During WW2 the German army handed out millions of combat awards. There was a large range of reasons for receiving an award. This could be for destroying tanks in combat, spending a set amount of days in combat, destroying a certain amount of enemy planes or even as simple as where a soldier had served. Some of the most valuable awards in a collecting sense now are the awards that were awarded scarcely. For example the 100x tank award for being involved in over 100 combat situations with the enemy. A serious feat!

All of these awards are now heavily collected in the militaria world. So today we will have a look at a few WW2 German combat awards for sale by our partner websites.

Silver Infantry Assault Badge “S.H.u.Co. 41”

The infantry assault badge in silver or “Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber” was originally introduced on December the 20th 1939 and was awarded to soldiers who had participated in three separate infantry assaults. There were numerous variations of situations that would qualify you for this award but that is the general classification.

This example below is a die-struck zinc piece with a nicely detailed front. The classic shape of the badge depicts the German eagle above an oak-leaf wreath and cutout rifle with fixed bayonet. On the rear of the badge you can make out the faint manufacturer’s initials and the date “S.H.u.Co. 41”. This means the badge was manufactured by Sohni, Heubach and Company of Oberstein in 1941.

Available from The Collector’s Guild in the USA for $179.

Silver Infantry Assault Badge

Up next we have another Infantry Assault Badge and this is where we get into the variation of manufacturer. Most collectors collect awards by type, but also by manufacturer. There are some very rare manufacturers and some more common, this can vary the value massively. I will be honest, it’s not something I know a lot about!

This example from Eagle Relics is interesting as it comes with the original issued certificate. This lets us know that it was awarded to Gefreiter Paul Rossbach who at the time, was serving with the 1st Infantry Regiment. It was issued to him on May the 24th 1942 in the field.

Available from Eagle Relics in the UK for £140.

Infantry Assault Badge – Broken Pin

I have chosen this next example for variety in price. It appears to be a semi-relic item but the overall appearance is still in good condition. The only shame is that sadly the rear pin has broken off at some point. This is likely repairable if you have the skills, but even if not, from the front, this badge displays just as any other example.

Available for sale today at The Militaria Shop in the UK for £75

Panzer Assault Badge in Silver

This next award was issued to soldiers who had been involved in 3 different armoured assaults on 3 separate days. There were a few variations but the main examples are the Bronze and Silver. The Bronze was issued to Panzer-Grenadier troops, tank assault crew, armoured recon units and medical personnel who went into battle with armoured vehicles. The silver was issued to tank commanders, radio operators and gunners. This silver PAB (Panzer Assault Badge) is in great overall condition and the rear pin is completely functional. Overall it’s a great example of an increasingly hard-to-find award.

Available from Eagle Relics in the UK for £265.

Finally, here is a German Army Flak (anti-aircraft) award. The criteria for a flak award is quite complicated, including a points system attributed to a particular flak battery (group of guns). We will go into detail on the points system in a future article but for the moment, the award of this badge was for the accumulation of 16 points by the battery, or a single piece of bravery by an individual and subsequent recommendation by an officer. Each member of the flak battery was eligible for the award once the battery earned enough points.

This particular example is a die-struck silver example with the classic embossed oak leaf wreath and Wehrmacht eagle. The detailing of the flak 88 cannon in the centre makes this badge a fantastic-looking item.  On the rear, the badge maintains its original pin and hook system that still function as intended.

Available from The Collector’s Guild in the USA for $1,250.

Have you seen this article? WW2 German Field Gear

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