The Cholm Shield was instituted on July 1, 1942. Polizei-Rottwachtmeister Schlimmer of the Cholm reserve police battalion designed the shield, which was created to honor the defendants of Fortress Cholm during the winter and spring of 1942. After Schimmer turned in the design and minor changes were made to it by Professor Klein (the facing of the eagles head and the length), it was adopted after approval by Hitler.

Shield Properties

The award took the form of a shield with a pointed bottom. Simply designed, its main feature was an Eagle with its arms outstretched. The eagle clutched in its talons an Iron Cross with a swastika in the center. The swastika in this case was larger than normally encountered in an Iron Cross, and the wings of the eagle stretched to the bottom of the cross.

Immediately beneath the eagle was the word “CHOLM”, with “1942” centered below it. The shield measured 65mm high by 40mm long. As with most combat shields, it was attached to a cloth backing by means of a back plate, with this backing matching the color of the recipients’ branch of service. The badge was die struck in lightweight metal and later zinc, and coated with silver paint.

There are two variations of the shield, the main distinctions being the size of the word “CHOLM”, and the date. They also vary in the cloth backing, with the first one taking an oval shape and the second one following the shape of the shield. The first type has a three fastening pins, two on the top and one at the center bottom, while the second type has four, two on the top and two at the bottom. I have in my possession a reference book that states that the first type was the kind originally issued, while the second one was sold through LDO outlets. It further states that the first type was struck exclusively from lightweight metal, while the second type was produced in zinc.

Cholm Shield	Cholm Shield Document

The Cholm Pocket

On January 21, 1942, a powerful Russian counteroffensive trapped several thousand Wehrmacht and Police personnel in the small locality of Cholm on the Lovat River, in the Kalinin section of Russia. Hitler immediately ordered that the pocket be held and supplied by air.

Trapped in the pocket were parts of Infantry Divisions 123rd and 218th, Infantry Regiment 553 of the 329th Infantry Division, III/Feldregiment der LW 1, and part of 285.Sich.Div. Also surrounded with them were assorted (and small) Heer and Police units that by chance were caught in the pocked and could not break out. The total number of forces was 5,500. Their almost negligible heavy weapons included a few 80mm mortars, 3.7cm Pak, 5cm Pak, and 2 light infantry guns. Artillery support was provided by Gruppe v. Uckermann from outside the pocket, with observation supplied by the Cholm troops. This small force incredibly held off determined attacks by superior enemy forces, repelling over 100 infantry attacks and 42 tank assaults in the course of the battle.

The beleaguered men suffered serious casualties but held their ground until relieved. By the time this took place, only 1,200 men were still fighting with 1,550 having been killed in action and the rest having been wounded. Many of the wounded were retrieved via air during supplies run by the luftwaffe in an improvised air strip near the town.

On May 5th, their struggle came to an end as they made contact with friendly troops. The relieving units were StuG.Abt.184, Pioneers 411.Inf.Div., part of 122.Inf.Div, with the 8.Pz.Div. following close behind.

Award Criteria and Statistics

The shield was presented to all those who fought to preserve the Cholm pocket against those overwhelming odds. This included Luftwaffe pilots who flew in supplies and retrieved the wounded, and the improvised airstrip crews. It is also possible that Kriegsmarine personnel received the award, as there were such units in the River Lovet. Only about 5,500 were presented, making this one of the most rare of the Battle Shields of the Third Reich. As a point of interest it is worth mentioning that for his leadership of the forces in the pocked its commander, Generalmajor Theodor Scherer (pictured to the right), was presented with the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross. In addition, the Goebbels Ministry of Propaganda produced a book on the matter titled “Kampfgruppe Scherer 105 Tage Eingeschlossen” (Battle Group Scherer, cut off for 105 days).

1957

The Cholm Shield was reissued in 1957. Regulations stayed basically the same, and the design changed in that the swastika was striped from the award as pictured to the right.

Campaign Shields Main

Campaign Awards Main