The German Anti-Partisan Badge in World War II, by Rolf Michaelis

Length, 40 pages

This book tells us about the badge given to German military men who fought in counter insurgency battles. It's translated name would be "Bandit Warfare Badge," since the official German name for partisans was "bandits." Michaelis gives us some background about Hitler officially announcing this awards creation on 30 January, 1944, and made retroactive to the beginning of 1943. We then have anecdotes from Germans and civilians about different fights and pressure from both the Germans and the partisans, both in Russia and elsewhere.

Michaelis also give us the criteria, in days of fighting, for the Luftwaffe and the other services, that would entitle a man to get this badge in its various grades, Bronze, Silver and Gold. The Luftwaffe had a man spend more time in action to earn a grade than the other services, though there is no explanation given.

The best part for me is the pictures of the badges, front and back, with the paper citations for the men awarded. There was also pages from the Soldbuchen listing their days in action that entitled them to the award.

It's a thin book and doesn't go into great depth. It also had some translation issues with Michaelis and his imperfect English. Overall, I give it 3 stars.