57er Wehrmacht Favorite War Badges from the Heer, KM, and LW

[Skyhawk]

Hi All,

With this thread, possibly we can take a little different direction from what is the "norm".

As we all know, the German Wehrmacht was comprised of three main branches the Heer, Kriegsmarine, and Luftwaffe. Please post one image with your favorite 57er War Badge from each branch out of YOUR collection. I guess you have to own it, to select it! If you could place in order Heer, KM, and LW from left to right in the image, that would be great. Part of the "fun" of this thread is to take a new image with the three 57er pieces. Also, please tell the group why you selected a particular piece or any other comments you can add. This is more an exercise in "aesthetics" than production period, hinge block, pin type, or rarity.

Here is my go at it, and I look forward to seeing what the group submits!



Heer: I really like the PAB25/50 because there is not much better than a Panzer IV crushing over logs!

KM: As a new 57er KM collector, the HSF badge is my favorite as to me it represents the German WW2 "blue water" Navy. The frontal view of a capitol ship steaming towards you is amazing! My only wish is this had been a multiple part badge with the ship in a little higher relief from the wreath.

LW: Really a tough choice as each badge features an eagle of some type. I chose the Observer badge as it has a large eagle in "action".

Have a go at it, and let's make this a memorable thread!

Best,

Jeff

[Borzadow]

Hello Jeff,
a good idea

Nice looking pieces you've choosed

the German Wehrmacht was comprised of three main branches the Heer, Kriegsmarine, and Luftwaffe.

Heer was comprised of Wehrmacht, W-SS, Police etc.
Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe is a different thread.

[Skyhawk]

Hello Jeff,
a good idea

Nice looking pieces you've choosed


Heer was comprised of Wehrmacht, W-SS, Police etc.
Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe is a different thread.

Hi Patryck,

Thank you for the comment, and I look forward to your image, as I know you have some great pieces across the services.

This is my understanding......

"The German term Wehrmacht generically describes any nation's Armed Forces, thus, Britische Wehrmacht denotes "British Armed Forces." The term Wehrmacht is in Article 47 of the 1919 Weimar Constitution, establishing that: The Reich's President holds supreme command of all armed forces [i.e. the Wehrmacht] of the Reich ("Der Reichspräsident hat den Oberbefehl über die gesamte Wehrmacht des Reiches"). From 1919, Germany's national defence force was known as the Reichswehr, which name was dropped in favor of Wehrmacht on 16 March 1935. In modern day Germany the name Wehrmacht is considered a proper noun for the 1935–45 armed forces, being replaced by Streitkräfte in its original meaning; however, this was not so even some decades after 1945. In English writing Wehrmacht is often used to refer specifically to the land forces (army); the correct German for this is Heer."

Anyway, I don't want to get into any semantic battles across languages, so the spirit of the thread is to post your favorite 57er War Badge from the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Two other quick points I would like to make. From an aesthetic stand point, I believe the deletion of the swaz or swaz/eagle allows for the true beauty of the badges to be seen. Also, the affordability of 57er pieces really shows in these type of threads, as the prices of the pieces in TR form would be much, much higher!

Best,

Jeff

[Borzadow]

OK Jeff, I understand you

I'll post some in few days !!!

[Skyhawk]

Hi All,

Lot's of views, however no badge image posts so far........

I guess it is not the best time of year to take new images, and not all collect badges across the Wehrmacht. I will post the badges I selected for second place in order to keep the thread going for awhile longer. Hopefully, we will see some great badges/images from the group.


2nd Place Badges

Heer: I like the GAB as it features equipment used, and the inclusion of the M24 ties in nicely with the Ost medal. I wonder how many Soldat received both the GAB and Ost for service in '41-'42?

KM: For me the U-boat badge, as I have an interest in the Undersea service which was fueled by the movie Das Boot. I think this badge might be the smallest War Badge produced.

LW: I like the Flak Badge as it features the 88mm Flak gun and is one of the only LW Badges to feature a piece of equipment, in addition to an Eagle. I might have selected the LW Tank Battle badge if I owned one! The Flak service was the largest component of the LW at it's peak with over 60% of LW personnel assigned to this branch.

Best,

Jeff

[Borzadow]

Ok Jeff, so here I go


KM - the same as yours: Hochsee Abzeichen. Beautiful design !!!

WH - numbered GAB. This design is amazing for me. I would like to eat that badge

LW - FJ badge. Because of design (simple but beautiful) and the history behind FJ troops.

[Skyhawk]

Hi Patryck,

First, thank you for posting your image!

Great selection of badges, and I like the background for the image as well! The numbered GAB is amazing! The detail is super and definitely surpasses that of the standard GAB.

Best,

Jeff

[Steve 5]

Gentlemen, my contribution to this fine thread................
Prost ! Steve.

[Skyhawk]

Hi Steve,

Firstly, thanks for posting to this thread!

I really like your selections, and they are choice pieces! . If you get a chance, it would be interesting to hear why you selected these pieces out of your vast collection?

Best,

Jeff

[Tony T-S]

Now we're moving. The one badge I would like is the Uboat badge. All lovely examples though.

[Steve 5]

Jeff, sorry for late reply to this thread........my choice with regards the KM & LW badges was an easy one, as I consider them to be "dramatic" designs that are timeless in their appeal, the Heer choice would of been a high numbered GAB, but sadly to date any examples have alluded me, I do not own any !
So the next best thing it had to be........the Balloon badge, which being rare is also IMO a good looking design/badge.
Prost ! Steve.

[Skyhawk]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for the response, and I agree regarding a high numbered GAB. The one shown by Patryck is amazing! I really like your KM Auxiliary Cruiser Badge, and hope to find a nice one at some point. The Balloon Badge is cool too, and those who received this badge certainly had some "steel ones"! The LW Sea Battle Badge has always puzzled me. Being instituted in November 1944 it was very late in the war, and there certainly were much larger issues in Germany, than creating a badge of this type! The thought is none were produced in TR form, and very few were awarded on paper. Has anyone seen an image of a veteran authorized to wear this award actually wearing a 57er version either in full size, or possibly on a ribbon bar? As far as the aesthetics of the badge, the "vessel" in my opinion is rather crude and almost cartoonish in appearance, especially compared to the KM badges such as the HSF or Destroyer. Also, I wonder if the Eagle used by S&L is the same as that used on the 57er LGAB? All that being said, I still like the badge and I guess owning a 57er version is the only authentic version that can be owned, as the TR ones "floating around" would all be reproductions!

Best,

Jeff

[Brig]

I'm still a rookie at this, so my choices are limited at this time, but I do have at least one badge per branch. So for now I have to go with my very early PAB in silver, early FJ, and an early Minesweeper...

[Skyhawk]

Hi Brig,

Thanks for posting to this thread and a very good start to your 57er collection!

I especially like the very early silver PAB!

Best,

Jeff

[Skyhawk]

Hi All,

Thank you again to those who posted!

One last image post from me in this thread. I will show the three pieces I selected as third place selections from my collection. Hopefully, a few more will post some of their selections.


Heer: I too, like Steve appreciate the design of the Balloon Badge. Please read what was needed to qualify for the various grades of this badge if you get a chance.

KM: This badge is representative of the Navy Destroyer type ships of the KM, and I really like the way the waves are represented as the ship cuts through them.

LW: A tough choice between this and the Glider badge! I probably should have selected the Glider as it is much rarer, however that is not what this thread is really about. I went with the Pilot Badge which to me represents the "heart" of the LW, with a stunning eagle.

Also, these badges represent the early, mid, and late production periods of S&L.

I wish all health, prosperity, and great collecting in 2015!

Best,

Jeff