Heer Krim Campaign Shield

Product Description: This Heer Krim Campaign Shield is an outstanding piece. The base metal is magnetic steel. This material has held most of the original finish extremely well over time. The factory applied bronze finish is beautiful, with dull golden tones that contrast with deeper brown color in the recesses of the design. This shield is crisply stamped, with bold, impressive detail. The backing cloth is typical wartime field gray wool. The wool retains the original surface nap. The reverse of this Heer Krim Campaign Shield is missing the backing paper, but retains the original plate and 3 of the 4 attachment prongs.  This is a very eye-catching, choice piece, that rates in excellent condition.

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 shields were awarded.

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