Description
Product Description: This 75 Engagement General Assault Badge by JFS is a rare badge and in amazing condition. It is made of a nice quality “feinzink”. The finish on this one is gorgeous, with nearly all of the gold wash on the wreath. The intact, original, bright gold wreath contrasts nicely with the eagle, which retains nearly all of the original factory darkening. The rarely seen “75” box is correct and retains the original black paint in the recesses. This badge’s obverse shows exquisite detail and minimal wear. On the reverse, this hard to find 75 Engagement General Assault Badge is maker marked with a stylized “JFS”, indicating manufacture by Josef Feix & Söhne in Gablonz. The hardware setup is textbook for JFS, with a magnetic banjo pin and crimped hinge and catch. The attachment pin is functional, and there are no signs of repair. The correct aluminum rivets are tight and un-messed with. This is an extremely nice 75 Engagement General Assault Badge that would be really difficult to upgrade. Will make an excellent example to any combat or award display.
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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