Reproduction of the Bronze close combat badge.
With clip on back.
Manufacturer's marking.
High-quality craftsmanship.
Made in the Philippines.
Registered postage included.
The Close Combat Clasp (German: Nahkampfspange) is a German military decoration of the Third Reich, instituted on November 25, 1942 by Adolf Hitler to reward soldiers who have taken part in close hand-to-hand combat.
Considering that hand-to-hand combat was not sufficiently rewarded, particularly on the Eastern Front where such clashes were fierce, Adolf Hitler created the Close Combat Clasp on November 25, 1942. Thereafter, Hitler regularly stressed the importance of this decoration, stating in OKH Order No. 174 that the gold grade of the clasp was the most important German decoration for infantrymen after the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The clasp was designed by W.E. Peekhaus in Berlin, and many other manufacturers went on to produce it. The conditions of award were modified by OKH order no. 443 of September 21, 1944, which restricted the notion of hand-to-hand combat to exclude actions against partisans. A further change was made on November 4 to reward soldiers separated from their unit who managed to rejoin it after being isolated behind enemy lines.
The criteria defined by Hitler on November 25, 1942 stipulated that the decoration could be awarded to any soldier, regardless of weapon or rank, who had achieved a specified number of days of close combat. The decoration is organized in three classes: the first level, bronze, corresponds to fifteen days, the second, silver, to thirty days and the third, gold, to fifty days. In order not to disadvantage veterans, time served on the Eastern Front between June 22, 1941 and November 25, 1942 is converted into days of close combat: eight months is equivalent to five days, twelve months to ten days and fifteen months to fifteen days.
The decision to award the decoration rests with the division commander or a senior officer. In exceptional circumstances, the division commander may award the decoration to a soldier who has not reached the required number of days, if he has received wounds that permanently prevent him from fighting. However, to be eligible for the first rank, the soldier must have already completed ten days of close combat, twenty days for the second and forty days for the third. Finally, as of November 4, 1944, any soldier already holding a bronze or silver rank clasp can be promoted directly to the next rank if he manages to rejoin his unit after having been separated from it and remaining isolated behind enemy lines.
Close combat is defined as fighting on foot, unprotected by heavy fortifications, hand-to-hand, for example with a bayonet or trench knife. Each soldier records his days of close combat in his Soldbuch, which are then checked by his superior. Counting is more rigorous than for other similar awards, for which a clash counts as a day: in the case of the close combat clasp, a day must correspond to a full day of close combat; otherwise, quarters or halves of a day must be counted. In addition, on September 21, 1944, OKH order no. 443 limited counting to close combat with regular troops, thus excluding clashes with partisans.
Although this is not a codified rule and is not systematic, it is customary to award other decorations at the same time as the clasp, if the recipient does not already possess them. For example, the bronze level clasp is usually accompanied by the Iron Cross Second Class, the silver level by the Iron Cross First Class, and the gold level by the Gold German Cross.
Of the approximately 18 - 20 million soldiers in the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS :
- 36,400 received the Bronze class.
- 9,500 received the Silver class.
- 631 were awarded the Gold class.
