Description
Product Description: This Ost Front Medal is a virtually perfect example. It is increasingly difficult to find these in this quality. This one is made of zinc, as all of these were. It still retains nearly all of the original factory applied finish. The darkening has a great look, with an almost gunmetal blue color and some nice shine. The silvering to the rim and helmet is clean and bright with minimal edge wear. There is some extremely slight bubbling, mostly on the reverse. All of the original crisp detail remains intact. The original suspension ring is present, and is marked with the PKZ number “6” indicating manufacture by the firm of Fritz Zimmermann. The ring retains a length of correct original red, white and black ribbon. The ribbon shows no damage and only minimal age toning. This attractive original Ost Front Medal displays very nicely and would be hard to upgrade. It remains in outstanding, near mint condition.
Historical Description: The Eastern Front Medal (Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten) was a German military campaign decoration awarded to all Axis personnel who met specific criteria pertaining to duty on the Eastern Front between November 15, 1941, and April 15, 1942. This was the bitter first winter on the Eastern Front, where millions of men who were unprepared for the full force of the Russian winter were forced to fight, often in appalling conditions. The award was designed by SS-Unterscharführer Ernst Krauit. The obverse featured a large Wehrmacht eagle perched on a massive, static swastika, surmounted by a Wehrmacht steel helmet and hand grenade. Early examples of this award were tombak, with later issues being struck from zinc. The medal had a chemically darkened finish, with silvering on the rim and to the helmet and hand grenade motif. The award was suspended from a red, white, and black striped ribbon. Only the ribbon was worn on the field uniform, however the medal could be worn “mounted” or as part of a medal bar on dress uniforms. To earn this award, soldiers had to have served within designated areas of the Eastern Front. Within this region, to qualify for the award, ground soldiers had to have 14 days of active combat, or 60 days of continuous service in a combat zone. Soldiers who were wounded in combat or who suffered frostbite severe enough to merit the award of a Wound Badge were also eligible for the Eastern Front Medal. Luftwaffe soldiers who had flown 30 combat sorties over the Front qualified. In 1943, the award criteria were expanded to allow for awards to non-combatants who had served within the area of the Front. By September 1944 the awarding of the Eastern Front Medal ceased and nearly 3 million had been awarded.
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