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Comprehensive grouping pertaining to a highly decorated Heer Gebirgsartillerie officer and later Stabsveterinär from Vienna who spent his war years on the Eastern Front to include two service blouses with original awards, visored cap, insignia, photo albums and loose photos, battle reports with translation and a multitude of associated documents including a personal memoir; all items were formerly the property of Hauptmann Dr. Josef Brachetka who served with Inf. Rgts. 63 and 135 before the war, and then fought with Geb.Art.Rgt.94 during the first summer offensive in Russia, afterwards he was attached to various Lazarett, Gebirgsjäger and Veterinary units before commanding A.Pf.Laz. 528 and was finally on staff with Rgt.Vet.Geb.Art.Rgt.1057 until July 1945, most of the grouping was sold by Dr. Brachetka’s daughter to a Brazilian collector who subsequently sold it to an American dealer, the Gebirgsartillerie blouse, awards and visored caps were sourced later from another source, all correspondence related to the group’s origins and its ownership history with many photos of the collection and including the detailed COA from the original dealer will be included; among the material contaned is a large folio with the legend Unser Alpenkorps in Frankreich having 19 renderings of Heer Generale and landscapes, a large charcoal portrait of Dr. Brachetka wearing the Bergmütze, a large binder having plastic sleeves with many documents and dozens of loose photos including several of the Reichskanzler in Berlin, a large format pen signed photo of H. Göring in white Reichsmarschall uniform, of training exercises and comrades, photos of Dr. Brachetka’s attractive sweetheart and later wife’s RAD service, a book written by Dr. Brachetka's brother about the Schönbrunn zoo and so on; there are various documents such as driver’s license, Curriculum Vitae, membership passes, telegrams, award certificates, wedding invitation and certificate, papers related to the wife’s RAD service and Dr. Brachetka’s many letters sent to her while so engaged, wedding invitation with certificate, and certificates of discharge from POW camp and renouncing the NSDAP; there are many postcards and letters to Dr. Brachetka and wife from friends and comrades in the Heer, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe plus several penciled sketches and also the 40 page memoir entitled Life Reminding; further there are the Battle Reports including captured Russian correspondence which consist of 88 pages with ten annexes, two maps and nine tactical sketches of combat with Russian forces at Winnica and Podwyssokoje between July and August 1941, this secret battle report provides a day by day account of actions taken in the massive encirclement of 25 Russian divisions to conclude with a final accounting of enemy losses of men and material, including high ranking Soviet officers, killed outright or captured and named during the Kesselschlacht bei Uman, the group’s owner has thoughtfully translated this report into English and a printed copy is included; additionally included are loose awards and insignia such as the cased Romanian award Coroana Romanici cu Spade as well as cased commemorative medals for 13 Mar. 1938, I Okt. 1938, and the Return of Memel Medal, loose insignia including badges from Dr. Brachetka’s wife’s RAD service and various Heer pieces such as two sleeve Hauptmann rank insignia with one uniform removed example having machine embroidery and machine stitched bars; the Geb.Art.Rgt.94 Oberleutnant service blouse has the label of a Graz tailor, it is constructed of early quality field grey colored trikot wool and has a green colored rayon linings, it is setup for wear with a dagger and has one internal breast pocket, with dark green badge cloth stand and fall collar close with a a pair of hooks with eyes, having officer quality field grey painted pebbled buttons and silvered zinc shoulder board buttons, the officer quality collar patches are hand stitched, the shoulder boards are sewn in, both have aluminum rank pips and the numerals 94 with slightly differing styles, the hand embroidered wire national emblem is hand sewn and the tip of one wing has unraveled a bit, the Gebirgsjäger patch on right arm is worked in non metallic off white, green and gold threads on dark green wool, still attached are the original four place ribbon bar and three breast badges affixed to their original loops - unmarked, silver washed zinc IAB, unmarked stamped brass BWB and DRL Sports Badge, the catch on the DRL Sports Badge's pin is repaired making it difficult to remove, blouse shows a good deal of service wear and patina but is free of overt damage save for a square shaped patch to the lining; the Stabsveterinär service blouse in the Austrian cut is assembled from heavier ribbed trikot wool, it has the dark green stand and fall collar with a pair of hook and eye sets for closure, garment has a six button front, upper pleated patch pockets with prominent scallops, two flapped hip pockets and two rear belt support buttons, the remaining buttons are officer quality painted pebbled steel, lining materials are a cream colored ribbed rayon and flat red cotton for the skirt, there is one internal breast pocket and an internal waist belt, the officer collar patches are hand sewn and the Hauptmann rank shoulder boards each with two gilt rank pips and Aesculapius are sewn in, the Gebirgsjäger patch and national emblem are hand embroidered in aluminum wires with contrasting thread highlights and are hand applied, the Kuban shield is applied to left upper arm with prongs and plate affixed through the sleeve lining, the adjutant's aiguillette is held by a painted pebbled button sewn under the shoulder board, a cord around the neck secures the aluminum EKM which is embossed GEN.KDO.XVIII.A.K. over N 143, a separate aluminum ID container has papers summarizing Dr. Brachetka’s name, date of birth, birthplace, unit, etc., a brass eyepiece with lens is attached with a lanyard, Dr. Brachetka’s original awards and ribbon bar are attached to loops, except for the IAB and DRL Sports Badge which have pins poked through the wool, the seven piece ribbon bar includes the ribbon for the Rumanian award, the Nahkampfspange in Bronze is marked R.S. (Rudolf Soul) and lacks its back plate, the EKI is unmarked, the silver washed zinc IAB is marked MK (Metall & Kunststoff) in a triangle this garment too shows light age and soiling with a few picks to the fabric but without damage; the Gebirgsartillerie visored cap is a product of the Clemens Wagner firm, about a size 56, it has a fine shape with high peak, the cap body is made of field grey colored doeskin wool, the hochrot colored piping is of wool with the crown piping being slightly thicker, the cap band is wool, the visor composite, the aluminum wire chin cord is affixed with two small silvered pebbled buttons, the aluminum insignia is attached via prongs, none of which penetrate the lining, having a golden cream colored rayon interior with imprinted logo, the sweat diamond is absent, the tan colored leather sweatband is a bit stiff and has some cracking at the forehead, cap was worn quite a bit and the visor is slightly loose, cap body exhibits soiling and some light stains but there is no damage to the fabric; an incredible set worthy of further study, only a fraction of the photos and documents could be shown here, shipping for this large lot will be calculated separately, please paste the URL below for additional discussion, sold recently but now available again, USD $16,500
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