WW1 / WW2 / 20th Century

What an incredible idea for Christmas!
A unique, bespoke, Rolex ‘mystery’ watch, probably one of the most spectacular ‘statement watches’ ever to be seen anywhere in the world today, that once belonged to one of the greatest movie legends of them all, Elizabeth Taylor.

The concealed Rolex watch movement is hidden within the spectacular, gold diamond and ruby set 'belt and buckle' bracelet, and when worn, the watch movement is entirely concealed, and hidden, and must be viewed by simply lifting the end of the belt tab.
The current cost of a 1970's Bulgari Serpenti 'Mystery' Watch, available on the market today, is anything up to £170,000. But the fabulous Bulgari mystery watches hold not a candle to this simply unique and exquisite piece..

This extraordinary watch is as close to a Million Pound watch as you can get. Its provenance is as follows;

In the middle of October 1970 Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton arrived in Brighton for the location filming of Burton's latest film, Villain. During the filming they toured The Lanes in Brighton and visited our shop in Prince Albert St, in order to discuss with David Hawkins snr, the purchase of a mansion David had recently bought in Hove. During their hour long visit to our store some extraordinary business was transacted, between Elizabeth and Camilla Hawkins Mark and David's mother, and wife of their father David snr Camilla bought from Elizabeth, this most spectacular custom made, Rolex movement, gold and diamond bracelet 'mystery' watch that Richard had somewhat recently bought for Elizabeth.

It was the culmination of a conversation that Elizabeth had with David and Camilla concerning the purchase of a Hove mansion, that David and Camilla owned in Hove that Michael Wilding a very famous British actor and another former husband of Elizabeth Taylor was trying to buy from David Hawkins snr, for Michael Wilding's 'other' ex wife, Susan Wilding. Elizabeth had been asked by Michael to intercede on his behalf and convince David to sell, the Hove mansion, as, so far he had thus refused to do.

That most curious conversation and negotiation obliquely developed into an entirely disconnected heated discussion between Elizabeth and Richard, concerning a ring that Elizabeth had seen in a neighbouring jewellers in the Brighton Lanes that very day, and that Elizabeth was determined to buy for herself. However, Richard had ‘forbade’ her from buying it. He strongly protested, and loudly argued, that he was the only one allowed to buy her Jewellery, and Elizabeth, took great exception to this affront to her status and independence. Bearing in mind, Elizabeth had, and always was, paid far more for her performances than Richard was for his. Richard’s talent and fame was world renown, but Elizabeth’s was positively stratospheric. This was the uncomfortable element to their relationship that Richard never truly overcame.

In high dudgeon, to his unwanted rebuke, Elizabeth removed her Rolex watch from her wrist, and immediately offered it for sale, and duly sold it, to Camilla, most likely simply in order to frustrate, anger and annoy Richard, and very possibly to also demonstrate her indifference of his opinions and wishes. So, the upshot was, Camilla gained this magnificent watch that October, and subsequently, a few years later, gave it to Mark her son as a wedding present, in May 1978.
Mark was in fact present in the shop when the argument between Elizabeth and Richard took place, and thus personally witnessed exactly how the watch was offered and purchased from Elizabeth, within the shop, on that grey but significantly eventful October day in 1970. It was, he says, "certainly one of the most curious, momentous and unforgettable days he had ever experienced in the shop during the past 50 years". It is certainly not every day one is personally witness to two of the most famous and talented movie stars in the world having a full blown, somewhat high decibel, hour long marital discourse within just a few feet.

Bearing in mind Elizabeth and Richard were true, original ‘superstars’ in the truest sense of the word.

