Lapland shield

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The Lapland Shield ( replica )
Certificate for the award of the Lapland Shield

The Lapland shield was a traditional badge in the form of a sleeve shield of the German Wehrmacht in World War II , which, although planned, could no longer be donated before May 8, 1945.

Background to the creation of this award

On September 3, 1944, the Finnish government concluded an immediate armistice in an agreement with England and the Soviet Union, in which, among other things, it was determined that the German Wehrmacht must have completely evacuated Finland by September 15, 1944 . On September 4, 1944, a Monday, all Finnish troops ceased fighting along the 800-kilometer front. At that time, the positions of the 20th Mountain Army under their then commander Lothar Rendulic were about 100 km east of the Finnish border, i.e. on Soviet territory . In the face of the facts, Rendullic had only two alternatives. The surrender to the Red Army or the retreat via Finland into Norway, which is still occupied by the Wehrmacht. The High Command of the Wehrmacht finally ordered Rendullic to withdraw his units to Northern Lapland on the Petsamo - Ivato - Skibotn line (Birgen movement). At that time the 20th Mountain Army comprised nine divisions with approx. 200,000 men, 60,000 horses and other carrying animals as well as the necessary reserves of life and ammunition for a full 9 months. Gradually it was cleared:

On October 27, 1944, after heavy fighting with Russian and Finnish units, Norway was reached, the sales movement was completed and the new positions near the Lyngenfjord were occupied (see also the Lapland War ). After that there was no further fighting in Lapland until the end of the war. Rendulic remained in command of the 20th Mountain Army until January 25, 1945, until January 26, 1945, when he was given supreme command of Army Group Center . His successor in the 20th Mountain Army was Franz Böhme . Shortly after his appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the 20th Mountain Army, in February 1945, the application for the creation of a Lapland shield was sent to the Army High Command (OKH).

Foundation or non-foundation

Colonel General Lothar Rendulic , Commander in Chief of the 20th Mountain Army until January 25, 1945
Colonel-General Franz Böhme , Commander-in-Chief of the 20th Mountain Army since January 26, 1945, is considered to be the initiator of the Lapland sleeve shield

Written records from official sources that led to the foundation of the Lapland Shield are not available. Still, there are two pieces of evidence that make an official foundation at least eligible. These goods:

Letter from Josef Remold

Josef Remold , former president of the Bavarian riot police, wrote to Dr. Klietmann: As adjutant of the XX. Mountain Army (Lapland), on behalf of the then Commander-in-Chief General Böhme, I submitted the application to the OKH to introduce the Lapland shield. If you cannot find any documents for the foundation of the shield, it may be because our application was only started towards the end of February 1945 and that the foundation of the shield was communicated shortly before the end of the war by the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and only by telex. I can still very well remember the telex signed by Wilhelm Burgdorf .

The conditions of award of the AOK of the 20th Mountain Army elaborated therein state that the sign should be given out as a "commemorative badge" to all members of the 20th Mountain Army who had served the troops for at least 6 months. Otherwise, the other award conditions followed those of other sleeve shields .

Entry in the pay register of a member of the 21st clearing boat flotilla

Another indication of the foundation of the Lapland shield before the surrender is a corresponding entry in the pay book of a member of the aforementioned 21st clearing boat flotilla . This entry is dated April 20, 1945, i.e. before the Wehrmacht's total surrender on May 8, 1945.

Statement by the Federal Ministry of the Interior

Contrary to the stated statements and entries in the pay book, the Federal Ministry of the Interior wrote to the International Society for Scientific Order Studies in Berlin on July 7, 1960: The previous investigations by the Federal Ministry of the Interior have shown that the Lapland Shield was introduced by the local commander of the Lapland Front, without the "Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor" having given the required approval. The Lapland Shield is therefore not considered to fall under the re-admitted awards because - in the absence of this approval - it was not donated by a "competent German authority" (within the meaning of Section 6, Paragraph 1, No. 3 of the Order Act). This statement is still made today by the BMI.

Eligible persons

The formation of the 20th Mountain Army comprised the following units on April 12, 1945, which according to Remold would have been worthy of award:

20th Mountain Army (approx. 200,000 men)

  • XIX. Mountain Corps ("Narvik" Army Unit)
    • 6th Mountain Division
    • 388th Grenadier Brigade
    • 270th Division merged with the 193rd Grenadier Brigade
  • Corps reserve
    • Bicycle reconnaissance brigade "Norway"
  • LXXI. Army Corps
    • 504th Grenadier Brigade
    • 140th Division
    • 139th Mountain Brigade
    • 210th Division merged with the Fortress " Lofoten " brigade
    • 230th division
  • XXXIII. Army Corps
    • 14th Air Force Field Division
    • 102nd Division
    • 295th Division
  • LXX. Army Corps
    • 280th Division
    • 274th Division
    • 613th Division (Headquarters only)
  • XXXVI. Mountain Corps
    • Machine Gun Ski Brigade "Finland"
    • Panzer Brigade "Norway"
  • Army reserve
    • 7th Mountain Division

Resumption of the awards

rough pressing of the Lapland shield

The time for a "revival" of the Lapland shield was only found after the surrender. Since the British Detaining Power under General Henry Garfield Thorne Jr. allowed the wearing of decorations in captivity, the 20th Mountain Army issued circulars to all units under its control, which included the foundation, the implementing regulations and a sketch of the Lapland shield. This was linked to the condition that the commanders on site should procure the shields and the award certificates themselves.

