Crimea Shield
Encyclopedia
The Crimea Shield was awarded to German soldiers under the command of Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein
who fought and conquered Crimea
(Krim in German
) in between September 1941 and July 1942.
The Crimea Shield was instituted on 25 July 1942 and was the most widely distributed of the shields with approximately 250,000 being handed out.
From 21 September 1941 until 4 July 1942 German soldiers faced severe opposition from the Russian army while attempting to capture the important Black Sea ports around Sevastopol
.
This particularly difficult campaign was recognized in the form of the Shield.
The Shield is headed by the German eagle clutching a wreathed swastika
. Flanking the eagle are the dates 1941 and 1942, the start and end dates of the campaign. This sits on the backdrop of the Crimean peninsula, where the fighting took place, which has the word "Krim" stamped into it
Green for Army (Heer
)
Blue for Air force (Luftwaffe
)
Black for Armoured (Panzer units)
Erich von Manstein
Erich von Manstein was a field marshal in World War II. He became one of the most prominent commanders of Germany's World War II armed forces...
who fought and conquered Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
(Krim in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) in between September 1941 and July 1942.
The Crimea Shield was instituted on 25 July 1942 and was the most widely distributed of the shields with approximately 250,000 being handed out.
From 21 September 1941 until 4 July 1942 German soldiers faced severe opposition from the Russian army while attempting to capture the important Black Sea ports around Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
.
This particularly difficult campaign was recognized in the form of the Shield.
Design
The Shield is headed by the German eagle clutching a wreathed swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
. Flanking the eagle are the dates 1941 and 1942, the start and end dates of the campaign. This sits on the backdrop of the Crimean peninsula, where the fighting took place, which has the word "Krim" stamped into it
Wear
The shield was worn on the upper left arm of the recipients uniform. It was sewn on via the backing cloth but there are occasions where this was removed and the shield was pinned onto the uniform, no doubt for aesthetic reasons.Cloth Backing
The colour of the backing cloth is indicative of the branch of the military that the recipient was in.Green for Army (Heer
Heer (1935-1945)
The Heer was the Army land forces component of the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945, the latter also included the Navy and the Air Force...
)
Blue for Air force (Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
)
Black for Armoured (Panzer units)