Luftwaffe Ground Assault Badge by Arno Wallpach

Product Description: This Luftwaffe Ground Assault Badge has a great look, and lots of character. It’s a late war zinc badge, that retains loads of original finish. The front of the badge is made in one piece, with an integral eagle. The wreath retains much original silvering, and the clouds and lightning bolt have most of the original darkening, with beautiful contrast. All of the original detail is still present to the obverse. The reverse of this Luftwaffe Ground Assault Badge shows full original finish, with only extremely slight bubbling evident. The hinge and catch are integral to the badge, a typical distinctive feature of these Arno Wallpach produced pieces. The round wire pin is functional and original. This badge makes for a very appealing display, and is in excellent condition.

Historical Description: In the early days of WWII, the German Air Force had few units intended to serve as infantry. As the war progressed, and especially after the disastrous first winter on the Eastern Front, more and more Luftwaffe personnel were being engaged in ground combat on the front lines. To recognize the combat experience of these soldiers, Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering introduced the Luftwaffe Ground Assault Badge on March 31, 1942. The badge had been designed by Sigmund von Weech and featured a Luftwaffe eagle and swastika emblem atop a wreath, within which was a storm cloud striking the earth with a bolt of lightning. Those Luftwaffe soldiers who had previously been awarded German Army ground combat badges such as the Infantry Assault Badge, General Assault Badge or Panzer Assault Badge, were to exchange them for the new Luftwaffe badge. To earn this badge, Luftwaffe soldiers had to survive three ground combat actions on three separate days, be wounded in a ground combat action, or to have earned another decoration in such an action. Luftwaffe soldiers killed in ground combat were to receive the award posthumously. Personnel who could receive this award included paratroopers, members of the Luftwaffe Field Divisions, assault gun crews, and even Flak crews tasked with using their anti-aircraft guns against ground targets. On some of these badges, mostly early versions, the Luftwaffe eagle is a separate piece, riveted on. Later in the war, the eagle was most often integral to the badge.

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