Campaign shields (Wehrmacht)

Campaign shields (German: Ärmelschild), also known as campaign arm shields, were badges of differing design awarded to members of the German Wehrmacht for participation in specific battles or campaigns during World War II. Each shield was worn on the left upper arm of the uniform jacket. Where a recipient received more than one shield, the earlier was worn above any later awards.[1]

Official awards

Shield	Institution date	Awarded for	Number of awards	Service branch	Image
Narvik Shield "Narvikschild"	19 August 1940	Landing in Narvik or participation in military actions of the Narvik battle group between 9 April and 9 June 1940[2]	8,527	Army, Air Force, Navy
Cholm Shield "Cholmschild"	1 July 1942	Defence of the Kholm Pocket between 21 January and 5 May 1942[2]	ca. 5,500	Army, Air Force
Crimea Shield "Krimschild"	25 July 1942	The Crimean campaign, 21 September 1941 to 4 July 1942, including the Siege of Sevastopol[3]	ca. 250,000[4]	Army, Air Force, Navy
Demyansk Shield "Demjanskschild"	25 April 1943	Defence of the Demyansk Pocket, February to May 1942[3]	ca. 96,000	Army, Air Force, Waffen-SS
Kuban Shield "Kubanschild"	20 September 1943	The military actions around the Kuban bridgehead from 1 February to 9 October 1943[3]	ca. 145,000	Army, Air Force, Navy
Warsaw Shield "Warschauschild"	10 December 1944	Suppression of the Warsaw Uprising between 1 August to 2 October 1944. While award criteria and design were approved, none were produced by the end of the war.[5]	None	Army, Air Force, Waffen-SS
Lappland Shield "Lapplandschild"	Between February and May 1945	Awarded to the 20th Mountain Army for service in Finland, September 1944 to May 1945. The shield was approved and designed shortly before the war's end, with early recipients named already in March 1945 and receiving notification of the award in their military pay book, but first awards were made only after Germany's surrender and actually presented starting in July 1945.[6][7]	Unknown	Army, Air Force, Navy

Post-war versions

After an initial ban, the Federal Republic of Germany re-authorised the wearing of many World War II military decorations in 1957. This included all official campaign shields except for the Warsaw Shield and Lappland Shield. Re-designed to remove the swastika emblem, members of the Bundeswehr could wear the shields on their ribbon bar, represented by a small replica of the award on a field grey ribbon.[8]

Unofficial or discontinued prior to award

Several shields were either unofficial or had approval withdrawn during the design phase, and were therefore never manufactured and awarded:[1]

Shield	Institution date	Awarded for	Number of awards	Service branch	Image
Stalingrad Shield "Stalingradschild"	Not proceeded with	Battle of Stalingrad, 1942–43[9]	None	Army, Air Force
Balkans Shield "Balkanschild"	Not proceeded with	Battles in the Balkans 1944–1945[10]	None	Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS
Budapest Shield "Budapestschild"	Not proceeded with	Siege of Budapest, December 1944 to February 1945[9]	None	Army, Air Force, Waffen-SS
Dunkirk Shield "Dünkirchenschild"	Unofficial locally produced award	Siege of Dunkirk (1944–45). This shield was worn on the left side of the forage cap[10]	ca. 12,000 to 15,000	Army, Air Force, Navy	w:de:File:Dünkirchenschild.jpg
Lorient Shield "Lorientschild	Unofficial locally produced award	Siege of Lorient, 1944–45[11]	ca. 10,000 to 12,000	Army, Air Force, Navy
Memel and Neman Front Shield "Memel- und Njemenfrontschild"	Not proceeded with	Battle in the area of the city of Memel and the river Neman, 1944–45[9]	None	Army, Air Force, Navy

References

1. Williamson 2002, p. 17.
2. Littlejohn & Dodkins 1968, p. 142.
3. Littlejohn & Dodkins 1968, p. 143.
4. Williamson 2002, p. 20 states 100,000 recipients.
5. Williamson 2002, p. 21.
6. Nimmergut 2001, p. 2266.
7. Williamson 2002, p. 23.
8. Littlejohn & Dodkins 1968, pp. 224-226.
9. Williamson 2002, p. 33.
10. Williamson 2002, p. 24.
11. Williamson 2002, p. 22.

Sources

• Ailsby, Christopher (1987). Combat Medals of the Third Reich. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0850598223.
• Angolia, John (1987). For Führer and Fatherland: Military Awards of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 0912138149.
• Littlejohn, David; Dodkins, Colonel C. M. (1968). Orders, Decorations, Medals and Badges of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing, California. ISBN 978-0854200801.
• Williamson, Gordon (2002). World War II German Battle Insignia. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1841763527.
• Nimmergut, Jörg (2001). Deutsche Orden und Ehrenzeichen bis 1945. Band 4. Zentralstelle für Wissenschaftliche Ordenskundeg. ISBN 3-00-001396-2.