Awards of
World War IIThe award was established for all soldiers who fought near Demyansk against the Soviet army, from February 8, 1941 to April 21, 1942, and is a sleeve insignia called the Demyansk Shield.
Materials
silver-plated zinc, later only zinc.
Dimensions
90*51 mm.
The Demyansk Shield was established on April 25, 1943, to award all soldiers who were in the Demyansk Cauldron. The ground forces were required to be in the cauldron for at least 60 days, sustaining a wound or frostbite, and the Luftwaffe required at least 50 sorties in the cauldron area. In total, over 100,000 people were awarded the award.
The award is designed as a shield, above which is an eagle with folded wings perched on a wreath framing a swastika. Log pillboxes are flanked by the wreath, and the inscription "DEMYANSK" is below. On the shield itself are two crossed swords, points up. Above the intersection of the swords is a flying aircraft; the shape and position of the propeller blades may vary in different versions of the award. Below the swords is the date "1942." The first batches of the shield were made of silver-plated zinc; later, due to the difficult military situation, they were made only of zinc. The weight of the award also varied, ranging from 16 to 35 grams.
The Demyansk shield is worn on the uniform, on the upper left shoulder. A smaller version, a pin attached to the left lapel, was also issued for civilian wear.
In early January 1942, the Northwestern Front of the Soviet Army launched an offensive towards the settlements of Stara Rusa and Kholm. At that time, troops from six Third Reich divisions, including the elite SS Totenkopf Division, were in the Demyansk area. The German command, seeing the front breakthrough south and north of Demyansk, repeatedly requested permission to retreat, but Hitler decided not to retreat. As a result, by February 8, 1942, Soviet forces had closed the encirclement, encircling over 100,000 German soldiers, officers, and support personnel. [The phrase "air supply" appears to be a mistranslation.] The encircled group in Demyansk received between 100 and 150 aircraft daily carrying supplies and reinforcements. During the existence of the Demyansk Pocket, German transport aircraft carried out 24,303 sorties into the area, delivering 15,500 tons of cargo and evacuating nearly 23,000 wounded soldiers.
To relieve the encircled group, a German offensive began on March 21, 1942, both from within and outside the pocket, in an area southwest of Stara Rusa. Following fierce fighting (in which the SS Totenkopf Division lost approximately 80% of its personnel killed and wounded), which lasted nearly a month, the encirclement was broken along a 6-8 km long front line, known as the Ramushevsky Corridor.
To reward all participants who bravely fought in the encirclement, the Demyansk Shield was established in April 1943.