Dame Elizabeth Taylor had another, very similar quality diamond and gold 'Mystery' watch, and she was indeed photographed wearing it on the set of Cleopatra in 1962 see the gallery photos It was a Serpent Mystery Watch with a very similar watch encased and hidden within the head of a diamond and gold coiled snake, acting as its bracelet, made by Bulgari. That watch was sold in December 2011 for over $974,500, however it did have the benefit of a photograph of Elizabeth wearing it, and so far we have never found a photograph of Elizabeth wearing this far superior example. It was said that to custom hand-make and replicate this unique, finest quality gold, diamond and ruby bracelet watch, with the manual 'fold-out' movement by Rolex, would likely cost over a million dollars today.
Over the past near 40 years we have combed the world of photographs of Elizabeth Taylor to find her wearing it, sadly without success, and when she created her magnificent book on her world famous jewel collection it was thirty years after this magnificent Rolex had been sold.
A photo in the gallery is of Richard and Elizabeth arriving at Brighton Station on the 16th October 1970, she may well have been wearing it then, but her arms are obscured by her jaguar print pant suit. We also show views from her famous jewel collection book,' Elizabeth Taylor, My Love Affair With Jewellery' published in 2002, that we also include with the watch. The watch is being sold in part to benefit Mark and Judy's {Mark's beloved late wife} favourite charities, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and The Guide Dogs for The Blind Association. 10.5 inches long x 1.4 inches wide at the buckle, 130.8 grams. Bears Swiss .750 hallmark 24 diamonds and 40 rubies. There was once a small personal calling card with it from Elizabeth that doubled as it's receipt, but sadly it was lost many decades ago.

After meeting on the set of Cleopatra in the early '60s, actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) and actor Richard Burton (1925-1984) began one of the most publicized and turbulent love stories of all time, captivating millions with their on-again, off-again relationship. Despite the drama, they shared a love that was deep and fierce, the kind of love that can often be as destructive as it is beautiful. According to TIME, Burton admitted he was making movies due to his desire for money, not a love for the art. However, he thought quite highly of his talented wife. He once wrote, "You are probably the best actress in the world, which, combined with your extraordinary beauty, makes you unique. When, as an actress, you want to be funny, you are funnier than W.C. Fields; when, as an actress, you are meant to be tragic, you are tragic."
We recommend this watch is professionally serviced before wearing, which we can undertake if required. Over the decades we have sold many watches, of course, mostly of a military nature, but we have never seen another watch so beautiful as this. A true work of the finest object d'art as well as a piece of useful and functional jewellery. It will be accompanied with a signed statement from Mark Hawkins detailing its full story, but sadly there is no longer any surviving paperwork from Elizabeth Taylor.
However, if one wished for Rolex to create such a fabulous bespoke watch today it would very likely cost up to a million pounds.
We offer it set within a fine Cartier watch box .

Another photo in the gallery is of Elizabeth's other 'Mystery Watch' by Bulgari, which she was photographed wearing on the set of Cleopatra. It sold in 2011 for $974,500.

The bespoke watch case and bracelet of our watch was likely originally custom made for Elizabeth by an exclusive, finest Parisian or Swiss jeweller, such as, for example, Van Cleef & Arpels or Boucheron, and was then fitted with its fold-out ‘hidden’ Rolex movement.

The watch is an amazing 10.5 inches long x 1.4 inches wide at the buckle, and it weighs over 4 ounces 130.8 grams. It bears a Swiss .750 18ct hallmark and contains 24 diamonds and 40 rubies.

Every single item from The Lanes Armoury is accompanied by our unique Certificate of Authenticity. Part of our continued dedication to maintain the standards forged by us over the past 100 years of our family’s trading  read more

Code: 22793

179995.00 GBP

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Empty, inert and perfectly safe. This is one of the very last few we have seen in over 30 years and the first three we sold straightaway. From a superb collection of German ordnance that has arrived. This is one of our last Nebelwerfer Rocket from this collection. Nicknamed by the allies the 'Moaning Mini' due to it's unearthly scream as it flew. An original unfired example, and a simply remarkable piece of history, from the early German Third Reich's rocket technology, and part of a superb Third Reich collection we have been thrilled to acquire. An interesting statistic, it is estimated 75% of all German hi-explosive launched combat in Caen, the Normandy campaign, primarily involved the Nebelwerfers, the rest were fired by the panzers and luftwaffe. Beautifully waffen amt marked and with original paint decoration. The Nebelwerfer ("Smoke Mortar") was a World War II German series of super weapons. They were initially developed by and assigned to the Wehrmacht's so-called "smoke troops" (Nebeltruppen). This weapon was given its name as a disinformation strategy designed to fool observers from the League of Nations, who were observing any possible infraction of the Treaty of Versailles, into thinking that it was merely a device for creating a smoke screen. However, they were primarily intended to deliver poison gas combined with smoke shells, although a high-explosive shell was developed for the Nebelwerfer from the very beginning. And then as an offensive/defensive long range battle weapon the Nebelwerfer and its crews truly came into their own. Initially, two different mortars were fielded before they were replaced by a variety of rocket launchers ranging in size from 15 to 32 centimetres (5.9 to 12.6 in). Nebeltruppen smoke troops are general chemical warfare troops, who were trained for both smoke and gas operations, and in the event of chemical warfare breaking out, the offensive role will be borne primarily by them. Specifically with reference to the use of smoke, it should be borne in mind that when smoke is required in limited areas it is produced generally by smoke-producing ammunition fired by the combat units' organic weapons, such as artillery and mortars; in operations involving the use of smoke in large quantities the specially trained and equipped, smoke troops are used. A number of these units was reported destroyed at Stalingrad. Three smoke batteries were also reported in North Africa. It was known that the Grossdeutschland Division and probably 20 divisions formed since December 1941, include a Nebelwerfer smoke battery.

