war. Formed from hand-picked instructors and students of the Panzertruppenschule, it represented the cutting edge of reconnaissance tactics.

During the 1940 Western Campaign, the Lehr-Abteilung was thrown into frontline service, testing new equipment and doctrines under combat conditions. Operating fast armored cars, motorcycles, and light tanks, they were tasked with deep penetration reconnaissance, probing enemy defenses, and securing bridges and key terrain. Their aggressive actions often brought them into sharp combat with Allied rearguards, where officers like Leutnant Heinz von Rohdn were exposed to heavy fire.

By combining a training role with active combat deployment, the unit produced many future reconnaissance leaders for Panzer divisions throughout the war.

Collector’s Note

This award document is not only a direct record of Heinz von Rohdn’s wounding in the French campaign of 1940, but also carries the rare wartime signature of Hans Cramer during his time as an Oberstleutnant. Cramer’s later career in North Africa and his Ritterkreuz and Deutsches Kreuz awards make this an especially desirable signed document.

The connection to the Panzer-Aufklärungs-Lehr-Abteilung, an elite and experimental armored recon unit, further enhances its historical significance, linking one soldier’s wound to the frontline testing ground of Germany’s armored warfare doctrine.