Lappland Shield

The Lappland Shield (German: Lapplandschild) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to military personnel of General Franz Böhme’s 20th Mountain Army which had been fighting a two-front campaign against the advancing Finnish and Soviet Red Army forces in Lapland between November 1944 and the war’s end in May 1945. It was awarded to men who had "honorably served" for six months in the region or had been wounded during operations therein. It was authorized in February 1945 and was the last officially instituted German campaign shield of the war.[1][2] It continued to be awarded after the end of the war in May, 1945 by the unit commander.[2]

Lappland Shield Lapplandschild
Awarded by Nazi Germany
Type	Badge
Eligibility	Military personnel
Awarded for	actions against British and Soviet forces in Northern Norway
Campaign(s)	World War II
Status	Obsolete
Description	Commemorative shield worn on the upper left sleeve of uniform
Statistics
Established	February 1945

Design

A basic shield with flat top and rounded bottom incorporates an eagle at the top but without a swastika. Directly below this, in capital letters, is written "LAPPLAND" and beneath it appears a map of the region. Four small holes were punched in the shield to allow it to be sewn on the upper left sleeve of the uniform, however, it had no back-plate or uniform cloth section attached.[2]

See also

• Campaign shields (Wehrmacht)
• Cholm Shield
• Crimea Shield
• Demyansk Shield
• Kuban Shield
• Narvik Shield
• Warsaw Shield

Notes

1. Ailsby 1987, p. 108.
2. Angolia 1987, pp. 284, 285.

References

• Ailsby, Christopher (1987). Combat Medals of the Third Reich. Harpercollins. ISBN 978-0850598223.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Angolia, John (1987). For Führer and Fatherland: Military Awards of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing. ISBN 0912138149.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)