What arm shield?-Recoaro, Italy-January, 1945

[K Bandow]

Got this photo in the mail today, and was wondering if anyone recognises this arm shield?
Is he a foreign Volunteer?

[Ludwig]

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Looks like one of the Ostvolk shields. He seems to having been awarded the Ostvolk medal, too.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi, it certainly looks like a volunteer shield to me too, but I cannot id it either.

Here is a site with a few illustrated:

http://axis101.bizland.com/GermanInsignias1.htm

Cheers, Ade.

[K Bandow]

How about the POA shield, with white backing and blue cross?

[Alexander Zöller]

Yes, I was thinking POA too. The bright background seems to indicate this. However the black bars don't really look like a cross, do they? Maybe the shield is at an angle or folded??

[Simon O.]

Isn't that an Ostvolk IInd class ribbon he's wearing?

[K Bandow]

So he is most likely Ostvolk, but what country?
From research I was doing, the POA wore their shield on the left sleeve, is that right?

[Alexander Zöller]

According to Schlicht/Angolia, a POA sleeve shield worn on the right sleeve indicated units directly under Vlassov, other Russian volunteers wore it on the left. There were numerous exceptions to this rule.

[K Bandow]

Thanks for the info Alexander!
BTW, Who was this Vlassov?

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Karl, Vlassov was a Soviet General who defected to the Germans and was CO of the Russian Army of Liberation (POA). A search on the 'net will bring up quite a bit of info on him

Cheers, Ade.

[K Bandow]

Thanks Adrian! I will for sure do a search.
So under him, soldiers wore the arm shield on the right sleeve?
That would be interesting.

[Alexander Zöller]

Karl,

yes, a shield on the right sleeve would tend to indicate a soldier directly attached to one of the two POA divisions under Vlassov. But that's not a must-have, as I said there were a lot of exceptions.

As far as I know no Vlassov units were stationed in Italy in early 1945, so that would speak against this possibility.

Also the shield looks unusually small? Maybe I'm mistaken on this. And finally, if really a POA shield, why can't we see the "POA" writing on top of the cross?

[K Bandow]

Would the soldier here be like the soldier in my photo? Looks very similar.

[K Bandow]

Also the shield look unusually small? Maybe I'm mistaken on this. And finally, if really a POA shield, why can't we see the "POA" writing on top of the cross?

Hmmmm. Good point. Maybe a variation?

[Alexander Zöller]

Not sure if it could be a variation. All the POA shields I know of had the writing.

There recently was a thread with some good photos of POA soldiers and their uniforms: http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ad.php?t=50513