Description
Lappland Shield – Personalized. This example was engraved on the face of the shield by the soldier, with the words “Eismeer” (Sea of Ice) and “Hammer” (the land area), and some letters representing Petsamo, Rovaniemi and Salla. Winter battles took place in these towns. There is also some lighter engraving on the shield representing regions on the map. 7.64 by 5.3cm, 27.77 grams. Aluminum alloy.
The Lappland Shield (German: Lapplandschild) was awarded to military personnel soldiers in 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. It continued to be awarded after the end of the war in May, 1945 by the unit commander.
The shield was produced locally and there are a few original variations with this being one of them.