WW2 GERMAN ARMY SS PANZER ASSAULT BADGE IN BRONZE BY FRANK & REIF OF STUTTGART

Die struck, shaped backed, zinc alloy. Detailed badge is in the form of an embossed, vertically oval, oak-leaf wreath with a Wehrmacht style eagle with down-swept wings, superimposed to the top center, encompassing the forward profile of a tank. The wreath, eagle and tank all show good detailing. The solid reverse retains its thin round brass vertical pin and catch on a ball base plate, maker trade marked for Frank & Reif of Stuttgart. Bronze type badge, with all original brown finish worn.

The Panzer Badge was introduced on 20 December 1939, in order to recognize the achievements of Panzer personnel who took part in armoured assaults. It was designed by the Berlin firm of Wilhelm Ernst Peekhaus, and was instituted by order of Generaloberst Walther von Brauchitsch. On 6 June 1940, a separate class of the badge, in Bronze, was added in order to recognize the crews of armoured vehicles other than tanks. The award document that came with it was the common type that had the particulars of the recipient (rank, name) and the authorizing signature of an officer. The Panzer Badge was worn on the left tunic pocket. The bronze version of the Panzer Badge was authorized for armoured personnel and Panzer grenadier units equipped with armoured vehicles. It was also to be presented to members of armoured reconnaissance groups and rifle battalions of Panzer divisions. The authorization of these badges was usually done at a regimental or divisional level.