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Metz 1944 Cuff Title
__NOTOC__ The Metz 1944 Cuff Title, or Metz 1944 Cuff Band, () was a World War II German military decoration instituted to reward members of the Wehrmacht who took part in the 1944 battle of Metz. Eligibility After the allied breakout from Normandy, the U.S. Third Army's advance towards Germany met with heavy resistance at Metz from a hastily assembled Battle Group Siegroth, consisting of miscellaneous Waffen-SS and Army units, with staff and students from the Metz officer cadet school. This resistance helped delay the allied advance towards Germany. The cuff title was established on 24 October 1944 by Adolf Hitler. Eligibility was open to all members of Battle Group Siegroth, including soldiers and officials, who had taken part in the fighting at Metz from 27 August to 25 September 1944 for at least seven days, or a lesser time if wounded.Williamson gives 27 July – 25 September 1944 as qualifying dates, which conflicts with the dates of the Metz battle which only commenced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany quickly became a totalitarian state where nearly all aspects of life were controlled by the government. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", alluded to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which Hitler and the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945 after just 12 years when the Allies of World War II, Allies defeated Germany, End of World War II in Europe, ending World War II in Europe. On 30 January 1933, H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 October 1990. During the Cold War, the western portion of Germany and the associated territory of West Berlin were parts of the Western Bloc. West Germany was formed as a political entity during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II, established from eleven states formed in the three Allied zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The FRG's provisional capital was the city of Bonn, and the Cold War era country is retrospectively designated as the Bonn Republic. At the onset of the Cold War, Europe was divided between the Western and Eastern blocs. Germany was divided into the two countries. Initially, West Germany claimed an exclusive mandate for all of Germany, representing itself ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Awards And Decorations Of Nazi Germany
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct military uniform. It may consist of one or more military branches such as an army, navy, air force, space force, marines, or coast guard. The main task of the military is usually defined as defence of the state and its interests against external armed threats. In broad usage, the terms ''armed forces'' and ''military'' are often treated as synonymous, although in technical usage a distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include both its military and other paramilitary forces. There are various forms of irregular military forces, not belonging to a recognized state; though they share many attributes with regular military forces, they are less often referred to as simply ''military''. A nation's military ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courland Cuff Title
__NOTOC__ The Courland Cuff Title, or Courland Cuff Band, () was a World War II German military decoration awarded to Wehrmacht servicemen of Army Group Courland who served in the Courland Pocket. Creation and eligibility During the German retreat on the Eastern Front Wehrmacht forces were cut off on the Courland Peninsula in Latvia from July 1944. Renamed Army Group Courland on 25 January 1945, it held out until the end of the war in May 1945. The cuff title was approved on 12 March 1945 by Adolf Hitler, on the recommendation of the commander of the Army Group Courland. It was the last German award to be instituted in World War II. Distribution began in late April 1945. To qualify, a member of Army Group Courland would have to, between 1 September 1944 and 8 May 1945: * participate in at least three combat actions; or * serve a minimum of three months in the pocket; * if wounded, the cuff title could be awarded without fulfilling these criteria. Those qualifying incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Africa Cuff Title
__NOTOC__ The Africa Cuff Title, or Africa Cuff Band, () was a World War II German military decoration awarded to members of the Wehrmacht who took part in the North African campaign of 1941–43. Background In February 1941, the German Africa Corps (DAK) was formed to support Italian forces in the North African campaign against British and Commonwealth forces. Under Erwin Rommel the DAK, supported by Luftwaffe and Naval units, occupied large parts of Libya and Egypt until finally defeated at El Alamein in October 1942. Forced to retreat, and faced with allied landings in Morocco and Algeria, DAK forces either evacuated North Africa or surrendered, with the last German units in Africa capitulating on 13 May 1943. In July 1941 a dark-green cuff title with a white and khaki border inscribed ''AFRIKAKORPS'' was authorised, to be worn on the right cuff by members of the DAK who had served a minimum of two months in Africa. This was a corps designation badge, not a campaign awar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crete Cuff Title
__NOTOC__ The Crete Cuff Title, or Crete Cuff Band, () was a World War II Nazi Germany, German military decoration awarded to Wehrmacht servicemen who took part in the battle of Crete between 20 and 27 May 1941. While a number of German units had worn cuff titles as part of their regimental or corps insignia, this was the first World War II operation where a cuff title was awarded as a campaign award. Eligibility As part of Germany's Balkans campaign (World War II), Balkan campaign, the Wehrmacht invaded the island of Crete on 20 May 1941. About 22,000 Fallschirmjäger (World War II), paratroopers and Gebirgsjäger, mountain troops took part, delivered by transport aircraft, Glider (aircraft), gliders and naval vessels and supported by bomber