Campaign shields (), also known as campaign arm shields, were badges of differing design awarded to members of the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

for participation in specific battles or campaigns during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Each shield was worn on the left upper arm of the uniform jacket. If a recipient received more than one shield, the earlier was worn above any later awards.

Official awards

Post-war versions

After an initial ban, the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

re-authorised the wearing of many World War II military decorations in 1957. This included all official campaign shields except for the Warsaw and Lapland Shields. Re-designed to remove the swastika emblem, members of the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

could wear the shields on their ribbon bar, represented by a small replica of the award on a field grey ribbon.

Unofficial or discontinued prior to award

Several shields were either unofficial or had approval withdrawn during the design phase, and were therefore never manufactured and awarded:

References

Sources

* * * * {{List of military decorations of the Third Reich , state=collapsed Military awards and decorations of Nazi Germany German campaign medals