Armshield Awards
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Demjansk Armshield
Krim Armshield
Krim Armshield
On February 8th 1942, the Russian Army encircled the 2nd Army Corps in the town of Demjansk, about 100 miles north-east of Cholm.  Trapped in the pocket were the 12th, 30th, 32nd, 223rd and 290th Heer Infantry Divisions, as well as the 3rd SS "Totenkopf" Division.  Also trapped were RAD, Police, Todt organization, and other auxiliary units who assisted in the battle. 

Ordered to resist, the garrison was extensively supplied from the air, by the Luftwaffe.  During their besiegement the group offered the Russians stiff resistance, tying up three Soviet Armies for the length of 14 months.  The battle group was finally able to break out of the siege on the 21st of April. Out of the approximately 100,000 men trapped, 3,335 were KIA and over 10,000 were wounded. 

The garrison commander presented the shield to members of the Wehrmacht and auxiliary units who met the following criteria, 

Heer/Auxiliary 
-To have served honorably in the besieged area for 60 days. 
-To have been wounded in the besieged area. 
-To have earned a bravery award while serving in the besieged area. 

Luftwaffe 
-To have flown 50 combat missions over the besieged and surrounding area. 
-To have flown and landed 50 supply missions 

Company commanders were responsible for reporting the list of eligible men under their command by December 31, 1943. The award ceased to be presented on July 4th, 1944. Each recipient was entitled to five copies of the shield, and in case of death, a single shield and an entitlement certificate was presented to the next of kin. 

The shield was to be worn on the upper sleeve of the uniform. In the case of the Waffen SS, it is worthy of note that it was to be worn above the SS arm eagle. 

It is estimated that over 100,000 shields were presented. 

The Krim (Crimea) Armshield. This is the version with a 4 prong backplate and is mounted on Wehrmact cloth with the backing cloth still intact. It also attracts to a magnet. In the autumn of 1942, Eleventh Army was charged with the conquest of the Krim peninsula under General der Infantery Erich von Manstein. The award was presented to all members of the 11th German Army and the 3rd Rumanian Army that participated in the campaign. 

To qualify a soldier must have -

- served in the region for 3 months 
- taken part in at least one major combat operation. 
- been wounded while serving in the region. 

Around 100,000 were awarded and the shield was worn on the upper left sleeve of the uniform.