Original Item. Only One Available. This is a very nice German WWII Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber, or Infantry Assault Badge in Silver, manufactured by Carl Wild of Hamburg. This example is constructed from solid zinc and displays the familiar oval oak-leaf wreath surrounding a diagonally positioned Karabiner 98k rifle with fixed bayonet.

Above is the German Army eagle and swas. emblem. The original silvered finish has largely been toned and worn away, leaving the badge with a dark gray appearance and scattered brighter traces of its original finish. There is some expected surface oxidation and age-related texture, particularly on the reverse, but the raised details remain quite well defined.

The reverse retains the clearly visible CW maker mark, with the letters arranged beneath the hinge. The badge retains its original-style soldered hinge, long round-wire pin, and lower catch assembly. All of the principal attachment hardware is present.

The Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen in Silber was instituted on December 20, 1939, by Generaloberst Walther von Brauchitsch, Commander-in-Chief of the German Army. It was intended as a visible distinction for infantrymen who had proven themselves in direct frontline assault combat, particularly personnel serving in the rifle companies of non-motorized infantry divisions and in Gebirgsjäger, or mountain infantry, units.

The recipient generally had to take part in three infantry assaults on three separate days, fighting in the foremost line with his weapon in hand. The regulations also recognized certain other actions as qualifying assaults, including counterattacks, armed reconnaissance operations, and comparable close-combat actions in which the soldier personally engaged the enemy. In this sense, the badge was intended to recognize sustained participation in aggressive infantry combat rather than a single isolated action.

As the German Army expanded and increasingly relied upon motorized formations, a separate Bronze grade was introduced on June 1, 1940. This version was intended primarily for qualifying personnel of motorized and mechanized infantry units, while retaining substantially similar combat requirements. The two grades therefore represented not different levels of valor, but rather the type of infantry formation in which the recipient served.

Worn as a pin-back combat badge on the left breast, the Infantry Assault Badge became one of the most recognizable German Army combat awards of the Second World War, visually emphasizing the traditional infantryman's role in close-range ground combat.