Article about: Hello All, not really being a collector of Allied memorabilia this badge came with a bundle of German items from an old veterans family. It is the award that was given to all ranks of the 3r
Hello Aghs,
thank you for showing the citation and your badge.
The badge you have does look very similar but I do note a weakness in some of the detail but this could be due to some polishing.
I am not an expert on Greek badges by any means but my belief (and it is only my opinion) is there would only be one original style of badge.
I have seen some very reasonable copies of this badge.
One of the reproductions I have seen is being sold out of Greece and appears to be a near perfect example of both yours and mine.
I have asked the store owner if he could send a picture of the back of the badge so we can have a look at the pin detail.
I will try to post some pictures of badges that in my opinion are later copies of the badge due to the fact they seem to lack a considerable amount of detail.
Is that you (dimbot) over on the British badge Forum that posted a part picture of the citation you have above?
Anyway posted by the same member two pictures of the badge both are two different variants to the one I show and your example.
I really think that of these two badges the lack of detail shows that they may be later variations?
Below is an example that was sold in 2015 at Sotheby's auction.
Again this looks like a different variation making 4 now!
Hello Doug, i have seen some copies but i think that you can easy spot them comparing the weight, the front details and mostly the back side.
I am not the guy (dimbot) on the British badge forum that posted a part picture of my citation (if it's mine because i don't have an account on that forum and can not see the pics). It's very sad to use pics without mentioning the resource.
Have a look on the above similar threads (1 thr post #8 is my award and the 2 thr also). greek militaria from the second world war Unknown bayonet or trench knife or ?, help needed
Regards,aghs
Ahhh!, I see Aghs.
looking at the threads you directed me to they are all the pictures that have been pulled off the thread and popped on a thread on the Brit badge forum.
I note that you had concerns with the badge that is shown on the tunic and also thought that it might be a reproduction. The details on that badge are particulary weak compared to both mine and your badge.
Although I bow to your expertise in this field it is still my belief that there would only have been one 'original' type that was made for issue to the Brigade.
The original strike of the badge would have only been around 2500 to 3500ish (depending on which reference source you use) as that was the Brigade strength at the time of the battle of Rimini and .
Any further issues as replacements may have been done with a different set of dies.
As I mention above there are now in my mind 4 different variations of this badge all with some variation from the original type.
As yours is what I would consider an original badge I assume you can check the back has the two weak flat brass attachments at the rear?
It would be interesting to see how any of the other badges are made up.
Hello Doug, the following is a translation of a Greek article -part of it- about the history of the 3rd Greek Mountain Brigade.
The replacement of Greek Brigade (Rimini) ordered On October 16, 1944.
On October 19, 1944 became in the cemetery of Rimini moving memorial service for our fallen colleagues.
On October 20, 1944 the Commander of the second neo-Zeeland Division SIR BERNARD FREYBERG V.C. issued Special Order of the Day .
On October 27, 1944 arrived in Taranto and November 6 began boarding exception of heavy weapons ( artillery , career and other vehicles ). Brigade made up the whole two thousand eight hundred twenty-four men ( 2824 ) , of which two hundred and five ( 205 ) Officers , eighty-nine ( 89 ) Warrant Officers and two thousand five hundred and thirty ( 2,530 ) soldiers .
From the above, i consider that the award became on October 20, 1944, therefore the badges seem to be 2824 pieces or less. I have not seen photos from Rimini or earlier with soldiers wearing the badge, only after November 1944.
The following picture, from Athens war museum, dated November 11 1944.
Also, i upload a back photo of my badge. Unfortunately, the pin is missing because the badge was framed with the citation, but you can see the pewter solderings .
Regards, Aghs
That is a good post Aghs.
I like that picture from Athens museum.
I wonder if there are any more good reference sources in your National Archives.
I did see somewhere details of the firm that was ordered to produce the badges but I can't for the life of me find it anywhere.
If we could discover the firm and the date the order was placed it would give us a ball park issue date for the badges to the troops.
Your badge is quite typical of what happens to a badge that is worn.
The original fixings are two small pointed flat blades that would push through the uniform for wear however these are very weak and has resulted in a fair number of these badges having to have alternative fittings soldered on to the rear.
Under are a couple of examples from my collection that have had the field repair carried out on them
Very interesting Doug, you have more than one badge with different pin socket.
If you are interested, I found a store in Greece with the same badge as a reproduction (for comparing). Rimini Badge - khakidepot.com
Aghs
Hi Aghs.
I have 4 badges in my collection
Yes that's the store that I mentioned earlier in the thread.
I did ask the shop owner if he could send me some pictures front and rear of his badge so that we could use it as a comparison but he has not responded yet.
So this is the obverse shots of the badges that I have.
You will note that they are all produced from the same mould.
You will see that all the badges are made from pressed bronze. Any other metal in my opinion is a badge that has been produced post original issue.
Aghs you will see the colouration difference between yours and mine.
These are the obverse shots of the badges that have had the field repairs above:
.
Looking for the photo albums of Leutnant Emil Freitag, 3. / G.R. 377
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