Infantry Assault Badge Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen | |
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![]() Infantry Assault Badge in Silver. | |
Type | Badge |
Awarded for |
|
Presented by | Nazi Germany |
Eligibility | Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS personnel assigned to infantry or Gebirgsjäger units; Motorized or mechanized infantry units became eligible with the introduction of the bronze grade |
Campaign(s) | World War II |
Status | Obsolete |
Established |
|
First awarded | 1939 |
Last awarded | 1945 |
![]() An infantry soldier wearing the Infantry Assault Badge in Silver in September 1942, during the Battle of Stalingrad. | |
Related |
The Infantry Assault Badge (German: Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen) was a German military decoration awarded to Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht Heer soldiers during the Second World War. This decoration was instituted on 20 December 1939 by the Commander-in-Chief (Oberbefehlshaber) of the German Army, Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Brauchitsch. It could be awarded to members of infantry and Gebirgsjäger (mountain infantry) units that had participated in infantry assaults, with light infantry weapons, on at least three separate days of battle in the front line on or after 1 January 1940. When a counter-offensive led to fighting, it could also apply. Award of the Infantry Assault Badge was authorized at regimental command level, and mechanized or motorized infantry were not eligible for the original badge. A bronze variant of the Infantry Assault Badge was created in June 1940, authorized for motorized and mechanized infantry units, using similar requirements for award as the original silver variant.[3] Non-infantry personnel were not eligible for either grade of the Infantry Assault Badge, but were eligible for other combat recognition badges (depending on their military occupation, branch of service, and assigned unit), usually the General Assault Badge, Close Combat Clasp, or the Panzer Badge. The Luftwaffe would develop its own ground combat badge in 1942, the Ground Assault Badge. [4]