Original German WWII Heer Army Crimea Krim Shield Decoration with Back Plate & Fabric – Krimschild Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent example with a lovely metal shield attached to field gray wool Heer (Army) cloth backing, with the back plate still intact. The wool is in very good condition, with just a bit of fading, and no major mothing we can see. There do not appear to be any stitch marks on the fabric, which would indicate that it was never fitted to a uniform.

The plated steel main shield still retains the original antiqued brass finish, with no corrosion to the base metal or oxidation. The backing plate does show some oxidation, and there is no sign of the paper backing, so this example may not have had any to begin with. All four retaining clips are present and do not appear to have been moved in quite some time.

The Crimea Shield (Krimschild or KRIM Shield) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to military personnel under the command of Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein who fought against Soviet Red Army forces and captured the Crimea region (Krim in German) between 21 September 1941 and 4 July 1942. It was instituted on 25 July 1942. It was the most widely distributed of the various German shields with approximately 250,000 being awarded.

Design
The Wehrmacht’s Army Group South advanced through the Crimean peninsula between the Autumn of 1941 and Summer of 1942. To commemorate the hostilities that ended with the German capture of Sevastopol on 4 July 1942 the Crimea Shield was created for all members of the armed forces under area commander Field Marshal Erich von Manstein.

The shield is headed by the German eagle clutching a laurel wreath surrounding a swas. Flanking the eagle are the dates 1941 and 1942, which represent the start and end dates of the campaign. This sits on the backdrop of the Crimean peninsula, where the fighting took place, which has the word KRIM stamped across it.

Criteria for award
The Crimea Shield could be awarded to all members of the Wehrmacht and to Luftwaffe and other units affiliated to the campaign between 21 September 1941 and 4 July 1942. The following conditions needed to have been met for the award:
– Served in the area for at least 90 days; or
– Been wounded while serving in the area; or
– Had been engaged in at least one major operation against the enemy

Romanian troops serving in the Crimea were also eligible for the award.

Gold version
A special pure-gold version of the Crimea Shield was also produced. It was first bestowed upon Marshal Ion Antonescu, the military dictator of Romania, at the end of the Siege of Sevastopol (3 July 1942). It was awarded to him in Bucharest by Erich von Manstein, on Adolf AH’s behalf. The second and last Golden Krimschild was awarded to von Manstein himself, on 24 November 1942.