BACKGROUND: The Krim shield was instituted on July 25TH 1942, as the third official campaign shield for award to all Wehrmacht, (Armed Forces), personnel who had been engaged in combat, were wounded or served three months in the campaign between September 21ST 1941 and July 21ST 1942. The shields were bestowed to eligible personnel by the area commander Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein and were to be worn on the upper left sleeve of the uniform. The color of the backing material was to match that of the uniform it was to be worn on. The shields were only issued in bronze although Hitler awarded Generalfeldmarschall von Manstein with a gilt version of the shield and another gilt shield was awarded to Romanian Marshal Ion Victor Antonescu.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: The award is in the form of a vertical, die stamped, magnetic sheet metal construction, shield with a bronze wash featuring a large embossed national eagle with out-stretched wings, clutching a wreathed, canted, swastika in it’s talons, to the top center, situated above an embossed, stylized, map of the Krim peninsula with the embossed dates, "1941-1942", and the impressed location, "Krim". The recessed "water" surrounding the peninsula has a subtly pebbled, background field. The edge of the shield has a fine, embossed, line and a stepped down outer edge. The shield is mounted on a cut-out, rounded bottom, flat topped, shield shaped, field-grey wool base with an alloy backing plate. The original owner put a small hole to each of the wing tips and the bottom of the shield for attachment. Uniform removed. Neat piece!