(Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42)

Date Instituted

26 May 1942

Requirements

* Participating in 14 days of combat, or
* Serving 60 days in the combat zone, or
* Serving 30 days in the combat zone for Luftwaffe personnel, or
* Being wounded in the line of duty (between 15 November 1941 and 26 April 1942) or suffering a frostbite.

Number Awarded

?

Estimated price (2009)

€25

Award Documents

Markus Pabst

Ribbon worn on the ribbon bar

SS-Oberführer Jürgen Wagner

(Courtesy of Hans Runge)

DRK-Schwester (nurse) Elfriede Wnuk

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Heer NCO wearing the Ostmedaille ribbon above his left pocket

(Courtesy of Peter Thompson)

Oberfeldwebel Rudolf Krüger

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Comments

The text on the reverse of the medal reads "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42".

Also known as the Eastern Front Medal (Ostmedaille) and Frozen Meat Medal (Gefrierfleisch Orden)

Normally only the ribbon of the award was worn, not the medal itself.

It was designed by SS-Unterscharführer Ernst Kraus of Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler.

Photo courtesy of Rusfront, The Ruptured Duck & Craig Wagner

Sources used

Christopher Ailsby - World War 2 German medals and political awards
John R. Angolia - For Führer and Fatherland: Military awards of the Third Reich
David Littlejohn - Orders, decorations, medals and badges of the Third Reich
Detlev Niemann - Price Guide Germany 1871-1945 (2009)