WW2 CROATIAN NAVAL LEGION UNIFROM QUALIFICATION BADGE MEDAL GERMAN KRIEGSMARINE

Offered is an original WW2 Croatian Naval Legion Qualification Badge.

50mm high die struck, white metal badge, with central anchor (minor white enamel loss to left side of anchor), with central croatian red & white checked enamel shield. The oval oak leaf adorned outer band shows the wording 'HRVATSKA POMORSKA LEGIJA' (Croatian Naval legion). The reverse is unmarked  & retains the thick tapered pin, but lacking catch. A rarely seen badge.

This badge was awarded to members of the Croatian Naval Legion of the KM for two months service on the Eastern Front. The Hrvatska Pomorska Legija served under the Kreigsmarine in the Black Sea. They fought in KM uniform with an arm-shield, in several patterns, in Croatian national colours. They crewed a flotilla of minesweepers operating in Crimea and the Sea of Azov in 1941-43, and later a submarine-chaser flotilla (23. U-Bootsjagdflottille) in the Black Sea during 1943-44. In 1943, a Coastal Artillery Battery was added. Almost 1000 men served with the Legion under Commander Andro Vrkljan and Captain Stjepan Rumenovic. The Legion was disbanded in 1944 and the crews returned home to Trieste to serve in the Croatian Navy. They were allowed to wear the badge on their new uniforms. In December 1944 an attempted munity was put down by the Germans as some of the crews tried to defect to the Allies. They surrendered to the Partisans at the end of the war.