50 Engagement General Assault Badge – Juncker

50 Engagement General Assault Badge

Condition: Excellent
Maker: C. E. Juncker

The 50-numbered Juncker General Assault Badge is an extremely rare and desirable Wehrmacht combat award, and this is a great representative example with a great look. The numbered versions of the General Assault Badge were introduced in June of 1943; this one was awarded for participating in 50 assaults against the enemy. It’s made of zinc, as one would expect for a badge from this era. The visually striking, large German eagle and swastika emblem on the front have mostly reverted to the dull gray base metal color, with a nice, old, uncleaned patina and thin original finish. There is some minor wear to the high points of the design. The wreath retains some of the original gold finish, with some patina buildup in recesses in a few spots. The “50” box is intact and perfect. The reverse of this Junker General Assault Badge is textbook for this maker, with the typical barrel hinge, a broken round wire pin, and a round wire catch. The rivets that affix the eagle to the wreath are intact and sound. There is a slight bend to the pin that suggests that this is a piece that was actually worn on a combat uniform. Overall, the condition is excellent. The Juncker General Assault Badge is missing from most collections, and this one has wonderful character and appeal and displays well.

History: Instituted on June 22, 1943, the new grades of the General Assault Badge were in direct response to the increasing number of soldiers who had continued to accumulate “combat days” after meeting the standard version’s initial requirements. By 1943, the German High Command (OKW) realized the war would not be over as quickly as hoped for, and the need to recognize their soldiers at the front would require a new type of award and criteria. The four grades created by the German High Command were “25”, “50”, “75”, & “100”. The requirements for the Numbered General Assault Badge were like the standard version, with the main difference now being that the number of combat days required corresponded to the number on the award.  For example, the General Assault Badge with a “25” box would have required the soldier to have 25 combat assaults on 25 different days. Many soldiers in the German Army did not live to see the required “combat days” for the higher grades. This especially holds true for the award’s higher “75” and “100” grades. The numbered grades used the same design pattern as the standard version.  However, the new grades of the General Assault Badge have more enhanced features, such as an enlarged eagle and wreath, with the addition of a number box at the bottom of the wreath to denote grade.