Medal for the Italian-German campaign in Africa
The medal for the Italian-German campaign in Africa , ( it. Medaglia commemorativa della Campagna Italian-tedesca in Africa settentrionale ) colloquially in Germany and German-Italian campaign medal called, was an award from the Kingdom of Italy , which in 1942 during the African campaign from Duce Benito Mussolini was donated in two versions. The necessary declaration was signed by the commander of the VII Army Corps in Corsica Giovanni Magli on January 8, 1943. The die cutter of the medal is Roberto De Marchis , whose name is written under the crocodile on the originals. The medal was also awarded to German soldiers, whose authorization to wear, as with all royal Italian awards, was due to Italy's declaration of war on October 13, 1943 against the German Reich with a decree of the OKW of March 29, 1944 (AHM 1944, 8th edition ., P. 107, point 176) was repealed.
Appearance
The silver-plated or bronze medal with a diameter of 31 mm shows the raised, embossed triumphal arch Arco dei Fileni von Brega on its obverse , which was destroyed by the Libyan government in 1970 . To the right of it a swastika and to the left of the triumphal arch the fasces . Below the arch is a Savoyard knot, which is a popular Italian symbol, which can also be found in the symbol of the 4th Fighter Squadron of the Italian Air Force and temporarily in the logo of the Alfa Romeo car brand . On the medal, however, it symbolizes the cohesion of the Berlin-Rome axis. The symbolism is surrounded by the inscription: ITALIENISCH DEUTSCHER FELDZUG IN AFRIKA (right) and CAMPAGNA ITALO-TEDESCA IN AFRICA (left), with exactly the same wording in Italian. Each separated by bay leaves (above) and oak leaves (below).
The lapel shows a pair of soldiers in ancient Latin costume with breastplate , shin guards and shoulder protection, which is reminiscent of the armor of a Roman legionnaire . The person on the left is a German Wehrmacht soldier and the person on the right is a member of the Italian armed forces. Together they fight, standing on the paws of a raging crocodile, which symbolizes the British Army . His closed mouth stands for the Suez Canal, which is closed to the Axis powers .
Carrying method
The medal was attached to a 24 mm wide band on the upper left side of the chest of the borrower, the colors of which represent the German national colors black-white-red and the Italian green-white-red (in reverse order). The red vertical median is used by both flags as the end or the beginning. Although the ribbon was uniform (green-white-red-white-black), Italian members of the armed forces wore it in the color order beginning with green, while Germans wore it with black. The ribbon clip awarded for this was of the same color.
Individual evidence
- Antonio Scapini: Italian-German medal for the African campaign. Tiger III Books Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9819295-3-8 .
- Antonio Scapini: Decorazioni distintivi e attestati di conferimento del Terzo Reich. Albertelli Editore, ISBN 978-88-87372-99-1 .