Juncker Ground Assault Badge

Product Description: This Juncker Ground Assault Badge is a nice, untouched example of a tough badge to find. It’s a later war production example, made of zinc with a separately applied eagle made of brass alloy (Tombak). The silver wash over the wreath has mostly faded out from age and wear, with some original finish remaining in the recesses of the design. The cloud and bolt retain most of their original darkened finish. As with some of the later produced zinc badges that Juncker made, light production cracks can be seen in a few areas. The most noticeable production crack is on the wreath’s 3 o’clock area, just under the cloud. The electroplated silver eagle retains most of its silver finish, with only very slight toning. The reverse of this Juncker Ground Assault Badge has textbook mid- to late-war Juncker hardware, with an elongated barrel hinge, oblong catch plate with flat wire “C” catch, and thin Tombak needle pin. The rivet retaining the separate eagle is textbook Juncker as well. A name, and possibly a location, can be seen hand scratched on the reverse. The name appears to read “Georg K. Emde” and on the wreath is scratched “Goldhausen.” It is otherwise unmarked. This Juncker Ground Assault Badge has a great look, with outstanding character. It remains 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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