"It is well to point out here that the Germans distinguish between the blinding screen and the area screen, a distinction not specifically made by General von Cochenhausen. The blinding screen is laid to blind hostile observation. The area screen is laid over an extensive area and fighting is carried out within the screen under conditions similar to a natural thick fog." The previous details were in part taken from a report on German smoke tactics in WWII, from Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 32, August 26, 1943. US War Dept.The thin walls of the rockets had the great advantage of allowing much larger quantities of gases, fluids or high-explosives to be delivered than artillery or even mortar shells of the same weight. With the exception of the Balkans Campaign, Nebelwerfers were used in every campaign of the German Army during World War II. A version of the 21 cm calibre system was even adapted for air-to-air use against Allied bombers. The name was also used to fool observers from the League of Nations, who were observing any possible infraction of the Treaty of Versailles, from discovering that the weapon could be used for explosive and toxic chemical payloads as well as the smoke rounds that the name Nebelwerfer suggested.

Rocket development had begun during the 1920s and reached fruition in the late thirties. This offered the opportunity for the Nebeltruppen to deliver large quantities of poison gas or smoke simultaneously. The first weapon to be delivered to the troops was the 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 in 1940, after the Battle of France, a purpose-designed rocket with gas, smoke and high-explosive warheads. It, like virtually all German rocket designs, was spin-stabilized to increase accuracy. One very unusual feature was that the rocket motor was in the front, the exhaust venturi being about two-thirds down the body from the nose, with the intent to optimize the blast effect of the rocket as the warhead would still be above the ground when it detonated. This proved to greatly complicate manufacture for not much extra effect and it was not copied on later rocket designs. It was fired from a six-tube launcher mounted on a towed carriage adapted from that used by the 3.7 cm PaK 36 and had a range of 6,900 metres (7,500 yd). Rocket-projector troops are employed as battalion and regimental units, in keeping with their task of destroying hostile forces by concentrated fire. One of the advantages of the Nebelwerfer 41 is that it can mass its projectiles on a very small target area. By means of a shrewd disposition of the batteries, a carefully planned communication system, and a large number of observation posts with advanced observers, the infantry can assure for itself manoeuvrability and a concentration of its fire power upon the most important points. Projectors are placed well toward the front?almost without exception, at points forward of the artillery?so that they will be able to eliminate hostile command posts, destroy hostile positions, and even repulse sudden attacks effectively. The firing positions of the projectors are always carefully built up so that the weapons can give strong support to the infantry.

In Russia, during the winter of 1942-43, many breakthrough attempts by hostile forces were repulsed by direct fire from rocket-projector batteries. The projectile itself resembles a small torpedo?without propeller or tail fins. The base is flat, with slightly rounded edges. The rocket jets are located about one-third of the way up the projectile from the base, and encircle the casing. The jets are at an angle with the axis of the projectile so as to impart rotation in flight, in "turbine" fashion. The following note on the operation of the Nebelwerfer 41 is reproduced from the original WW2 German Army periodical Die Wehrmacht.

