Original WWII German Army (Heer) ASERBEIDSHANIAN VOLUNTEERS SLEEVE SHIELD. (Aserbaidschan Landeschilde) Certified

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Original WWII German Army (Heer) ASERBEIDSHANIAN VOLUNTEERS SLEEVE SHIELD. (Aserbaidschan Landeschilde) Certified  With the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22ND 1941 the German army encountered large segments of the non-ethnic Russian populace that greeted them as liberators from the yoke of Bolshevism. Although Hitler was suspicious of the ethnic make-up and loyalty of these personnel the German commanders in the field quickly saw the advantage of utilizing these willing personnel in non-combatant roles. As a result of manpower restrictions the German army began employing non-ethnic Russian POW’s and volunteers as laborers and supply personnel in the rear areas as early as the summer of 1941 against the express wishes of Hitler. In an attempt to convince the Turkistanis to ally themselves with the German cause, Hitler finally allowed the formation of a Turkistan Legion in November 1941 which was to be attached to the German 162ND Infantry Division as a parent and training unit. In December 1941 Hitler permitted three more foreign volunteer legions to be formed from non-ethnic Russian personnel including the Caucasian Moslem Legion. In early 1942, with further expansions, the Caucasian Moslem legion was divided in two creating the North Caucasian and the Aserbaidschan legions. As with other foreign volunteer legions members of the Aserbaidschan legion were allocated an identifying sleeve shield insignia that was introduced in 1942. In September 1943, the first pattern, (1942), identifying sleeve shield was altered by the addition of a crescent moon and star creating the second pattern. First pattern, printed, (silk screened), identifying sleeve shield consists of a scalloped topped, pointed bottom, shield shape base with three horizontal bars in blue, red and green with a narrow black outer border. The top of the shield has an additional, black, horizontal bar with red script, “Aserbaidschan”. The shield is still on its original, red cotton factory roll and is in overall excellent, unissued condition but has some slight storage wear.  100% Guaranteed to be authentic Complete museum documentation (COA) Provided. Certified by The Gettysburg Museum of   History.   Please see our other items.    Also note when browsing our web site there are several pages of items, at the bottom of the list look for other page numbers.