Melee clasp

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the Luftwaffe award of the same name, see Luftwaffe melee clasp

Heinrich Himmler awards members of the army and the Waffen SS with the golden close combat clasp , October 1944

Colonel General Heinz Guderian at the awarding of the golden melee clasp

The close combat clasp was a German military award in World War II and was donated by Adolf Hitler by ordinance of November 25, 1942 . It was the highest infantry German war award of the Second World War. Their foundation took place in three stages and could be awarded to soldiers of all ranks who are involved in close combat operations of the infantry , i. H. in raiding troops , in trench warfare, when storming a position, in repelling an infantry attack or when fighting close combat teams against tanks .

Background to the creation of this award

The close combat clasp was donated by Adolf Hitler because of the increasing severity of the war on the Eastern Front. There was no order of this kind before in the history of the German order. This affected both the terms of the award and its appearance.

Appearance

Captain with close combat clasp in bronze and knight's cross

The close combat clasp is a bilateral articulated wing clasp. It was usually made of fine zinc. The golden melee clasp, on the other hand, was fire-gilded. In the middle there is a square, which is framed with oak leaves. The imperial eagle can be seen on its upper side, holding an upside-down swastika in its claws . In the middle, a side gun and a stick grenade cross each other, both of which are supposed to reflect the symbol of the infantry. The back of the square was closed with a black leaf. The wing tips on the left and right of the clasp consist of four tapering oak leaves. The Luftwaffe's front flight clasp may have served as a template .

Award terms

According to the decree, the foundation was made as a visible sign of recognition of the soldier fighting man against man with bare weapons and hand-to-hand combat equipment, but at the same time as an incentive to fulfill the highest duties. From December 1, 1942, all hand-to-hand combat days were entered in the pay book. Hand-to-hand combat days were all days of combat on which the excellent fighters had the opportunity to see the white in the eye of the enemy, that is, to stand face-to-face with the enemy with hand-to-hand weapons until the final decision. For soldiers who had fought uninterruptedly on the Eastern Front, the hand-to-hand combat days could be counted from June 22, 1941.

Award conditions:

• a) all days of combat on which the fighters to be awarded had the opportunity to see “the white in the eye of the enemy”, d. H. to have stood face to face with the enemy with close combat weapons until the final decision.

• b) This could be given during a major attack, during a patrol, in the defense, during a single report, during an enemy patrol, etc.

• c) The location - at the battle outposts, in the apron, in the main battle line , in the artillery firing position, in the rear of the army (e.g. partisan combat, which, however, was no longer allowed to be counted from August 4, 1944 by order of the OKH , see to Bandenkampfabzeichen ) or a raid on a hospital train or a supply column - it did not matter.

Every soldier who came into one of the above-mentioned situations unprotected and on foot and who proved himself here, fulfilled the eligibility for the brace. Although the definition of hand-to-hand combat was given, the assessment and documentation of such a "hand-to-hand combat" was the task of the troops, i.e. H. left to the fighting troops at the front. Due to the harsh everyday life on the front, it often happened that melee lists were kept unreliable and updated too late, which meant that many soldiers received the close combat clasp they were entitled to late or not at all. A special leave of 21 days was also associated with the award of the Golden Close Combat Clasp. After being awarded the golden melee clasp, Hitler ordered a year-long transfer to a military school so that these soldiers could pass on their experiences at the front to other soldiers. At the latest when the golden melee clasp was awarded, it was necessary to check whether the entrusted person had not also received the German cross in gold at the same time.

		General award conditions	Special award conditions for wounds
Level I.	bronze	for 15 days of close combat	for 10 hand-to-hand combat days
Stage II	silver	for 30 days of close combat	for 20 days of close combat
Stage III	gold	for 50 days of close combat	for 40 days of close combat

All fighting days had to be officially documented, certified and confirmed by the responsible units before a close combat clasp could be awarded. Authority to award existed from the regimental commander upwards.

The division commander was able to lend the hand-to-hand combat clasp to soldiers who were severely injured and unable to engage in close combat in the future.

The close combat clasp was awarded retrospectively (posthumously) to fallen, deceased and fatally injured persons if the requirements were met. The clasp itself was then sent to the bereaved with the deed of ownership. Soldiers taken prisoner of war or missing lost their right to the close combat clasp, even if it was fulfilled.

Keeping the melee lists

"Form II for the deposit in the pay book" for entering the hand-to-hand combat days

The company commander of the respective unit in which the person to be lent performed his service himself laid down the names of the tried and tested soldiers involved in a so-called "fight list". The list was usually closed with the signature of the unit leader with a stamp. The hand-to-hand combat lists were appended to the unit's war diary and then passed on to the superordinate body. Each soldier also had to carry a sheet of paper with him in his pay book or military ID card in which the day of the hand-to-hand combat to be counted had to be entered and certified by the next highest superior.

In practice, this high administrative burden led to utter confusion. While the leadership of the "melee lists" was relatively unproblematic in 1942/1943, it deteriorated rapidly in late autumn 1944, especially in winter 1944/1945. The individual soldier at the front was often no longer able to have his lists confirmed by a superior officer. On the one hand, the soldier's hard struggle for survival played a more important role in everyday life than filling out any lists; on the other hand, there were other factors such as the lack of typewriters, stamps or stamp colors on the front (pencil and Ink entries were often washed out by rain and snow). With a few exceptions, it is no longer possible to determine whether the hand-to-hand combat lists were kept and supplemented in the last months of the war. Many of the lists were incomplete or were lost due to the war in the official offices or the hasty withdrawal of the respective unit.