The Nebelwerfer 41, is unlimbered and placed in position by its crew of four men. As soon as the protective coverings have been removed, the projector is ready to be aimed and loaded. The ammunition is attached to the right and to the left of the projector, within easy reach, and the shells are introduced two at a time, beginning with the lower barrels and continuing upward. Meanwhile, foxholes deep enough to conceal a man in standing position have been dug about 10 to 15 yards to the side and rear of the projector. The gunners remain in these foxholes while the weapon is being fired by electrical ignition. Within 10 seconds a battery can fire 36 projectiles. These make a droning pipe-organ sound as they leave the barrels, and, while in flight, leave a trail of smoke. After a salvo has been fired, the crew quickly returns to its projectors and reloads them. Only its original empty steel shell casing and parts, no propellant, no ingnition system, thus completely safe in all regards. No restrictions to ownership or personal display, but only for sale to over 18's. Not suitable to Export. 38 inches long approx. Copy and paste for original film of Nebelwefer in use on youtube; www.youtube.com/watch?v=loNLz1_Zf1c  read more

Code: 21929

895.00 GBP

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Silver medal 1913. (Lauer) On the crash of the naval airship L 2 in Johannisthal. Icarus lying on the ground, phoenix rising above it burning, falling airship. Hallmark: silver 990, 33.3 mm, 17.5 g. Coll. Joos a. 293 Kaiser 397. Very rare. Matted, small scratches, extremely fine The Johannisthal air disaster was one of the first multiple-fatality air disasters in history. It involved the Imperial German Navy's L 2 airship manufactured by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin as LZ 18. Its test flight resulted in the death of all 28 passengers and crew on board. On 17 October 1913, at approximately 10:30am local time, hydrogen gas which was being vented was sucked into the forward engine and ignited causing the airship to explode and burn. It crashed near Johannisthal Air Field about 10 miles southeast of Berlin. This accident occurred a little over a month after the Helgoland Island Air Disaster.The "Almanac and Year-Book for 1914" reported that the airship "was destroyed by the explosion of a gasoline tank, which occurred as the ship was making a trial trip above the city of Johannisthal, near Berlin. All except one of the twenty-seven military men on board, including the entire admiralty trial board, were killed.

Thousands, who had been watching the evolutions of the L-2, which, if accepted, was to have been the flagship of Germany's new aerial fleet, heard a heavy detonation and saw the craft suddenly become enveloped in flames and drop to the ground from a height of 900 feet.

On reaching the spot in the highway where the airship fell the spectators found nothing but a mass of crumpled aluminium and twisted wreckage. The only man found alive was Lieut. Baron von Bieul, a guest on the trip, who was fatally injured. The passengers of the centre gondola were blown through the sides of the car by the explosion and their bodies fell a quarter of a mile away from the wreck of the dirigible.

The pilot of the airship was Capt. Gluth, who had been in Count Zeppelin's employ for a long time.

The admiralty trial board consisted of seven officers, including Lieutenant-Commander Behnish, and Lieut. Freyer, both personal friends of Emperor William, Naval Constructors Neumann and Pietzler, Naval Engineer Busch, Lieut. Trenk and Chief Engineer Haussmann were among the others killed."  read more

