UBB.threads Forums Uniform & Accessories Medals & Badges of the Third Reich Forum Finnish March Badges

Another view of my 3 Kilpisjarvi pins, the large one is probably a pin for mounting on a car.

John

John, do you feel they are all war period?

--dj--Joe

Joe:

The traveling badges/pins were used before, during and after the war... they may still be today.

But, some, especially the fob ones and a few other ones relating to the key areas that saw heavy fighting, like Petsamo, Salla and Rovaniemi, appear to be more war themed and aimed at the German and Nordic forces that were engaged in these areas.

I think that they are very visually appealing and not very expensive to acquire.

So, for an obsessive-compulsive like me, this is a great area to go crazy in.

John

There were several badges or pins issued by the Nordic countrie to help out Finland in its drawn out war against Russia.

Here are two of them. The first one, the one with the motto : 'Ara, Skyldighet, Vilja' or 'Honour, Duty, Will' was made by Sporring and issued in Sweden.

The second pin, made by david Andersen, was issued in Norway.

John

Nice pieces. Great imagery of strength, solidarity.

Thanks for showing them.

--dj--Joe

During the Finnish war against the Russians, especially in the early years, the largest foreign contingent fighting with the Finns was from Sweden. All of the Nordic countries sent volunteers to join the fight.

These plaques, while designed for the Swedish contingent, were also given to the other countries participants.

There are two versions of this plaque, made by Westins in Stockholm. Here they are.

John

There are actually 3 versions of the collection badge that I know of, two made in Sweden and one made in Norway.

I have just picked up the third version, made by Westins of Stockholm. It is a solid back, whereas the one made by Sporrong is hollow back.

Here are shots of the new one, as well as the three together, from left to right, the Westins solid back, the Sporrong hollow back and the Norwegian David Andersen.

Sort of a convergence of German War History (the fight in Norway and Finland), the Norway in WWII (one of my collecting interests) and the whole Finland at War thing, this book is a history of the northern campaigns by the Wehrmacht from 1940 - 1944. It also has a lot of pictures of the fighting and some great shots of high ranking officials with their uniforms and decorations.

John

Looks to be a really nice book. Great pictures.

--dj--Joe

Eduard Dietl commanded the 3rd Mountain Division that originally captured Narvik, Norway.

He was the first German to be awarded the oak leaves cluster to the Knight's Cross and commanded the 20th Mountain Army on the Northeast front. He fought in Norway, Finland and Russia and died in an airplane crash on the 23rd of June, 1944.

Here is his signed picture.

John

Just so you know someone is still looking, I appreciate your postings to this interesting thread.

--dj--Joe

sadly my small collection of them were badly damaged by flood waters..
.But Dam JohnZ!! that's some great stuff!! great to see it all!

My latest arrival, a travel badge from Akaslompolo.

John

Here is a different version of the Pallas traveling badge.

John

Interesting!

--dj--Joe

And, newly arrived are these two items.

First is a pin from Koli. This one is slightly larger than one that I already have and it has a whit background in the lower left corner. I show the two Koli pins side by side for comparison.

Second is a poor shape ring. But it was made from a traveling pin that is new to me, one to Petsamo. All of the other Petsamo pins that I have also have other cities on them, such as Petsamo-Rovaniemi.

John

The ring looks to have been well worn. Is that the reindeer in dark blue?

--dj--Joe

The Petsamo-Rovaniemi badge has a reindeer, the Petsamo ring looks like a bear (a scrawny underfed one at that) to me.

John

Good stuff! Those small march badges are getting tougher to get!

"Second is a poor shape ring. But it was made from a traveling pin"
I've seen the ring a few times. They looked all the same construction. Pretty sure it is mass produced for retail ring...

Thanks, G.

When I look at the ring, I see that it cannot be made from a traveling badge, but is its own pattern.

John

Cool stuff John.
Interesting to see.

