Sardinia shield
The Sardinian shield was an internal troop traditional badge that was awarded to all soldiers of the 90th Panzer Grenadier Division during the Second World War .
background
After the surrender of the 90th light Africa division in Tunisia in May 1943, it was reorganized in July 1943 under the new name 90th Panzer Grenadier Division. After the Allied troops landed in southern Italy , the division was withdrawn to mainland Italy in September 1943 and fought there until the end of the war at Monte Cassino , Rome , Florence , Rimini and Bologna . To commemorate the founding place Sardinia, the division created its own Sardinia shield.
Appearance
The silvery-shiny Sardinian shield is approx. 30 mm high and 10 to 12 mm wide. It shows the loftily embossed geographical representation of the island of Sardinia with the mountains of the Gennargentu Mountains , its main roads with the city points of Cagliari and Olbia . The place name CAGLIARI in capital letters stands for the place where the division was set up. OLBIA , also shown in capital letters, symbolizes the disembarkation of the division for the Italian mainland. A sword slightly inclined from right to left is depicted over the embossed relief of the island . It is unmistakable that the Sardinian shield shows the stylized division badge of the 90th Panzer Grenadier Division. A simple brooch was soldered to the back of the sign.
Awards
The exact number of awards can no longer be determined with certainty, as all soldiers of the 90th Panzer Grenadier Division received this shield. If one assumes the total army strength of the former Wehrmacht division of 10,000 to 20,000 men, a number of awards within this range is likely. It must be noted, however, that the division strength in the last years of the war 1943–1945 differed considerably from the target strength. The Sardinian shield was usually distributed to the crew by the higher officers of the division. Officers were given the shield in a small red or black box.
Unofficial award
The Sardinia shield is not a weapon or combat badge of the Wehrmacht, as neither its foundation nor the award took place officially. The Sardinian shield was therefore only viewed as an internal troop badge, although title deeds were issued by the superior officers. With the entry in the pay book, there was also no entitlement to official acceptance of the sign by the Federal Ministry of the Interior . Therefore, this shield has not been included in the Law on Titles, Medals and Decorations of July 26, 1957.
Definition of terms
In connection with the Sardinia shield, it is mistakenly used again and again to refer to a sleeve shield , similar to the Narvik shield , the first badge of this type in the Wehrmacht . However, this assumption is incorrect. The Sardinian shield was never intended as a sleeve shield, but was worn on the left side of the field cap , similar to the edelweiss of the mountain troops .
See also
literature
- Horst Belter, Berge-Flüsse-Insel - History of the 90th Panzer Grenadier Division, self-published, Eutin 1986
Individual evidence
- ^ John R. Angiola, Adolf Schlicht: Uniforms & traditions of the German Army, 1933-1945, Volume 1 , 1992, ISBN 0912138378 ; Excerpt can be seen at google.books . Retrieved October 28, 2009.