Born in 1898 in Ploen, Karl Mauss got his start like many German World War II generals in World War I, having enlisted in the armed forces in 1914. Active with Jaeger Battalion #9 out of Lauenburg, he was noted as the youngest man in his division. Active on the Western, Eastern and Italian Fronts (including action at the Battle of the Somme), he earned the Iron Cross in both 2nd and 1st Class, as well as an officer's commission. While a very talented scout, the young man had aspirations towards flight, eventually securing a posting as a flight cadet. During the final outing for his flight training, Mauss' aircraft went into a near fatal dive from 3,800 meters; as the cause of the crash was determined to be a mechanical issue with the rudder controls (attributed as deliberate tampering by an unknown party), he received his pilot's certificate while laid up with multiple broken bones. After his recovery and the end of the war, he was shifted to the reserves, and spent some time as a paramilitary fighter, active with the Freikorps Oberland (later a core unit of the Brownshirts in Bavaria) and Marinebrigade Ehrhardt (which participated in the Kapp Putsch against the Weimar Republic), seeing action in the suppression of the Silesian Uprisings. After this, he settled down a bit and tried his hand at civilian life, dabbling in the publishing field before committing himself to the study of dentistry, earning his doctorate in the late 1920s and establishing a private practice. In 1934, he left the dental field and returned to the Army, attaining the rank of Major by 1938. Over the course of World War II, he led the 20th Motorized Infantry into Poland, the 10th Panzer Division into France, and also participate in the Invasion of Russia, both the initial charge towards Moscow and at Kursk. In January of 1944, Mauss was placed in command of the 7th Panzer Division, previously Rommel's infamous "ghost division" during the Invasion of France; this period of the unit's history under Mauss' command was mainly spent being driven back towards Germany by the Soviets, with the occasional counter-attack punctuating a number of retreats, rear guard actions, and evacuations, often acting as a "mobile pocket" in areas already overrun by the Red Army. Much like Rommel, Mauss preferred leading from the front as much as physically possible, and earned a reputation with both the Nazis and the Soviets as a skilled operator. On February 2nd of 1945, Mauss was scouting ahead of his unit during a counter-attack when his command car took a direct hit, killing the other occupants and inflicting grave injuries on the General, requiring the amputation of one of his legs. Short a limb and confined to a stretcher, he continued to lead his unit another 4 days before finally being evacuated. Following a personal appeal by Mauss to the head of personnel, the 7th was evacuated via sea and was later able to surrender to the British instead of the Soviets. Reports conflict on his final rank; in post-war private life he was known to use the rank of Generalleutnant in correspondence, but his biography in the book "Knights of the Reich" (included) mentions a final promotion to General der Panzertruppen in April of 1945. Over the course of World War II, he earned the Clasps for the 2nd and 1st Class Iron Cross, the German Cross in Gold, as well as the following ranks of the Knight's Cross: the Knight's cross in November 1941, the Oak Leaves in 1943, the Swords in 1944, and the Diamonds in 1945. Instituted over the course of World War II, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross started as the top combat valor award of Nazi Germany, and steadily escalated as winners continued to perform feats worthy of recognition. Though technically there were two higher decorations, the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds in Gold (given to one Luftwaffe aviator), and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (given to Hermann Goering, then retracted before war's end), the Diamonds were functionally the pinnacle of awards, being presented only 27 times. Spending time in British captivity after the war, Mauss was passed over for a position with the Bundeswehr, and returned to his dental practice, living a quiet life before passing on in 1959. The lot hinges around three groupings: 1) A uniform set appointed for and marked to Mauss as a Generalleutnant, 2) an original vintage Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, paired with one reproduction, and 3) a tool case marked to the commander of the 7th Panzer Division. 1) The uniform set consists of tunic, breeches and belt. The tunic is a typical "feldgrau" material with deep green felt trim, featuring extensive red piping, gold bullion collar tabs, gold/silver on red Generalleutnant's shoulder boards, and a gold bullion Nazi eagle on the right breast. The decorations are extensive, including a thick gold agilette cord, a stitched-on metal and cloth German Cross in Gold, the Close Combat Clasp, an eight-piece medal bar starting with the 1914 2nd Class Iron Cross with Spange, and a set of 5 medals: (from top) the Spange for the 1st Class Iron Cross, Panzer Badge, 1914 1st Class Iron Cross, Wound Badge in Gold, and a WWI vintage pilot's badge. A label from Albert Kuhl is present on the interior below the collar, and the left interior breast pocket has an additional Kuhl label, signed to Mauss and dated April 1944. The breeches are gray twill construction with red trim and zippered cutts, and the belt is silver and green ribbon faced with a gold colored "A" marked buckle. 2) The Knight's Cross set consists of two items. Both follow the general pattern of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, with "L/12" marked on the rear of the top arm, "swastika/1939" and "1813" dating, the clasp assembly with pierced-through stone mounting, and the red white and black ribbon. The first, labeled by the consignor as a vintage original presentation item, is 1.9 inches wide, with a 1 inch wide crossed sword set and a .78 inch wide set of oak leaves, featuring 34 total brilliant diamonds (consignor estimated at 2.7 carats total), with the tie absent from the ribbon. The second cross is unlabeled but appears to be a modern reproduction, with a painted alloy cross, a .82 wide oak leaf cluster, approximately 54 brilliant diamonds, and a shoelace-style cord stitched to the ends of the ribbon. 3) Planning document case, marked "7 PD Kdr." on the lid in white paint and "Planausrustung" in black. The contents include a number of original tools as well as a "YUMA" brand safety razor, a shaving brush, and a rock. A variety of documents are grouped with the lot, including the books "Knights of the Reich" by Fraschka, "Die 7.Panzer-Division" by von Manteuffel and "For Fuehrer & Fatherland" by Angolia, vintage photographs of the General, assorted untranslated correspondence (original and photocopy) and photocopies of award documents, a large folding map, and an issue of Military Trader (July 2000, Volume 7 Issue 7) with General Mauss as the cover story and featuring several elements from this grouping in the photography.

1) Fine, with a few small stains and holes. 2) Excellent, with mild wear and handling. 3) Good, with some splits and scuffs on the exterior, hand-markings in the interior label, and mild handling marks overall.