Narvik shield

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The Narvik Shield (Army / Air Force version)
Foundation decree Narvikschild.jpg
Foundation decree Narvikschild II.jpg
Foundation decree with a picture of the Narvik shield

The Narvik sleeve shield was an award of the Wehrmacht and was given to German soldiers who had taken part in the Battle of Narvik ( Norway ) in 1940 .

Background to the creation of this award

On April 9, 1940, during World War II , the so-called Weser Exercise Company began to occupy the neutral states of Denmark and Norway. On this day, a regiment of mountain troops landed under Lt. Gen. Eduard Dietl , the Narvik , a Norwegian town north of the Arctic Circle with a year ice-free seaport , occupied . A few days later, the escort group was sunk by ten destroyers of the Royal Navy , so that the crew of Narvik were still 2,100 Navy soldiers. Together these troops tried to hold the city against Allied counterattacks, but the British soldiers were able to take Narvik on April 28th. Largely cut off, the combat group continued to defend itself against multiple superior forces in the surrounding heights until the Allies, meanwhile threatened by a severe defeat in France, vacated the place on June 8, 1940.

Design ideas and appearance

The design of the shield was made by the artist Richard Klein from Munich . The Narvik shield contains edelweiss (symbol of the mountain troops), anchor (symbol of naval troops), propellers (symbol of the air force) and the inscription Narvik 1940 . It was made from sheet iron , later also from fine zinc . The size of the shield is approx. 92 × 41 mm, that of the cloth pad 100 × 54 mm.

Foundation, endowment

On August 19, 1940, the Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht, Adolf Hitler, donated the Narvik Shield as an award for the soldiers involved in these battles:

“The Narvik Shield is awarded to all members of the Wehrmacht who took an honorable part in the landing in Narvik or in the fighting of the Narvik group. The award is carried out on my behalf by the commander of the Narvik Group, General of the Mountain Troop Dietl. ” (Article 3 of the award ordinance)

The General Command of the Mountain Corps Norway restricted the regulation on September 9, 1940, as it defined the term "Narvik fighter" more precisely:

"Narvik fighter is only one who, in the period from April 9 to June 9, 1940 - midnight - on land or at sea under the command of the then commander of the Narvik group in the combat area between Riksgränsen - Oalge Pass - Gratangsbotn - Norddalen or in the air above this room for combat, reconnaissance or supply purposes. "

The Narvik shield was made in two versions, in silver for members of the army and the air force, and in gold for members of the navy.

Award practice and award numbers

Narvik shield in silver on the left arm of a mountain hunter
Narvik shield in gold on a marine soldier's tunic

The applications for the award had to be submitted by January 31, 1942, whereby the shield could also be awarded posthumously. In this case, the shield with title deed was sent to the bereaved. On November 21, the Mountain Corps requested 10,000 Narvik shields in silver, which were, however, on a ship that was frozen in the port of Szczecin. The award was delayed until the following spring. On March 21, 1941, General of the Mountain Troop Dietl was personally awarded the shield by Hitler. Then this began with the awarding to the other recipients. Up to June 15, 1941, 8,527 awards were counted, which were structured as follows:

Wehrmacht part Division / unit / company Award numbers Remarks
army 2nd Mountain Division 206 Division stood in the Namsos area
army 3rd Mountain Division 2,338 Division was at the Battle of Narvik involved
army Other members of the army 59
army Fallen 152
General awards for the Army 2,755
Wehrmacht part Division / unit / company Award numbers Remarks
Navy Destroyer crews 2,621
Navy other relatives 115
Navy Merchant marine 442
Navy Fallen of the Navy 411
Navy Fallen from the merchant navy 22nd
General awards of the Kriegsmarine 3,611
Wehrmacht part Division / unit / company Award numbers Remarks
air force Flying staff 1,309
air force Paratroopers 756
air force Fallen / missing 96
General awards Air Force 2.161

Carrying method

The Narvik shield was worn with the uniform on the left upper arm, namely silver-colored on field gray for the army , gold-colored on dark-blue for the navy and silver-colored on gray- blue for the air force . The shield was also allowed to be worn on all party and state uniforms. A reduced form (16 mm needle) of the Narvik shield on the left cloak of the skirt was allowed to go with civil clothing. Soldiers with several sleeve shields ( Krimschild , Cholmschild ) and the Narvik shield mentioned here wore the first shield approx. 7 cm from the armhole seam of the left upper sleeve of the field blouse and the coat. The second shield was placed 0.5 cm below the cloth pad of the first shield. Holders of three shields wore the Cholm and Krim shield next to each other , 0.5 cm below the cloth underlay of the Narvik shield, the Cholm in front of the Crimean shield.

Others

According to the law on titles, medals and decorations of July 26, 1957, wearing the version of the Third Reich in the Federal Republic of Germany is only permitted without National Socialist emblems.

literature

  • Kurt-Gerhard Klietmann : Awards of the German Empire. 1936-1945. Motorbuch, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-87943-689-4 , p. 86 f.
  • Ordinance on the foundation of the Narvik Shield of August 19, 1940. RGBl. Part I, p. 1177.
  • Army Ordinance Sheet 1940. Part A, 57th edition, Sheet 11, page 59, item 59.
  • Army Ordinance Sheet 1941. Part A, 19th edition, sheet 4, page 17, item 12.
  • Luftwaffe Ordinance Gazette 1940. No. 46, item 1321.
  • Marine Ordinance Sheet 1940. Issue 36, page 738, item 674.
  • Marine Ordinance Sheet 1941. Issue 4, page 46, item 60.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ How to wear several arm shields. In: Uniforms Market . Born 1943, issue 1/2.