This is a battlefield-recovered German Drivers Proficiency Badge in very nice relic condition. The badge is solid, well-cleaned, and retains fairly clear markings. It is complete with its back plate and pins, showing only minor damage from being buried. A fantastic battlefield find, ideal for display or any collection. The badge was worn by a soldier of Panzergrenadier Division Kurmark and was recovered in Carzig, south of the Seelow Heights an area defended by the division in April 1945 during the battle on the Heights, part of the opening battle for Berlin.
The unit that became Panzergrenadier Division Kurmark was formed on 30 January 1945 as Kampfgruppe (Brigade) Langkeit from Panzergrenadier-Ersatz-Brigade Grodeutschland Gneisenau at Frankfurt an der Oder. With the launch of the Soviet Berlin Offensive on 16 April, the division was taken from reserve and deployed to defensive positions along the high ground through Mallnow, Carzig, Schnflie, and Dolgelin. Increasing Soviet pressure forced the division to withdraw on 19 April, with a rear guard covering the retreat from strong defensive positions at Hohenjesar and Schnflie. Eventually, the division became trapped in the Halbe Pocket with much of the Ninth Army. The remaining personnel surrendered to US forces near Jerichow on 5 May 1945.
The Battle of the Seelow Heights, part of the Seelow-Berlin Offensive Operation (16 April-2 May 1945), was a pitched battle and one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions of the Second World War. Fought over three days (16-19 April 1945), nearly one million Soviet soldiers of the 1st Belorussian Front including 78,556 troops of the Polish 1st Army under Marshal Georgi Zhukov attacked the position known as the Gates of Berlin. They faced about 110,000 German troops of the 9th Army commanded by General Theodor Busse, part of Army Group Vistula.
The Seelow Heights saw some of the fiercest fighting of the campaign but was only one of several crossing points along the Oder and Neisse rivers. The Battle of the Oder-Neisse was itself the opening phase of the larger Battle of Berlin, ultimately resulting in the encirclement of the German 9th Army and the subsequent Battle of Halbe.
This is a battlefield-recovered German Drivers Proficiency Badge in very nice relic condition. The badge is solid, well-cleaned, and retains fairly clear markings. It is complete with its back plate and pins, showing only minor damage from being buried. A fantastic battlefield find, ideal for display or any collection. The badge was worn by a soldier of Panzergrenadier Division Kurmark and was recovered in Carzig, south of the Seelow Heights an area defended by the division in April 1945 during the battle on the Heights, part of the opening battle for Berlin.
The unit that became Panzergrenadier Division Kurmark was formed on 30 January 1945 as Kampfgruppe (Brigade) Langkeit from Panzergrenadier-Ersatz-Brigade Grodeutschland Gneisenau at Frankfurt an der Oder. With the launch of the Soviet Berlin Offensive on 16 April, the division was taken from reserve and deployed to defensive positions along the high ground through Mallnow, Carzig, Schnflie, and Dolgelin. Increasing Soviet pressure forced the division to withdraw on 19 April, with a rear guard covering the retreat from strong defensive positions at Hohenjesar and Schnflie. Eventually, the division became trapped in the Halbe Pocket with much of the Ninth Army. The remaining personnel surrendered to US forces near Jerichow on 5 May 1945.
The Battle of the Seelow Heights, part of the Seelow-Berlin Offensive Operation (16 April-2 May 1945), was a pitched battle and one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions of the Second World War. Fought over three days (16-19 April 1945), nearly one million Soviet soldiers of the 1st Belorussian Front including 78,556 troops of the Polish 1st Army under Marshal Georgi Zhukov attacked the position known as the Gates of Berlin. They faced about 110,000 German troops of the 9th Army commanded by General Theodor Busse, part of Army Group Vistula.
The Seelow Heights saw some of the fiercest fighting of the campaign but was only one of several crossing points along the Oder and Neisse rivers. The Battle of the Oder-Neisse was itself the opening phase of the larger Battle of Berlin, ultimately resulting in the encirclement of the German 9th Army and the subsequent Battle of Halbe.
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