Kuban Shield

Kuban Shield Ärmelschild Kuban
Awarded by Nazi Germany
Type	Badge
Eligibility	Military personnel
Awarded for	fighting at the Kuban bridgehead between February and October 1943
Campaign	World War II
Status	Obsolete
Statistics
Established	21 September 1943
Distinct recipients	Approximately 145,000

The Kuban Shield (German: Ärmelschild Kuban) was a World War II military decoration of Nazi Germany, awarded to those who fought at the Kuban bridgehead in the Soviet Union from February 1943 until it was abandoned in October 1943.

Design

The shield is designed in a similar fashion to the Crimea Shield and was struck in sheet metal or zinc and treated with a bronzed wash. It features a German eagle with outstretched wings clutching a laurel wreath with the swastika inside this. Beside the wreath are the numbers 19 and 43. Directly below the eagle is written KUBAN in capital letters. Below this name is a stylized map of the Kuban region. The names of bridgeheads - KRYMSKAJA, LAGUNEN, and NOWOROSSIJSK are written.

A back plate, which held in place a piece of cloth matching the recipients’ branch of service, was applied to the shield:

• Green for Heer (army)
• Blue for Luftwaffe (air force)
• Black for Panzer units (armoured units)

There were several ways to attach this plate, with again the most popular method being the four prongs, two on top and two directly at the bottom. The shield was worn on the upper left sleeve of the tunic.

See also

• Cholm Shield
• Demyansk Shield
• Lappland Shield
• Narvik Shield
• Crimea Shield