Panzer Badge
military award in Nazi Germany in silver and bronze in five levels each (1939-1945)
The Panzer Badge (German: Panzerkampfabzeichen) was a World War II military decoration of Nazi Germany awarded to troops in armoured divisions. Before 1 June 1940 it was known as the Panzerkampfwagenabzeichen.
Creation and eligibility
Introduced on 20 December 1939, the Panzer Badge was authorized for award to tank crews who had actively participated in three armoured assaults on different days. On 1 June 1940, a bronze version was created for panzer grenadier units equipped with armoured vehicles, as well as other infantry, armoured reconnaissance, armoured signals, and medical units serving with Panzer divisions. From 31 December 1942, armoured unit repair teams could receive the silver badge for repairing tanks in combat conditions on three different days.
In June 1943, additional Tank Badges were instituted in both silver and bronze to reward participation in 25, 50, 75, and 100 armoured actions. The number of engagements required for these higher-level badges could be reduced for those with long, continuous frontline service or who had received disabling wounds. Only one badge, the highest level received, could be worn.
The authorization of these badges was usually done at regimental or divisional level.
Design and wear
The badge is oval and features a three-quarters front view of a Panzer IV tank, surrounded by an oak wreath and surmounted by the Wehrmacht eagle and swastika.
The public source identifies “Panzer Badge” as military award in Nazi Germany in silver and bronze in five levels each (1939-1945). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Panzer, Badge and military.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q684433. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1940, 1939, 1942 and 1943.
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This entry incorporates text from “Panzer Badge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.