Code: 23640

365.00 GBP

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Probably for many collectors, especially Australian, it is the most desirable and rarest regulation bayonet ever made or issued. This is an original 1907 Pattern SMLE sword bayonet, but, most importantly, it is the early example, with its long hook quillon still intact. The adapted removed or shortened type outnumber the rare original hook quillon type, probably, by several tens of thousand to 1. This example was made in 1911, bearing it's original King Edwards Crown, with ER stamp and Enfield maker stamp. And as was standard issue to the WW1, ANZAC, Australian Light Horse. The hook quillon SMLE issue bayonet, is a the very pinnacle of Great War bayonet collecting. They were used predominantly by the Australian Infantry and Light Horse Brigade in WW1, and due to their use in Gallipoli and the dessert were never returned to the ordnance for regulatory quillon removal as was instructed. In over 45 years we have had barely a handful of these rarest full hook quillon bayonets in original condition and unaltered, but the regular type we have handled, by comparison, many many thousands in the same period of time. Australian Light horse were like mounted infantry in that they usually fought dismounted, using their horses as transport to the battlefield and as a means of swift disengagement when retreating or retiring. A famous exception to this rule though was the charge of the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments at Beersheba on 31 October 1917. In 1918, some light horse regiments were equipped with sabres, enabling them to fight in a conventional cavalry role in the advance on Damascus. However, unlike mounted infantry, the light horse also performed certain cavalry roles, such as scouting and screening, while mounted.
The light horse were organised along cavalry rather than infantry lines. A light horse regiment, although technically equivalent to an infantry battalion in terms of command level, contained only 25 officers and 400 men as opposed to an infantry battalion that consisted of around 1,000 men. Around a quarter of this nominal strength (or one man in each section of 4) could be allotted to horse-holding duties when the regiment entered combat. A regiment was divided into three squadrons, designated "A", "B" and "C" (equivalent to a company), and a squadron divided into four troops (equivalent to but smaller than a platoon). Each troop was divided into about 10 four-man sections. When dismounting for combat, one man from each section would take the reins of the other three men's horses and lead them out of the firing line where he would remain until called upon. By the outbreak of World War I, there were 23 light horse regiments within Australia's part-time military force, consisting of 9,000 personnel. These were organised as follows:
1st Light Horse Brigade (Queensland): 1st (Central Queensland), 2nd (Queensland Mounted Infantry), 3rd (Darling Downs), 4th (Northern Rivers Lancers) and 27th (North Queensland) Light Horse Regiments
2nd Light Horse Brigade (New South Wales): 5th (New England) and 6th (Hunter River Lancers) Light Horse Regiments
3rd Light Horse Brigade (New South Wales): 7th (New South Wales Lancers), 9th (New South Wales Mounted Rifles), 11th (Australian Horse) and 28th (Illawarra) Light Horse Regiments
5th Light Horse Brigade (Victoria): 13th (Gippsland), 15th (Victorian Mounted Rifles), and 16th (Indi) Light Horse Regiments
7th Light Horse Brigade (Victoria): 17th (Campaspe), 19th (Yarrowee), and 20th (Corangamite) and 29th (Port Phillip Horse) Light Horse Regiments
8th Light Horse Brigade (South Australia): 22nd (South Australian Mounted Rifles), 23rd (Barossa), and 24th (Flinders) Light Horse Regiments
25th (Western Australian Mounted Infantry) Light Horse Regiment
26th (Tasmanian Mounted Infantry) Light Horse Regiment. The bayonet has excellent markings to the blade and it's scabbard leather but the any surviving regt markings on the steel hilt mounts are now fully obscured by age.  read more

