Certificate of Appreciation from the Commander-in-Chief of the Army for excellence on the battlefield
The certificate of approval of the Commander of the Army for outstanding performance on the battlefield was an award which mid-1941 just before the invasion of the Soviet Union or immediately after the beginning of Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch in his capacity as Chief of the Army was donated (OBDH). This probably happened in parallel to the certificate of approval of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army for aircraft kills . As with his document pedant , the honor was initially intended as a collective award for entire units. However, in the first few weeks of the war against the Soviet Union, this came to the fore for individual recognition of individuals in the Army and the Waffen SS .
Award requirements
The only concrete award requirement that could lead to the submission of the application and the subsequent award by the troop superior was the accomplishment of an excellent performance by the combat unit or the individual on the battlefield . However, in practice such outstanding achievements were mostly recognized by the commander with state medals and decorations or combat badges. Examples include the Iron Cross II. Class , the War Merit Cross with Swords, and the General Assault Badge .
Award numbers
The above-mentioned practical interpretation of the combat commanders, who rather recognized the achievements of their soldiers with medals and decorations, are also reflected in the relatively low number of awards of the certificates of recognition. It was awarded “only” 1322 times from mid-1941 until the end of the war. These included 20 collective awards for troop units and 30 individual awards to members of the Waffen SS. The remainder of the 1,272 awards were given to individuals in the Wehrmacht . Well-known awards are:
- Collective awards
- 6th Company of Infantry Regiment 462 (December 30, 1941 near Orlowka near Stalingrad )
- Individual awards
- Lieutenant Colonel Willibald Borowietz (April 12, 1941 after the Balkan campaign )
- SS-Unterscharführer Johannes Meguscher (March 16, 1942 near Bjakowo )
- Major Joachim Neumann (September 17, 1943)
- Lieutenant Kurt Bodendörfer (August 14, 1944)
- Lieutenant Karl Kasper (August 17, 1944 near Lielstapeles )
Others
The same document model was also used when the entrusted was awarded the honorary sheet clasp .
literature
- Veit Scherzer : The holder of the certificate of recognition of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army for aircraft kills 1941-1945. Scherzer's Militair-Verlag, Burgstadt Ranis 1994, p. 2.
- Manfred Dörr: The holder of the certificate of approval of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army 1941–1945. Biblio, Osnabrück 1993, ISBN 3-7648-2426-3 .