Sleeve band

An arm band was a military service or bravery award of the Wehrmacht since 1941 . The award was worn on the left lower sleeve. The cuff goes back to the cuff , which was used as a traditional and association badge by the Wehrmacht , but must not be confused with it.

In contrast to the Wehrmacht, the traditional and association badge is called a cuff in the Bundeswehr . These are worn on both lower sleeves.

history

Gibraltar cuff

Already on January 24, 1901, Prussian associations with a Hanoverian tradition (namely the infantry regiments No. 73 and 79 and the Jäger Battalion No. 10 ) were given permission to wear a ribbon with the inscription " GIBRALTAR " to be allowed. This goes to the appreciation by Georg III. from October 14, 1783, which gave the cuff in its original form.

Wehrmacht

An overview of the arm bands of the Wehrmacht

The first such award was donated by Adolf Hitler on October 16, 1941 with the Crete cuff bracelet after the airborne battle of Crete . As a result, a total of four cuff bands were donated by 1945:

Cuff bracelet Crete
Cuff Africa January 15, 1943
Kurland cuff on March 12, 1945
Sleeve ribbon Metz 1944 on October 24, 1944

Up until now, arm bands as an award for bravery have only been awarded by the Wehrmacht.

Award Regulations

Initially there were individual award provisions for the three branches of the armed forces , but from the Africa cuff, these were combined for the Air Force, Army, Navy and Waffen-SS. Various requirements had to be met in order to obtain one of the cuffs.

For the cuff bracelet Crete

Army : Soldiers who landed on the island by May 27, 1941, as well as soldiers who set sail on May 19, 1941 and were involved in the naval battle off Crete.
Navy : All members of the Navy who reached Crete by air or sea by May 27, 1941, as well as members of the Navy who reached Crete on May 21/22, 1941. May 1941 took part in the naval battles near Sparta and Milos with the first and second transport squadrons. In addition, those members of the Navy who participated in the first tank transport from the mainland to Crete on May 26-27, 1941 could be taken into account.
Air Force : Paratroopers who jumped off or landed over Crete, as well as the crews of the combat squadron z. b. V. (for special use), who were deployed to drop paratroopers or to land on Crete, as well as the aircraft crews of the reconnaissance, fighter, combat aircraft and Stuka who were deployed until May 27, 1941 with combat missions over Crete or in the sea area around the island - and destroyer units.

For the cuff Africa

Mission on African soil for four months

Injury during this mission

Illness from a tropical disease on African soil

After receiving a German award for bravery on African soil

For the Kurland cuff

Participation in at least three battles of Courland or
uninterrupted stay of three months in the area of the Courland Army Group or
Wounding in the Courland Basin

For the Metz 1944 sleeve band

Honorable service of at least seven days as part of the Siegroth combat group
Wounded in the battle of Metz

In addition, it could be used as a “traditional badge” by all officers, civil servants, NCOs and team ranks of the “School Vlf. Fhj. D. Inf. Metz ”.

Armed SS

SS sleeve stripes
SS war reporter	SS standard Kurt Eggers

In the Waffen-SS , sleeve strips were worn on the left sleeve with the troop membership (division, battalion or special unit). See for example SS standard Kurt Eggers .

armed forces

With the introduction of the honorary name, arm bands were given to members of these units in the Bundeswehr . This is worn on the service suit.

Arm band of the guard battalion BMVg

With the army

Army Air Force
Army officers' school
Tank Training Brigade 9
Army Sergeant School I (today: teaching group B, no more cuff)

In the Air Force

Arm bands of the traditional Bundeswehr squadron

Jagdbombergeschwader 31 " Boelcke "
Reconnaissance Squadron 51 " Immelmann "
Jagdgeschwader 71 " Richthofen "
Jagdgeschwader 73 " Steinhoff "
Jagdgeschwader 74 , (until March 2005 had the traditional name " Mölders ")

At the force base

Guard battalion at the Federal Ministry of Defense .

literature

Sascha Ulderup: Sleeves / cuff titles Kreta - Afrika - Kurland - Metz 1944 Verlag Ulderup / Paßmann, Kappeln 2014, ISBN 978-3-9817001-0-7
Kurt-Gerhard Klietmann : Awards of the German Empire. 1936-1945. Motorbuch, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-87943-689-4 .
Adolf Schlicht, John R. Angolia: The German Wehrmacht. Uniforms and equipment 1933–1943. 3 volumes. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1992–1995.

Web links

Commons : Arm bands - collection of pictures, videos and audio files