After the fierce fighting at Gromovaya-Balka, USSR, Major-General Werner Sanne (Commander 100. Light-Infantry-Division), rewarded the Walloons’ heroism with thirty-seven Iron Cross Second Class - an exceptional feat for a single battalion - during a parade on March 13, 1942. Captain Pierre Pauly (Commander 373. Infantry-Battalion) was the first to receive it, Stepanovka, U.S.S.R., March 3, 1942.