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Cholm Shield (OS)

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Cholm Shield (OS)

Reference : MNL286BCDE

Reproduction of the Cholm Shield.
Old silver finish.
2 fixing lugs on back.

High-quality craftsmanship.
Made in the Philippines.
Registered postage included.

The Cholm arm badge (German: Cholmschild ) was a German military decoration of the Second World War, awarded to those who fought in the Cholm pocket on the Eastern Front between January 21 and May 5, 1942. Instituted on July 1, 1942, it is the rarest of the German combat arms badges, with around 5,500 recipients. The award was discontinued on April 1, 1943.

In January 1942, the Soviet Red Army launched a series of counter-offensives against the German army. During these operations, the German-occupied town of Cholm (or Kholm) was attacked on January 18, 1942. By January 21, the town was surrounded and isolated, creating the Cholm pocket. Under the leadership of Major General Theodor Scherer, a mixed group of Wehrmacht Heer soldiers, Luftwaffe Fallschirmjager, Waffen-SS Panzergrenadiers and members of the Ordnungspolizei was supplied by air until its relief on May 5, 1942.

After Cholm's relief, General Scherer suggested a commemorative arm plaque to Adolf Hitler, who accepted the award. A design by Polizei-Rottwachtmeister Schlimmer, a pocket veteran, was then approved by Hitler, with minor modifications by Professor Richard Klein.

The decoration features a shield 38 mm wide and 65 mm high, adorned with a large Wehrmacht-style eagle with open wings, holding an iron cross with a swastika at its center. Underneath it reads “CHOLM” in capital letters, followed by the date 1942. The shields were made of stamped, silver-washed hollow metal. A support plate was fastened with several claws and attached to a piece of fabric in a color matching the recipient's weapon uniform.

To receive the arm plate, servicemen had to have, between January 21 and May 5, 1942 :
- served honorably in the Cholm Pocket; or
- flown and landed on the pocket airfield for supply operations. Simply dropping supplies from the air was not enough.

The Cholm arm plate was worn on the upper left sleeve of soldiers' and airmen's uniforms. Those with two field plates wore them one above the other, within half a centimeter of each other. Those with three plates wore the oldest at the top, with the other two side by side at the bottom. For civilian wear, a smaller plate about 16 mm in diameter, with a needle, could be worn on the left lapel.

made-to-order

17.90 €

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