Description
Product Description: A very nice 100 Engagement General Assault Badge in overall excellent condition. This 100 Engagement General Assault Badge is produced out of two pieces of die struck zinc. Complete with most of the textbook gold wash finish remaining on the wreath. The separately attached eagle is affixed with the correct aluminum style rivets on the reverse. The eagle retains most of its darkened factory finish. The textbook Gablonz style reverse hardware remains intact and with no repairs, featuring the correct crimped style pin and catch. The badge itself is maker marked for the producer JFS on the reverse of the wreath. The 100 Engagement General Assault Badge is one of the rarest badges produced during the Third Reich, as most soldiers did not survive combat long enough to be eligible for this rare award.
Historical Description: Instituted on June 22, 1943, the new grades of the General Assault Badge were in a direct response to the increasing number of soldiers who had continued to accumulate “combat days” after they had met the initial requirements of the standard version. By 1943, the German High Command (OKW) realized the war would not be over as quickly as hoped for, and the need to recognize their soldiers at the front would require a new type of award and criteria. The four grades created by the German High Command were “25”, “50”, “75”, & “100”. The requirements for the Numbered General Assault Badge were like the standard version with the main difference now being the number of combat days required corresponded to the number on the award. For example, the General Assault Badge with a “25” box would have required the soldier to have 25 combat assaults on 25 different days. Many soldiers in the German Army did not live to see the required “combat days” for the higher grades. This especially holds true for the higher “75” and “100” grades of the award. The numbered grades used the same design pattern as the standard version. However, the new grades of the General Assault Badge have more enhanced features such as enlarged eagle and wreath, with the addition of a number box at the bottom of the wreath to denote grade.
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