Award numbers

The comparatively low number of awards underscores the importance of the close combat clasp. Of the estimated 18 to 20 million soldiers of the Wehrmacht received about

• approx.36,400 the bronze level,
• approx. 9,500 the silver level
• and at least 631 gold.

In 2013, 631 wearers of the close combat clasp in gold were known by name. The exact number of awards is unknown, as the award was made by frontline commanders from the regimental commander. The handing over of the close combat clasp in gold, however, was done by Hitler, Himmler or Guderian. By the end of April 1945, only 403 carriers of the highest level of the army, air force (field) units and Waffen SS had been reported to the Army Personnel Office .

Entrusted members of the Luftwaffe could later exchange the close combat clasp for the close combat clasp donated by the Luftwaffe on November 3, 1944 .

stages

The army's close combat clasp was awarded in three stages.

Bronze (1st level)	Silver (2nd level)	Gold (3rd level)

The first awards of the Golden Close Combat Clasp took place on August 27, 1944. On this day 14 soldiers of the army and the Waffen-SS received the close combat clasp in gold from Hitler personally.

Handing over of the close combat clasp in gold

On March 26, 1944, the Wehrmacht High Command announced that Hitler had personally reserved the handover of the close combat clasp in gold. The first four handing over of the close combat clasp in gold took place in August and September 1944 by Hitler personally. All later deliveries were made by Heinrich Himmler , in his position as commander of the replacement army, and Colonel General Heinz Guderian , in his position as chief of the army general staff.

Wearing style

Wearing the melee clasp

Illustration of the melee clasp in the 57 version

The close combat clasp of the army was worn 1 cm above the medal buckle on the left breast pocket above all other awards to underline its high status. When acquiring a higher level, the previous level had to be taken, but remained in the possession of the carrier. An execution of the close combat clasp in fabric (see fabric version of the German cross) was intended. Corresponding samples were made, but were never awarded or handed over. The close combat clasp could be worn with all uniforms of the Wehrmacht, but with bourgeois clothing in a reduced form, as a needle or on a tailcoat chain.

Unwritten etiquette at receptions or troop visits on site was to greet those wearing the close combat clasp in gold with the Hitler salute in front of everyone else present. This also applied to the simultaneous presence of bearers of the Knight's Cross for the Iron Cross. This should further underline the already mentioned high importance of this award.

Others

Luftwaffe melee clasp

From November 3, 1944, Air Force soldiers received some of the Luftwaffe's close combat clasp if the conditions were met . Since apparently not enough close combat clasps were produced by the Luftwaffe, even after the Luftwaffe's close combat clasp was founded, the close combat clasps were still awarded to Air Force soldiers.

According to the law on titles, medals and decorations of July 26, 1957, wearing the award in the Federal Republic of Germany is only permitted without a National Socialist emblem. Therefore the army eagle and the swastika were removed.

See also

• Melee clasp (Luftwaffe)
• Submarine front clasp
• Marine front clasp

literature

• General army communications. Volume 9, No. 28, 1942, ZDB -ID 628016-x , p. 573, item 1030.
• General army communications. Volume 10, No. 4, 1943, p. 78, paragraph 114 and paragraph 115.
• Volker Behr: German awards. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-613-03598-0 , p. 43 ff.
• Heinrich Doehle : The awards of the Greater German Reich. Orders, decorations, badges. 4th edition. Berliner Buch- und Zeitschriften-Verlag, Berlin 1943, addendum p. 3ff. (Reprint. Melchior-Verlag, Wolfenbüttel 2008, ISBN 978-3-939791-93-5 ).
• Manfred Dörr: The wearers of the close combat clasp in gold. Army, Air Force, Waffen-SS. 1943-1945. 4th improved and considerably enlarged edition. Biblio-Verlag, Bisendorf 2006, ISBN 3-7648-2585-5 .
• 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 , p. 102 ff.
• Ulrich Wegener : GSG 9 - stronger than terror , published by Ulrike Zander / Harald Biermann , Münster (LIT Verlag) 2017, p. 51. ISBN 978-3-643-13762-3 .
• Ernst Heinzelmann: A close combat clasp in gold from the manufacturer Friedrich Linden. In: Orders and Medals. Das Magazin für Freunde der Phaleristik , Ed .: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ordenskunde , Issue 103, Volume 18, Gäufelden 2016. ISSN 1438-3772.
• Gerhard R. Skora: The close combat clasp of the army from the manufacturer Hymmen & Co., Lüdenscheid . In: Orders and Medals. Das Magazin für Freunde der Phaleristik, Ed .: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ordenskunde , Issue 80, 14th year, Hof / Saale 2012. ISSN 1438-3772.

Web links

Commons : Melee clasp  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Stephanie Jordans: The Truth of Images: Time, Space and Metaphor in Ernst Meister, p. 80.
2. ^ Kurt-Gerhard Klietmann: Awards of the German Reich 1936–1945. A documentation of civil and military badges of merit and honor. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, p. 103
3. ^ Volker Behr: German awards. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2014, p. 50
4. ^ Volker Behr: German Awards - Combat and Activity Badges of the Air Force 1935-1945 . Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2016. P. 120 ff.
5. ↑ Uniforms Market . No. 6, 1944.
6. ^ Kurt-Gerhard Klietmann: Awards of the German Reich 1936–1945. A documentation of civil and military badges of merit and honor. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2004, p. 103
7. ^ Volker Behr: German awards. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2014, p. 48.
8. ↑ Manfred Dörr: The wearers of the close combat clasp in gold. Army, Air Force, Waffen-SS. 1943-1945. 4th improved and considerably enlarged edition. Biblio-Verlag, Bisendorf 2006.
9. ^ Volker Behr: German Awards - Combat and Activity Badges of the Air Force 1935-1945 . Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2016. P. 120 ff.