German Nazi Infantry Battalion Standarte captured by American soldiers of Company L ,417th Regiment, 76th Division. White silk flag with three-sided silver fringe. Silk Heer eagle with embroidered claws and beak is centered in a white silk field surrounded by oak leaf wreath made of bullion (silver tress ). The Iron Cross is made of black silk and edged with silver tress. The four black swastikas are edged in silver tress. The white silk background shows areas of damage. Conservation work was completed on this Standarte in 2004 at "Textil Konservering, Stockholm, Sweden". Two-part shank made of wood with appropriate de-Nazified topper and bullion thread tassels dated Marz 16 1935 and 1936. Research was conducted on the twenty American names in order to discover the unit to which they belonged. Medical cards found for four of these GIs placed them in Company L, 417th Regiment, 76th Division. This coincides with the lettering "Co. L" that is found above the eagles wings. Copies of these medical cards as well as the conservation documentation will be provided to the successful bidder. The 417th Infantry Regiment arrived in England on December 4, 1944. As part of the 76th Division, they landed at Le Havre, France, 12 January 1945. The 76th Division proceeded to the Limesy concentration area. The Division moved to Beine east of Reims and then to Champlon, Belgium, 23 January, to prepare for combat. Relieving the 87th Division in defensive positions along the Sauer and Moselle Rivers in the vicinity of Echternach, Luxembourg, 25 January, the 76th sent out patrols and crossed the Sauer, 7 February, and breached the Siegfried Line in a heavy assault. The advance continued across the Prum and Nims Rivers, 25–27 February. Katzenkopf fortress and Irrel fell on 28 February and the attack pushed on toward Trier, reaching the Moselle, 3 March. Driving across the Kyll River, the division took Hosten, 3 March, Speicher on 5 March and Karl on 10 March; swung south and cleared the area north of the Moselle, crossing the river, 18 March, near Mülheim an der Mosel. Moving to the Rhine, the 76th took over defenses from Boppard to St. Goar and crossed the Rhine at Boppard, 27 March. It drove east and took Kamberg in a house-to-house struggle, 29 March. A new attack was launched 4 April and the Werra River was reached the next day. The attack continued in conjunction with the 6th Armored Division; Langensalza fell and the Gera River was crossed, 11 April. Zeitz was captured after a violent struggle, 14–15 April, and the 76th reached the Mulde River on 16 April, going into defensive positions to hold a bridgehead across the Mulde near Chemnitz until VE-day. The 417th regiment had heavy losses at the Luxembourg-German border, the crossing of the Sauer River and at the conquest of the Siegfried Line at the beginning of the combat in January and February 1945. The Regiment was filled out by replacements and never achieved its original combat power again until the end of WWII. Provenance- Hermann Historica Munich 10/17-18 2003 Measurements - Standarte 50"x50", Pole with topper 72", board 73"-55"