Heer Which badge would one get?

[Dave Danner]

Hi,

 

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum to ask, but hopefully someone here might have the answer.

 

A Major d.R., whose Stammwaffe is Infanterie and whose peacetime unit is M.G.Btl. 8, is serving as Adjutant (IIa) of the 21. Panzerdivision.  According to his Karteikarte, he is awarded the "Sturmabzeichen" on 10.8.42.   Also during his time with the division, he received the 1939 Spangen to the 1914 EK1&2 and the Italian Silver Bravery Medal.

 

Which badge should he get?  An Infantry Assault Badge because of his branch, or a General Assault Badge because he is a staff officer, in the rear with the gear?  Even though it's a Panzerdivision, I imagine a Panzer badge is out, and it would probably say "Kampfabzeichen" if that were the case anyway.

 

Thanks, 

Dave

[dedehansen]

Hi Dave,

 

if you are sure that he he the Sturmabzeich, he got this one.

 

 

 

Regards

Andreas

[hucks216]

I'd agree with Andreas. If it says Sturmabzeichen I would assume it to be the General Assault Badge.

[Dave Danner]

Thanks,

 

It would make sense, though technically the infantry version is also a "-Sturmabzeichen", but I guess if it is just called "Sturmabzeichen" it's the general version?  While if it were infantry, it would normally explicitly say so?

 

One problem is I don't know exactly what Major Garke got it for.  Normally, I would think, a division adjutant would not participate in "Sturmangriffen in vorderster Linie".  But he was an infantry officer by training, and had multiple combat decorations in both wars, including the House Order of Hohenzollern, so he easily could have led task forces from HQ troops in combat in the fluid battlefronts in North Africa.

[hucks216]

Does his record show any other assignments within the division, such as Stab/Pz.Artillerie.Rgt, Pz.Jäger or Pz.Pioniere as he may well of got the Assault Badge if serving within those sub-units? If it was an Infantry Assault Badge than I would expect the entry to be more specific and actually mention the 'Infanterie' part, as can be seen here with the award of the IAB and PAB to a member of SS-Pz.Rgt 3 (he won the IAB during earlier SS service prior to transferring to the Panzer Regiment.)

 

Edited February 18, 2015 by hucks216

[Dave Danner]

No, just IIa.  

 

Here is his General Staff Officer Karteikarte, which a colleague at Axis History Forum provided.  I also have his infantry officer Karteikarte and some notes from the 21.Panzerdivision files in the US National Archives, but they don't add much more than what is on these.  I also had some information from the Schwarzburg-Sondershausen archives relating to WW1 service and some notes from the Mitteilungen of the Offizier-Verein for 3. Thür. Inf.-Regt. Nr. 71, his WW1 unit.