Original Items: Only One Available. Called in German a Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber, this genuine badge is constructed of silvered zinc. Over time, the silver wash can wear and flake off, showing the oxidized base metal. This example still retains a good amount of the silvering, which has oxidized to a lovely patina on the badge. The pin on the back however has lost most of it, and now shows the brass base metal.

The design consists of an oval oak wreath tied together at the base via a ribbon, with a national eagle clutching a mobile swas, with a vertically oriented Karabiner 98k with the bayonet attached to the front of the barrel and the carrying sling hanging from the rifle superimposed on the wreath. The reverse of the award is unmarked, however the style of construction and the type of hinge, pin, and catch used are textbook for Sohni Heubach & Co. of Oberstein, Germany, a known maker of these badges. We have consulted other pictures of unmarked examples by this maker, and they match.

The back also features a vertical pinback, with pressed in hinge and catch. It measures approximately 48 mm (w) x 63 mm (h) with a weight of 35 grams. This example is overall in very good condition, with a lovely oxidized patina, though it does have a slight bend to the award, with what may be a small crack in the wreath on the upper left near the rifle.

Overall a very nice example of this type of badge, ready to display!

The Infantry Assault Badge (German: Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen) was a German war badge awarded to Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht Heer soldiers during the Second World War. This decoration was instituted on 20 December 1939 by the Commander-in-Chief of the German Army, Generalfeldmarschall Walther von Brauchitsch. It could be awarded to members of non-motorized Infantry units and units of the Gebirgsjäger that had participated in infantry assaults, with light infantry weapons, on at least three separate days of battle in the front line on or after 1 January 1940. When a counter offensive led to fighting, it could also apply. Award of the Infantry Assault Badge was authorized at regimental command level.