BTTT, for an interesting thread.

Hi guys,
it is not a March Badge for sure, but it has connection to this topic.
Finnish-German friendship bracelet (???) . Purchased it from a German auction house.

If anybody has some information on this, please let me know.

Thank you in advance.

Janos

No information. A nice piece in very good condition.

--dj--Joe

Like Joe, I have no info on this either.

But, it does look like one of those private purchase German-Finnish friendship bracelets/fobs that were to be found pre war and during the war years.

Nice item in great condition.


John

When I saw this on a German auction site, I knew that I had to have it.

Here is a fob that was definitely war time. These fobs were private purchase items sold to the soldiers who participated in the war against the Russians. Mostly Germans, but there were large contingents of other nationalities, mostly Nordic countries, who were supporting the Finns.

This is a fob with a new and unique travel badge (to me). It has two badges that I have seen before and that are associated with war time frame.

The bottom pin is one for Salla, the middle pin is for the Petsamo-Rovaniemi road.

The top pin is dated 1941-42 and has the towns/regions of Salla-Alakuortti-Kantalahti. This is the pin that I really wanted to add to my collection.

John

Along with the above fob, came 4 other pins.

Two of them were duplicates, one for Salla and one for Alakurtti. Both of these were, in my opinion, war time issues and have appeared on war time fobs or came with other period items. The Alakurtti one, in particular, with its ski troop image is a classic image from the 'War in the High North'.

The other two badges are new to me.

The first is a large pin to Pallas, showing a reindeer in front of snowy mountains. I have two versions of this pin already, but this is a largeer one and has a pin back, not the usual screw back.

The second is a great pin showing a fir tree in front of snowy mountians and has teh dedication to Salla-Alakurtti-Kemijarvi-Kantalahti.

Neat stuff,

John

Great find. Thanks for showing them. The Salla-Alakuortti-Kantalahti pin I have not seen before either. Nor had I ever seen the Salla-Alakurtti-Kemijarvi-Kantalahti pin.

You're going to need a bigger display case soon.

--dj--Joe

yeah John,,some really nice pieces!!! ,

And, Janos,,,that piece is a stunner! , super!

Good catches the both of you,,good to see!

My latest pickup is this Eismeerfront Badge, 1941-43, Black enamel.

Also, my two Eismeerfront badges along with the 4 versions of the Nordfront badge.

Only 6 more to go!

John

Congratulations, you are closing the gap.

--dj--Joe

Joe, but it is such a large gap! It took me almost a year to fnd this one.

And, the white enamel Eismeerfront badges are as rare as hens' teeth.

John

You are doing so much better than I am. It's been over a year without one addition.

--dj--Joe

Thank you, Gaspare!

Here are two new fobs.

The first one has the white Die Nordfront pin 1941-43, a Rovaniemi-Petsamo-Salla pin wiht reindeer hauling a cannon and a Petsamo-Rovaniemi pin showing the road and a reindeer.

The second one has a Finnish bear medal, a Petsamo-Rovaniemi pin same as above and a Salla-Petsamo-Rovaniemi pin showing the roads and the head of a reindeer.

Reindeers were an integral part of the northern campaign in Finland... they were used to haul supplies and munitions where the vehicles could not go because of the terrain and the cold.


John

Interesting that there is a silver hallmark on the revers of the bear above.

And, here are all my fobs and a shot of my fob and travel badge collection.

John

Wow! excellent, I knew they would be in good company!. Boy if these 2 could talk,,they had a hard life here in NY. Hope they fair better up there with you,,enjoy...

Thanks, again, G.

They are in good company... now if I could only find the 6 Nordfront Badges missing from my collection.

J

That's one interesting riker mount.

Thanks for sharing your collection. I will keep an eye out for what you are missing as I scout around.

--dj--Joe

Anyone seen this before?
I got it in my collection

I haven't seen it before, Marius. Looks like a great bracelet.

John