and fighter aircraft. After two weeks of fierce fighting, the defending Greek and British Commonwealth troops had either surrendered or been evacuated. The cuff title was instituted separately by each of Germany's armed services: * Krie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orders, Decorations, And Medals Of Nazi Germany
Awards and decorations of Nazi Germany were military, political and civilian decorations that were bestowed between 1923 and 1945, first by the Nazi Party and later the state of Nazi Germany. The first awards began in the 1920s, before the Nazis had come to national power in Germany, with the political decorations worn on Party uniforms, along with any awards they may have earned during the First World War or before. After 1933, the state began issuing a variety of civilian decorations, which could be bestowed upon any citizen of Germany. Thus, some awards (such as Sports Badges) were bestowed on Nazi Party members, members of the German military, and regular civilians. Many standard awards of the German state, such as life-saving medals, were redesigned to incorporate the Nazi symbol, the swastika. A number of military awards were established pre-war, including Wehrmacht long service decorations, followed by awards for participation in the Spanish Civil War and for the annexation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ribbon Bar
A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each country's government has its own rules on what ribbons can be worn in what circumstances and in which order. This is usually defined in an official document and is called "the order of precedence" or "the order of wearing." In some countries (particularly in North America and in Israel), some awards are "ribbon only," having no associated medal. Design According to the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the U.S. military's standard size for a ribbon bar is wide, tall, with a thickness of 0.8 mm. The service ribbon for a specific medal is usually identical to the suspension ribbon on the medal. For example, the suspension and service ribbon for the U.S. government's Purple Heart medal is purple with a white vertical stripe at eac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bundeswehr
The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consisting of the German Army, the German Navy, the German Air Force, the Joint Support Service, the Joint Medical Service, and the Cyber and Information Domain Service. , the ''Bundeswehr'' had a strength of 183,638 active-duty military personnel and 81,318 civilians, placing it among the 30 largest military forces in the world, and making it the second largest in the European Union behind France. In addition, the ''Bundeswehr'' has approximately 30,050 reserve personnel (2020). With German military expenditures at $56.0 billion, the ''Bundeswehr'' is the seventh highest-funded military in the world, though military expenditures remain relatively average at 1.3% of national GDP, well below the (non-binding) NATO target of 2%. Germa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Army (1935–1945)
The German Army (german: Heer, ; ) was the land forces component of the ''Wehrmacht'', the regular German Armed Forces, from 1935 until it effectively ceased to exist in 1945 and then was formally dissolved in August 1946. During World War II, a total of about 13.6 million soldiers served in the German Army. Army personnel were made up of volunteers and conscripts. Only 17 months after Adolf Hitler announced the German rearmament program in 1935, the army reached its projected goal of 36 divisions. During the autumn of 1937, two more corps were formed. In 1938 four additional corps were formed with the inclusion of the five divisions of the Austrian Army after the ''Anschluss'' in March. During the period of its expansion under Hitler, the German Army continued to develop concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground and air assets into combined arms forces. Coupled with operational and tactical methods such as encirclements and "battle of annihilation", the Germ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Metz
The Battle of Metz was a battle fought during World War II at the city of Metz, France, from late September 1944 through mid-December as part of the Lorraine Campaign between the United States Army Central, U.S. Third Army commanded by Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General George S. Patton, George Patton and the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army commanded by General Otto von Knobelsdorff. Strong German resistance resulted in heavy casualties for both sides. The city was captured by U.S. forces and hostilities formally ceased on 22 November; the last of the forts defending Metz surrendered on 13 December. Background Metz is located between the rivers Moselle river, Moselle and Seille (Moselle), Seille. The fortifications of Metz consisted of several forts and observation posts with connecting entrenchments and tunnels. The city had fallen to the German forces when France was defeated in 1940. Following the fall of France, the city was immediately annexed to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waffen-SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. The grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions during World War II, and served alongside the German Army (''Heer''), ''Ordnungspolizei'' (uniformed police) and other security units. Originally, it was under the control of the (SS operational command office) beneath Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS. With the start of World War II, tactical control was exercised by the (OKW, "High Command of the Armed Forces"), with some units being subordinated to (Command Staff Reichsführer-SS) directly under Himmler's control. Initially, in keeping with the racial policy of Nazi Germany, membership was open only to people of Germanic origin (so-called " Aryan ancestry"). The rules were partially relaxed in 1940, and after the Operation Barbarossa invasio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
