Heer Krim Campaign Shield – Tunic Removed

Product Description: This Heer Krim Campaign Shield – Tunic Removed is an exceptional example. This is a nice tunic removed piece with hand stitched thread still present around the border. On the obverse, the shield retains virtually all of the beautiful original bronze finish, with minimal age patination on parts of the surface. All of the crisp original detail is intact. The shield is mounted on a backing of typical wartime field gray wool, with a plain weave that is visible through the original nap. There is no mothing or other damage to the wool. The reverse of this Heer Krim Campaign Shield is complete, and retains the original backing paper. The paper shows some normal lifting around the edges but remains all there. The four prongs on the shield and the backing plate are visible in outline beneath the thin paper backing. In recent years it has been getting harder to find nice examples of this desirable campaign award. This one is choice, and remains in outstanding, 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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