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General von Brauchitsch instituted the General Assault Badge on January 1st, 1940. The badge, designed by the firm of Ernst Peekhaus of Berlin, was to be awarded to those German soldiers who participated in infantry attacks but were not part of infantry units and therefore did not quality for the Infantry Assault Badge.
The disk had raised edges and fine pebbling in the background, with and wreath of oak leaves made of 5 parts laid on each side. This oak leave wreath begins at two acorns located at the base of the badge. The protruding stick grenade and bayonet separate the first two wreaths, while acorns fill the last two separations. The center feature consists of a Wehrmacht Eagle clutching a swastika in its talons. The eagle surmounts a crossed bayonet and a stick grenade, which as mentioned above protruded into the oval disk.
As with most badges, the General Assault Badge was worn on the left breast pocket of the tunic as p.The badge was presented with an award document that had the details of the recipient, but no official mention of the deed that earned the award.
The General Assault badge was presented to engineers (who it was originally designed for), as well as members of the artillery, anti-tank, and anti-aircraft units that served along with the infantry in the conduct of an assault. Also eligible were medical personnel who treated battlefield wounded. In addition, the badge was presented for the single-handed destruction of eight tanks or armored vehicles until the institution (in March of 1942) of The Special Badge for Single Handed Destruction of a Tank. Specific criteria was as follows,
• The recipient must not be eligible for the Infantry Assault Badge
• To have taken part in three infantry or armored assaults on three different days.
• To have taken part in three infantry or armored indirect assaults on three different days.
• To have been wounded while fulfilling the second or third requirement.
• To have earned a decoration while fulfilling the second or third requirement
As the war went on, the high command recognized the need for a higher grade of this decoration to be presented to the increasing number of seasoned veterans, and on June 6th 1943, four new grades were introduced. The badge would now be presented to veterans in 25, 50, 75 and 100 classes. The first two are rare but attainable, meaning that they come for sale at regular dealers from time to time, while the latter two are rare in the extreme.
The 25 and 50 badge were similar in style, design and construction. In the smaller box was the Arabic number “25” or “50”, depending of course on the grade. The central design was blackened, while the wreath was silvered.
The central motive was again the eagle clutching a swastika on its talons, surmounting a crossed grenade and bayonet. This center design has a black oxidized finish, and was from a different striking which was held on the oval by way of four ball rivets.
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