Close Combat Clasp (German: Nahkampfspange) is a German military award instituted on November 25, 1942 for achievement in hand to hand fighting in close quarters. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Events 1034 - Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots dies Donnchad, the Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H is a generic term for Close quarters fighting, particularly when the outcome is potentially fatal as in Melee The Close Combat Clasp was worn above the upper left uniform pocket. The clasp was die-cast and made of either Tombac or later Zinc, with a slightly curved and hand centerpiece consisting of the national emblem (a German Eagle clutching the swastika) surmounting a crossed bayonet and hand grenade. Tombac is an Alloy of Copper and Zinc. This alloy is used by Russia in making Medals (The 1980 Olympic 'Bronze' Medals were Zinc (ˈzɪŋk from Zink is a Metallic Chemical element with the symbol Zn and Atomic number 30 A bayonet (from French baïonnette) is a Knife - Dagger - or spike-shaped Weapon designed to fit on or over the muzzle
The award was bestowed in three classes.
- For 15 days of combat a Bronze Class was awarded.
- For 30 days of combat a Silver Class was awarded.
- For 50 days of combat a Gold Class was awarded.
An exemption was made if the soldier was badly wounded in battle, then the criteria was reduced to 10, 20 and 40 days.
The Gold Close Combat Clasp was often regarded in higher esteem than the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by the German infantry. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ( German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, often simply Ritterkreuz) was a grade of the Iron Cross Of the roughly 18 – 20 Million soldiers of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS 36,400 received the Bronze Class, 9,500 the Silver Class and 633 the Gold Class.
References
- Thomas M. Durante (2007), The German Close Combat Clasp of World War II, ISBN 978-90-81230-11-7
- Florian Berger (2004), Ritterkreuzträger mit Nahkampfspange in Gold, ISBN 3-9501307-3-X
- Manfred Dörr, Die Träger der Nahkampfspange in Gold, Heer-Luftwaffe-Waffen-SS 1943 - 1945 ISBN 3-7648-2585-5
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