Code: 19952

1195.00 GBP

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Souvenir of service for a WW1 volunteer.An Imperial Prussian stein for 4 Battery, Niedersachs Feld Artillery, Regt. 46, for the years 1904-1906. Lower Saxony Field Artillery Regiment No. 46. The recipient then volunteered back into the regiment and served in WW1. Superbly decorated. Transfer glazed with hand painted highlights with scenes of the field artillery in combat. Personally named 'in memory of my service' to the recipient 'Kanonier Bahrwald', and further named with every man's name from the regiment 47 names in all Souvenirs of service were purchased by reservists once there service was finished, in this case 1906. Steins seem to have been the most popular purchases. The period of popularity extended from the mid 1890s until the onset of World War I. Examples exist from the 1850s on, but were few in number and individually purchased items. Almost all early examples came from Bavarian units. Steins with wartime dates also exist but the demands of the war in terms of men and material effectively ended the manufacture of regimental steins as we know them.
Steins were ordered from military shops in the area around the garrison town or through the representatives of stein manufacturers. Normally ordered in the spring, they were delivered in early September, just prior to mustering out. The average cost approximated a month?s salary for a German private of that period. The base shows when lit internally the hidden factory 'watermark' in the porcelain. The base also has two old damage areas where the base has been penetrated and in other one area fixed see photo The lid's artillery cannon has the barrel lacking. The Regiment was part of the 20th Infantry Division in WW1. Their actions in WW1 were as follows Calendar of battles and engagements
20th Infantry Division (Western Front)
08.08.-08.16.1914 Conquest of Li?ge
23.08.-08.24.1914 Battle of Namur
29.08.-08.30.1914 Battle of St. Quentin
06.09.-09.09.1914 Battle of Petit-Morin
12.09.-09.13.1914 Fighting at Reims
13.09.1914-18.04.1915 Fighting at the Aisne
21.04.-04.30.1915 Transport to the east
20th Infantry Division (Eastern Front)
05.05.-05.23.1915 Pursuits after the Battle of Gorlice-Tarnow
16.05.-05.23.1915 Crossing over the San
24.05.-05.26.1915 Fight at Radymno and San
27.05.-04.06.1915 Fight at the bridgehead of Jaroslau
12.06.-06.15.1915 Breakthrough battle at Lubaczow
17.06.-06.22.1915 Battle of Lviv
22.06.-07.16.1915 Pursuit battles on the Galician-Polish border
16.07.-07.18.1915 Breakthrough Battle of Krasnostaw
19.07.-07.28.1915 Fighting after the breakthrough battle of Krasnostaw
29.07.-07.30.1915 Breakthrough Battle of Biskupice
31.07.-08.10.1915 Pursuit battles from Wieprz to Bug
12.09.-09.26.1915 Reserve of OH-L. and transport to the west
20th Infantry Division (Western Front)
27.09.-10.18.1915 Autumn Battle in Champagne
31.10.1915-16.05.1916 Fighting at the Aisne
03/10/1916 Storming of the mountain at La Ville aux Bois
18.05.-01.06.1916 Transport to the east
20th Infantry Division (Eastern Front)
14.06.-07.15.1916 Fights on Stochod
16.07.-07.27.1916 Fighting on the upper Styr-Stochod
28.07.-04.11.1916 Battle of Kovel
05.11.-11.18.1916 Positional fights on ob. Styr-Stochod
20.11.-11.25.1916 Transport to the west
20th Infantry Division (Western Front)
26.11.1916-05.01.1917 training
06.01.-02.03.1917 Fighting at the Aisne
10.04.-05.08.1917 Battle of the Aisne
15.05.-04.07.1917 Positional fights in Champagne
05.07.-07.12.1917 Transport to the east
20th Infantry Division (Eastern Front)
13.07.-07.22.1917 Fighting on the Lomnica near Kalusz
23.07.-07.30.1917 Pursuit battles in eastern Galicia
31.07.-02.08.1917 Fighting for Zbrucz, between Zbrucz and Sereth
03.08.-08.16.1917 Position fights between Zbrucz and Sereth
30.08.-08.31.1917 Position fights before Riga
01.09.-05.09.1917 Battle for Riga
09/02/1917 Fights on the Big Jail
09/03/1917 Wholesale Kangern
09/04/1917 Conquest of Bh. Hinzenberg
09/04/1917 Pursuit battles towards the Riga-Wenden road
06.09.-09.10.1917 Positional fighting north of the D?na
10.09.-09.20.1917 Transport to the west
20th Infantry Division (Western Front)
27.09.-10.10.1917 Battle in Flanders
20.11.1917-17.02.1918 Positional fights in the Artois
20.11.-11.29.1917 The tank battle at Cambrai
30.11.-07.12.1917 Attack Battle at Cambrai
18.02.-03.20.1918 Training and march to the "Great Battle of France"
21.03.-04.06.1918 Great battle in France
21.03.-03.23.1918 Breakthrough Battle Monchy-Cambrai
21.03.-03.23.1918 Fight for Morchies and Beugny
24.03.-03.25.1918 Battle of Bapaume
22.04.-05.25.1918 Fighting positions between Maas and Mosel: on the Maashohe at Lamorville-Spada and St. Mihiel
25.05.-06.25.1918 Reserve of OH-L. at Arlon
18.07.-07.26.1918 Defensive battle between Soissons and Reims
27.07.-03.08.1918 The mobile defensive battle between Marne and Vesle
03.08.-08.17.1918 Reserve Army Group German Kronprinz or Boehn
28.08.-02.09.1918 Battle of Monchy-Bapaume
06.09.-09.26.1918 Fighting in front of the Siegfried Front
27.09.-08.10.1918 Defensive battle between Cambrai and St. Quentin
03.11.-11.11.1918 Defensive battle on the Maas
03.11.-11.11.1918 Defensive battles between Maas and Beaumont
12.11.-12.23.1918 Clearance of the occupied territory and march home 12 inches high overall  read more

Code: 21788

255.00 GBP

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