Heer Long Service Medal 12 Years - Ribbon Bar

Heer Long Service Medal 12 Years - Ribbon Bar

HEER LONG SERVICE MEDAL 12 YEARS - RIBBON BAR

 The long service medal was instituted by Adolf Hitler on March 16, 1936 to reward those who had completed a certain number of years of military service in the Wehrmacht. Awarded to each branch of the Armed Forces, Navy, Army and Air Force it was divided into four classes: 4 years, 12 years, 18 years, 25 years. A special 40-year service fifth class was introduced on March 10, 1939.

 Time in the Reichswehr, service during and before the First World War was included in the calculation of length of service. The long service medal were applied just before the commemorative medals of the annexation of Austria, the Sudetenland and the Memel.