Panzer Badge - Panzer Battle Badge

Panzer Battle Badge

The Panzer Badge consists of an oval with a wreath composed of five single oak leaves on one side and four on the other (the tank treads cover one). At the base of the oval is a tie, and on top is the Wehrmacht eagle, which has downspread wings and is clutching a swastika in its talons. In the center of the badge is a tank that passes from left to right. The left track of the tank goes into the wreath of oak leaves, and the area under the tank is grooved and made to look like grass. The reverse of the badge has three variations, the badge could either be hollow backed, flat, or semi-dished. The hollowed backed variation showed the imprint of the obverse, while the flat was just solid (pictured here). The semi-dished version has a slight indent that shows part of the outline of the tank. The badge was attached to the uniform via a hitch and hook, which were affixed to the reverse and had a couple of variations. There was the conventional soldering of a small rectangular medal bar (pictured here), as well as the more rare type in which a circular ball hinge was inserted into the body of the badge. The tank in the center of the medal is a Panzerkampfwagen IV. The criteria for the award of the Silver Panzer Badge were, to have taken part in 3 armored assaults on 3 different days, to have been wounded in an assault, to have won a decoration for bravery in an assault. The Silver class was presented to tank commanders, gunners or radio operators while the bronze class was presented to the Panzergrenadier regiments, tank assault crew, armored reconnaissance units, and medical personnel who went into battle in armored vehicles. The award was authorized through the Panzer Division commander.