Description
Product Description: This solid Tombak Wurster General Assault Badge is an extremely desirable and rare variant. It’s a heavy, top quality, early piece, made of brass alloy. Both the obverse and reverse retain most of the original silver finish, with dark surface toning. Wear to the high points exposes the golden color of the Tombak base metal, with some areas of old patina. The original details of the design remain fully intact under the surface patina and toning. The reverse of this hard to find General Assault Badge is flat and smooth, and is maker marked with the small “w” in the upper left corner next to the hinge. This mark identifies the manufacturer as the firm of Karl Wurster KG. The attachment hardware is correct and all original, and features a block hinge and round wire pin and catch. This badge has a great, uncleaned look throughout. It’s a variant missing from most collections. This example remains in excellent condition.
Historical Description: June 1, 1940, saw the institution of the General Assault Badge. When the first Heer combat badges were instituted, they only recognized those in the Infantry and Panzer units. Supporting elements of the German Army were left without an award to also recognize their combat achievements. The award was initially intended for Combat Engineer units but was later expanded to include other units such as Panzerjäger’s (Tank Hunters), Cavalry Units, Medical Personnel, Supply Drivers, Radio Operators, and anyone else who assisted the Infantry or Panzers during combat engagements. Eligibility also grew to include members of the Luftwaffe, Kreigsmarine, Waffen-SS, and Combat Police units.
Awarding criteria for the General Assault Badge was essentially the same as that of the Infantry Assault Badge and the Panzer Assault Badge. The soldier must have taken part in three combat assaults on three separate days. This meant that several combat engagements in a single day would only count as a single day. Prior to the institution of the Tank Destruction Strip in 1941, the award was also awarded instantly to those who single-handedly knocked out an enemy tank.
The Standard General Assault Badge consists of an Oakleaves wreath surrounding a large National Eagle grasping the swastika with crossed bayonet and stick grenade underneath. The General Assault Badge can be found in several different base metals such as Tombak (Brass), CupAl (Copper Coated Aluminum), Copper Coated Zinc, Zinc, and even steel. The use of the different types of base metal was directly impacted by the war as it progressed. Shortages and costs forced manufacturers to switch from quality base metals like brass, to lower quality base metals like zinc and steel.
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