__NOTOC__ The Sniper's Badge () was a

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 ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medallion. Civil decorations award ...

awarded to

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

s. It was instituted on 20 August 1944. Initially, only personnel serving in the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

and the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

were eligible. Later, by order of the High Command, it was also made available to snipers of the other armed services. The sniper's badge had three grades: * Third class (no cord) for 20 enemy kills * Second class (with silver cord) for 40 enemy kills * First class (with gold cord) for 60 enemy kills The enemy kills were counted from 1 September 1944. Close quarter kills made were not to be taken into account. Every enemy kill had to be confirmed by witnesses and reported to the unit.

Description

The Sniper's Badge was made of greenish-gray cloth, embroidered and oval shaped. It depicts a black

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

's head turned to its left with white plumage, ochre yellow-colored eyes and closed beak. The eagle's body is covered by three oak leaves and a left mounted acorn. The edges of the ribbon are sewn and the three stages are distinguished by a circumferentially sewn cord in silver (2nd class) or gold (1st class). The badge was worn on the right sleeve of the uniform.

Particularities

At the beginning of 1945, the ''

Oberkommando der Wehrmacht The (; abbreviated OKW

ː kaːˈve The colon alphabetic letter is used in a number of languages and phonetic transcription systems, for vowel length in Americanist Phonetic Notation, for the vowels and in a number of languages of Papua New Guinea, and for grammatical tone in s ...

Armed Forces High Command) was the Command (military formation), supreme military command and control Staff (military), staff of Nazi Germany during World War II, that was directly subordinated to Adolf ...

'' issued the order that the Sniper's Badge had to be removed before being captured, after primarily Soviet troops shot every captured sniper immediately. Jörg Nimmergut: ''German medals and decorations until 1945.'' Volume 4. ''Württemberg II-German Reich.'' Central Office for Scientific Orders, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-00-00-1396-2, p. 2332 Nazi era decorations were banned after the war. The Sniper's Badge was among those re-authorised for wear by 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 ...

in 1957, with qualifying 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 ...

wearing the award on the ribbon bar, represented by a small replica of the badge on a field grey ribbon.

Recipients

Matthäus Hetzenauer Matthäus Hetzenauer (, 23 December 1924 – 3 October 2004) was an Austrian sniper in the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. He served in the 3rd Mountain Division (Wehrmacht), 3rd Gebirgsjäger Division on the Eastern Front ...

(Gold) * Bruno Sutkus (Gold)

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* Jörg Nimmergut: ''Deutsche Orden und Ehrenzeichen bis 1945.'' Band 4. ''Württemberg II-Deutsches Reich.'' Zentralstelle für wissenschaftliche Ordenskunde, München 2001, . * Brian L. Davis: ''Uniformen und Abzeichen des deutschen Heeres 1933–1945.'' Motorbuchverlag. {{List of military decorations of the Third Reich , state=collapsed Awards established in 1944 Military awards and decorations of Nazi Germany 1944 establishments in Germany Sniper warfare Military awards and decorations for marksmanship Urban warfare in World War II