Photograph of Walter Graf von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt by Walter Frentz

General der Infanterie Walter Graf von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt (Kommandierender General II. Armeekorps) in a picture taken in 1942 by Walter Frentz, during Eichenlaub award ceremony with Hitler at the Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze in Rastenburg, East Prussia. Von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt formally earned the 103rd Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 27 June 1942 for his steadfast leadership and the heroic combat performance of his six divisions during the intense defensive fighting in the Demyansk Pocket on the Eastern Front. In the winter of 1941-1942, after the Soviet counteroffensive had encircled roughly 100,000 German troops of II. Armeekorps and other units in a roughly 30-kilometer-wide pocket southwest of Demyansk, Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt's forces faced relentless Red Army assaults, severe supply shortages exacerbated by the harsh winter conditions, and repeated attempts to liquidate the pocket. Despite being cut off from the main German lines since February 1942, the general maintained firm command, personally overseeing critical sectors from his Fieseler Storch reconnaissance aircraft while suffering from severe rheumatic pain that he concealed from his troops to preserve morale; he inspired his Grenadiere, Pioniere, and Kanoniere through his visible devotion to duty and calm confidence amid crisis after crisis. Under his direction the encircled divisions conducted skillful mobile defenses, launched sharp counterattacks to restore threatened sectors, repelled massive infantry and tank assaults, and held key positions through artillery fire and close-quarters fighting, inflicting heavy losses on the attacking Soviet forces while the Luftwaffe sustained the pocket with air drops. The award citation highlighted both the collective honorable and heroic combat of his soldiers and the general's own exemplary leadership abilities, which served as a visible model for the troops and contributed decisively to the pocket's tenacious resistance until the eventual breakout and relief in the spring of 1942.

Source :
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=641596&hilit=brockdorff#p641596
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/28519/Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt-Graf-von-Walter.htm
https://www.walter-frentz-collection.de/fotoarchiv/personenarchiv-a-z/personen-a-b/#&gid=1&pid=96