German General Assault Badge “50” Made by Rudolf Karneth “RF”

This General Assault Badge “50” grade was made by known manufacturer Rudolf Karneth “RF” in the town of Gablonz (now known as a Jablonec Nad Nisou in the Czech Republic).

Constructed of silvered and stained/patinaed zinc, the patina of the outer wreath of this General Assault Badge remains in excellent condition with the vast majority of it remaining intact. The 50 at the bottom is set in silver which has lost much of its original polish, but is also in excellent condition. The center piece of this badge has lost the majority of its original silver wash with small spots of the original wash remaining, the structure of the center badge is in excellent condition with no needed repairs. The back of this badge clearly displays the “RF” in a circle indicating the maker as Rudolf Karneth. Of the 4 rivets securing the center piece of this badge 3 remain intact with the bottom left one having been detached at somepoint, despite this missing rivet the badge remains in extremely sturdy condition with no give in any sections. The pin remains intact and functions perfectly.
This is an extremely nice example of one of the scarce and highly desirable General Assault badges.

In 1940 General Von Brauchitsch, a seasoned World War 1 veteran and a Field Marschall of the German Army, instituted the creation of a “General Assault Badge” designed to allow an award for soldiers who actively participated in combat but were not infantry and therefore not considered eligible for the infantry assault badge. By 1943 may seasoned soldiers that had kept track of their total days in combat expressed an interest in the creation of a badge that denoted the total days spent in active combat during their service. As a result German High Command implemented the creation of four tiers of General Assault Badges, the “25”, “50”, “75”, “100”. “75” and “100” badges are extremely scarce due to the limited number issued as many soldiers would not survive long enough to experience the 75 or 100 individual days of combat required to be issued the medals.