A variety of awards in the form of shields, commemorating particularly successful or arduous battles and campaigns, were presented to the men of the Wehrmacht during World War II. The award represented the stamina and courage of the German soldier, not battles of offensive nature, as siege breakouts and withdrawals were also recognized.

The shields were worn permanently on the upper left sleeve of the service or dress uniform, and in the same place in an overcoat. A soldier could be presented with more than one shield, and when this took place, the second shield was to be worn 5mm below the first one.

There were officially instituted and presented shields, officially instituted but never produced shields and toward the end of the war shields that were unofficially created by troops, usually under siege. These pages focus on officially instituted/produced shields, but unofficial, prototypes, and shields that were not mass produced are briefly covered in the section bearing that name. It must be stressed, however, that these shields are extremely rare and very difficult to authenticate as a collector’s item.

Please note that at this time the "Unofficial/Prototype" section is under construction

Narvik Shield	Cholm Shield	Demjansk Shield
Krim Shield	Kuban Shield	Unofficial/Prototype Shields

Campaign Awards Main Page