Badge of the anti-aircraft artillery ground and (All) – findings

For officers, non-commissioned officers and men of units of anti-aircraft artillery of the land army (anti-aircraft defense units to protect military targets of the Wehrmacht) approved 18. On 18 July 1941, the Commander-in-Chief of the Land Army, Field Marshal General von Brauchitsch, established the Badge of the Land Army Anti-Aircraft Artillery. It was based on the Luftwaffe Anti-Aircraft Artillery Combat Badge, which was established on 10 January 1941 by the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe.

Conditions for award According to the award conditions of the same date, the newly established combat badge could be awarded: "(a) To members of the Light Anti-Aircraft Artillery of the Land Army for at least five kills by guns of a single battery, and to battery commanders, gun commanders and gunners, if the latter were directly involved in the kill. (b) To members of heavy antiaircraft batteries of the Army for a minimum of five kills, if they were directly involved in the kill. (c) To the commanders of units participating in the shootdowns, even if they did not direct the fire themselves, as follows: Company and battery commanders, if one-half of the antiaircraft gun operators of the units under their command received the Antiaircraft Artillery Badge and they were the commanders during the combat actions for which the badge was awarded to their subordinates. The awarding of the badge was carried out by the Wehrmacht High Command.

By decree of 4 September 1942, the Wehrmacht High Command amended the conditions for the award. The reason for this modification was the experience gained so far and the intended merger with the conditions for the Luftwaffe Anti-Aircraft Artillery Badge issued the same year. This fixed who was entitled to wear the badge and who was not. For example, operators of vehicles carrying anti-aircraft guns were only recognised as eligible if they were directly involved in combat operations. To remove the disadvantages of these soldiers in terms of less chance of being awarded the badge, they were occasionally assigned to combat positions. The artwork for the badge was designed by the Berlin graphic artist Ernst Wilhelm Peekhaus, and the famous firm of C.E. Juncker from Berlin was the largest contributor to the production. The badge was awarded together with the decree, which was made by the Inspectorate of Anti-Aircraft Artillery of the Land Army. Source Warcross.cz