GERMAN 1942 CAMPAIGN SHIELD DEMJANSK

Silver clutch back. Made of high quality tin alloy and is made as close to original as possible.

All shields come with backing cloth in three different colors:

• Black (Panzer)
• Field Green (Heer)
• Blue (Luftwaffe)

This was issued to Wehrmacht personnel who fought in the Demyansk pocket on the Eastern Front in the early months of 1942. These German troops had been encircled and cut off by the Red Army around Demyansk (Demjansk), south of Leningrad, and was successfully defended with the aid of an airbridge.

Adolf Hitler instituted the shield on April 25, 1943 and it was not given again after July 1, 1944. 

The shield featured an eagle with swooped down wings clutching a laurel wreath that surrounds a swastika. This is flanked by two log pillboxes with gun ports, with "DEMJANSK" in capitals below. The central portion of the shield features a head-on single engine aircraft behind two crossed swords and, at the base, the year "1942". Two minor variations of the aircraft's propeller exist with either a curved or straight propeller. The shield measures 51mm wide and 92mm in height.

It was attached to the upper left sleeve of the uniform via a cloth that matched the colour of the uniform of the recipient.