# Crimea Shield

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{{Short description|WW2 German military decoration}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox award
|name=Crimea Shield<br>''Krimschild''
|image=Krimschild.JPG
|image_size=200px
|caption=Shield with [field grey](/source/Feldgrau) backing for award to the [Army](/source/German_Army_(Wehrmacht))
|presenter=[Nazi Germany](/source/Nazi_Germany)
|type=[Badge](/source/Badge)
|eligibility=Military personnel
|awarded_for=Active service during the [Crimea](/source/Crimea) campaign
|campaign=[World War II](/source/World_War_II)
|status=Obsolete
|description=
|clasps=
|established=25 July 1942
|firstawarded=
|lastawarded=October 1943
|total_awarded=Approximately 250,000{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=20 states 100,000 recipients}}
|total_awarded_posthumously=
|total_recipients=
|individual=
|higher=
|same=
|lower=
|related=
|image2=200px
|caption2=Field Marshal [Erich von Manstein](/source/Erich_von_Manstein) (right) wearing the Crimea Shield on his tunic
}}
right|thumb|140px|Post-war 'de-nazified' issue
The '''Crimea Shield''' ({{Langx|de|Krimschild}}) was a [World War II](/source/World_War_II) [German](/source/Nazi_Germany) military decoration. It was awarded to military personnel under the command of [Field Marshal](/source/Generalfeldmarschall) [von Manstein](/source/Erich_von_Manstein), including supporting naval and air force units, who [fought against Soviet Red Army forces](/source/Crimean_Campaign) between 21 September 1941 and 4 July 1942 and who captured the [Crimea](/source/Crimea) region (''Krim'' in [German](/source/German_language)). It was instituted on 25 July 1942.{{sfn|Angolia|1987|p=280}} It was the most widely distributed of the various German [campaign shields](/source/Campaign_shields_(Wehrmacht)), with approximately 250,000 awarded.{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=20 states 100,000 recipients}}

==Design==
The Wehrmacht's [Army Group South](/source/Army_Group_South) advanced through the [Crimean peninsula](/source/Crimean_peninsula) between the Autumn of 1941 and Summer of 1942. To commemorate the hostilities that ended with the German capture of [Sevastopol](/source/Sevastopol) on 4 July 1942, the Crimea Shield was created for all members of the armed forces under area commander Field Marshal [Erich von Manstein](/source/Erich_von_Manstein).{{sfn|Angolia|1987|p=280}}

The shield is of stamped sheet metal with a bronze finish.{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=19}} It is headed by the German eagle clutching a laurel wreath surrounding a [swastika](/source/swastika), flanked by the dates '''{{mono|1941}}''' and '''{{mono|1942}}'''. This sits on a backdrop of the Crimean peninsula, bearing the word '''{{mono|KRIM}}'''.{{sfn|Angolia|1987|p=280}}{{sfn|Ailsby|1987|p=98}} It was issued mounted on a cloth backing that matched the uniform of the appropriate armed service: army, navy or air force, and sewn onto the left upper sleeve of the tunic and greatcoat.{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=17}} Where the recipient received more than one campaign shield, the earlier was worn above any later awards.{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=17}}

After an initial ban, the [Federal Republic of Germany](/source/West_Germany) re-authorised the wear of many World War II military decorations in 1957. These included the Crimea Shield, re-designed by removing the eagle and swastika emblem. Members of the [Bundeswehr](/source/Bundeswehr) could wear the shield on the ribbon bar, represented by a small replica of the award on a field grey ribbon.{{sfn|Littlejohn|Dodkins|1968|pp=224–226}}

==Criteria for award==
The Crimea Shield could be awarded to all members of the Wehrmacht and to Luftwaffe and other units affiliated to the campaign between 21 September 1941 and 4 July 1942. The following conditions needed to have been met for the award:{{sfn|Angolia|1987|p=280}}{{sfn|Ailsby|1987|p=98}}
*served in the area for at least 90 days; or
*been wounded while serving in the area; or
*been engaged in at least one major operation against the enemy.

[Romanian](/source/Romania_in_World_War_II) troops serving in the Crimea were also eligible.{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=19}}

==Gold version==
A special pure-gold version of the Crimea Shield was also produced. It was first bestowed upon Marshal [Ion Antonescu](/source/Ion_Antonescu), the military dictator of [Romania](/source/Kingdom_of_Romania), at the end of the [Siege of Sevastopol](/source/Siege_of_Sevastopol_(1941-1942)) (3 July 1942). It was awarded to him in [Bucharest](/source/Bucharest) by Erich von Manstein, on [Adolf Hitler](/source/Adolf_Hitler)'s behalf. The second and last ''Golden Krimschild'' was awarded to von Manstein himself, on 24 November 1942.{{sfn|Ailsby|1987|p=98}}{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=19}}{{sfn|Schranck|2014|p=25}}{{sfn|Domarus|2004|p=2799}}

==See also==
{{div col |colwidth=30em}}
* [Campaign shields (Wehrmacht)](/source/Campaign_shields_(Wehrmacht))
* [Cholm Shield](/source/Cholm_Shield)
* [Demyansk Shield](/source/Demyansk_Shield)
* [Kuban Shield](/source/Kuban_Shield)
* [Lapland Shield](/source/Lapland_Shield)
* [Narvik Shield](/source/Narvik_Shield)
* [Warsaw Shield](/source/Warsaw_Shield)
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|32em}}

==References== 
*{{cite book | last = Ailsby | first = Christopher | title = Combat Medals of the Third Reich | publisher = Harpercollins | year = 1987 | isbn = 978-0850598223 }}
*{{cite book | last = Angolia | first = John | title = For Führer and Fatherland: Military Awards of the Third Reich | publisher = R. James Bender Publishing | year = 1987 | isbn = 0912138149 }}
*{{cite book |last= Domarus|first=Max |title= ''Adolf Hitler:'' Speeches and proclamations, 1932-1945 |publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci |year= 2004 |isbn= 0865162271 }}
*{{cite book|last1= Littlejohn|first1= David|last2= Dodkins|first2= Colonel C. M.|title= Orders, Decorations, Medals and Badges of the Third Reich |publisher= R. James Bender Publishing, California |year= 1968 |isbn= 978-0854200801 }}
*{{cite book |last=Schranck |first= David |title= Thunder at Prokhorovka: A Combat History of Operation Citadel, Kursk, July 1943 |publisher= Helion and Co |year= 2014 |isbn= 978-1841763521 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kahZBAAAQBAJ&q=crimea+shield+antonescu&pg=RA1-PA25 |language=en}}
*{{cite book|last=Williamson |first=Gordon |title=World War II German Battle Insignia |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2002 |isbn= 1841763527 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AJ4XDAAAQBAJ&q=crimea+shield+antonescu&pg=PA19 |language=en}}

{{List of military decorations of the Third Reich |state=collapsed}}

Category:Awards established in 1942
Category:Military awards and decorations of Nazi Germany
Category:1942 establishments in Germany
Category:German campaign medals

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Crimea Shield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimea_Shield) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimea_Shield?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.