Award practice and award numbers

The preparatory work for the production of the Lapland shield began only after May 8, 1945 and continued until July 1945. The handing out of the first shields began in the same month. Provisional documents relating to this are known with the date and stamp (with the swastika removed) from July 1, 1945 to September 18, 1945. The obligation, ordered by Commander-in-Chief Böhme, to the respective commanders on site to procure the shields themselves, also led to different appearance of the documents and the shields in the individual units. In isolated command areas, there was even the possibility of having Lapland shields poured. It is known, for example, that skilled casters from the Mountain Infantry Regiment 141 and 142 cast primitive forms of the shield and handed them over to all those soldiers who could deliver fusible materials. Due to the circumstances mentioned, the units on site did not keep any award books or the like, so that an exact award number cannot be given.

Carrying method

The Lapland shield was worn as a uniform on the left upper arm in captivity, like all armored shields of the Wehrmacht.

Material and appearance

Since the Lapland shield was made from the available metal supplies and therefore could not be made uniformly from one material, there are different shapes and material uses. Well-known designs are made of aluminum but also of various non-ferrous metals. Its dimensions were approx. 72 × 49.5 mm. The tapering oval Lapland shield shows in the middle the cartographic representation of the Lapland area with the lettering LAPPLAND shown in an exaggerated manner . Above the lettering is a right-looking eagle with wings laid on a transverse bar. Small holes were usually drilled through the Lapland shield so that it could be sewn onto the uniform.

Others

Since the Lapland shield was not officially donated before the capitulation, the badge may not be worn according to the determination of the Federal Minister of Defense .

See also

literature

  • Kurt-G. Klietmann : Awards of the German Reich 1936–1945. A documentation of civil and military badges of merit and honor. 11th edition. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-87943-689-4 , pp. 94-95.
  • U. Lautenschlager: The Lapland Shield. In: Internationales Militaria-Magazin. No. 84, October / November 1996, ISSN  0942-4598 .
  • Rolf Michaelis : German war awards 1939–1945. Army, Waffen-SS, police. = German war decorations 1939–1945. Michaelis, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-930849-31-3 , p. 64.
  • Jörg Nimmergut , Klaus H. Feder, Heiko von der Heyde: German medals and decorations. German Reich, Weimar Republic, Third Reich, GDR and Federal Republic. 1871 until today. 6th updated edition. Battenberg, Regenstauf 2006, ISBN 3-86646-002-3 , p. 106 (illustration).
  • Jörg Nimmergut: German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4: Württemberg II - German Empire. Central Office for Scientific Order Studies , Munich 2001, ISBN 3-00-00-1396-2 .
  • Adolf Schlicht, John R. Angolia: The German Wehrmacht. Uniforms and equipment 1933–1945. Volume 1: The Army. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-613-01390-8 .
  • Gordon Williamson: World War II German Battle Insignia (= Men-at-Arms Series 365). Osprey, Oxford 2002, ISBN 1-84176-352-7 , p. 23 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Friedemann Bedürftig, Christian Zentner (ed.): The great lexicon of the Second World War. Weltbild-Verlag, Augsburg 1993, ISBN 3-89350-559-8 , pp. 331-332.
  2. ↑ a b Kurt-G. Klietmann: Awards of the German Reich 1936–1945. 11th edition. 2004, p. 94.
  3. ^ Janusz Piekałkiewicz : The Second World War. License issue. Weltbild-Verlag, Augsburg 1994, ISBN 3-89350-544-X , p. 889/890.
  4. ↑ a b Jörg Nimmergut: German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4. 2001, p. 2266, 1st section.
  5. ↑ Jörg Nimmergut: German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4. 2001, p. 2266, 1st sentence of the 1st section.
  6. ↑ Jörg Nimmergut: German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4. 2001, p. 2266, 6th section.
  7. ↑ Jörg-M. Hermann, Gerhard Rudloff: The Lapland shield. Part 2. In: Friends and Sponsors of the German Order Museum. Info. 8th vol. = No. 52, 1987, ZDB -ID 805187-2 , p. 6.
  8. ^ Letter from the Federal Ministry of the Interior of July 7, 1960 to the International Society for Scientific Order Studies in Berlin.
  9. ↑ Heinz Kirchner, Birgit Laitenberger: German medals and decorations. Commentary on the law on titles, medals and decorations and a representation of German orders and decorations from the imperial era to the present with illustrations. = German medals and decorations. 5th revised and supplemented edition. Heymann, Cologne et al. 1997, ISBN 3-452-23210-7 , p. 225.
  10. ↑ James Lucas: Handbook of the Wehrmacht. 1939-1945. A reference work. Tosa-Verlag, Vienna 2000, ISBN 3-85492-152-7 , pp. 206/207.
  11. ↑ Jörg Nimmergut: German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4. 2001, p. 2266, 7th section.
  12. ↑ a b Jörg Nimmergut: German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4. 2001, p. 2266, 8th section.
  13. ↑ Jörg Nimmergut: German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4. 2001, p. 2269, notes.
  14. ↑ Jörg Nimmergut: German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4. 2001, p. 2268.
  15. ↑ Jörg Nimmergut: German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4. 2001, p. 2269, 3rd paragraph.
  16. ↑ Jörg Nimmergut: German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4. 2001, p. 2269, 2nd paragraph.