Krim Campaign Shield

Product Description: This Krim Campaign Shield is a textbook original piece. It’s made from stamped metal, with good detail, retaining nearly all of the original bronze finish. There is some typical age patination, with a few tiny spots here and there. There is also just a tiny bit of wear to high points that reveals the light color of the base metal. The Heer/SS Feldgrau wool backing fabric on this has been munched on by moths, with scattered pencil eraser sized holes, and areas of nap grazing exposing the fabric weave. It seems that this one may have been worn on a uniform at one time, though the moth damage makes it hard to say for sure. The reverse of this Krim Campaign Shield is missing the paper backing, which reveals the original backing plate still held in place with the shield’s four prongs. The backing plate is steel with oxidation from age. This Krim Campaign Shield is in fair condition overall, and shows its age, but remains a sound piece with nice finish.

Historical Description: The Krim Shield was a combat award of the German Wehrmacht, used to recognize the troops who fought on the Crimean Peninsula, on the Eastern Front, between September 21, 1941, and July 4, 1942. Crimea had been taken by the German Army Group South, specifically the 11th Army led by Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein.  The shield was officially instituted by Adolf Hitler on July 25, 1942, by a proclamation stating that the award would recognize the “heroic battles” in Crimea. The shield depicts a German national eagle and swastika emblem as well as a map of Crimea, along with the word “Krim” and the dates 1941 and 1942. It was worn on the left upper sleeve of the uniform. To qualify for the award, soldiers had to have participated on one of eight specific battles that were a part of the campaign, to have been wounded in action, or to have served 3 months, without interruption, in the Crimea region. Members of all branches of the Wehrmacht, including the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine, were eligible for the award. The shield was made from steel, and later from zinc, and was issued affixed to a backing cloth that allowed it to be stitched to the uniform. Between 200,000 and 300,000 shield were awarded.

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