121 - Wehrmacht Army marksmanship lanyard 5th grade, weapon shield in oak wreath, 2nd pattern, 1939-1945

Wehrmacht Army marksmanship lanyard 5th grade, weapon shield in oak wreath, 2nd pattern, 1939-1945 Metal and textile. Army marksmanship lanyard, 5th grade, 2nd pattern. Cord of silver-coloured metal thread, intertwined several times, with two end loops and braided decorative section. Upright oval pierced badge of aluminium: large oak leaf wreath with bow at the bottom, within a granulated weapon shield with crossed swords, surmounted by the Army eagle. Cloth backing on the reverse, cord mounted on rep ribbon. Without acorns. Good condition commensurate with age, metal thread slightly darkened, ribbon discoloured, cloth with small loss. L. 43 cm. The Army marksmanship lanyard was instituted on 29 June 1936 as an award for outstanding shooting achievements, initially in four grades; with the revised version of 17 October 1938 it was extended to twelve grades and received the badge in the form of the weapon shield. The grade is determined by the design of the badge and the number of attached acorns: 1st to 4th grade with a narrow oval ring, 5th to 8th grade with a large oak leaf wreath in white metal, 9th to 12th grade gilt; the 5th grade is the first grade with the large wreath and is worn without acorns. The Luftwaffe had its own marksmanship lanyard with Luftwaffe eagle.