The Panzervernichtungsabzeichen, officially designated the "Sonderabzeichen für das Niederkämpfen von Panzerkampfwagen durch Einzelkämpfer", was a highly prestigious World War II German military decoration instituted by Adolf Hitler on 9 March 1942 to honor individual soldiers of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS who had single-handedly destroyed or disabled an enemy tank or armored fighting vehicle in close combat using hand-held weapons. The award applied retroactively to actions from the opening of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941 and was strictly limited to personal feats of bravery by infantrymen or close-combat troops employing infantry anti-tank weapons such as the Panzerfaust, Panzerschreck, Hafthohlladung magnetic mines, satchel charges, bundled hand grenades, rifle grenades, or Molotov cocktails; dedicated anti-tank gun crews were explicitly ineligible, as the badge emphasized individual initiative against superior armored threats rather than crew-served equipment. Initially issued only in a silver version for each confirmed destruction and worn pinned then sewn onto the upper right sleeve of the tunic, the badge consisted of a rectangular embroidered field approximately 88 mm by 33 mm featuring a blackened 42 mm by 18 mm silhouette of a Panzer IV tank on a silver background bordered by thin black stripes; on 18 December 1943 a gold class was introduced for the single-handed destruction of five tanks, after which the recipient retained the four prior silver badges while wearing the gold one, with additional silver badges added below subsequent gold ones for every further set of five destructions. Approximately 18,500 silver and around 400 gold examples were awarded throughout the war, with the most prolific recipient being Oberstleutnant Günther Viezenz, who earned an extraordinary twenty-one badges, often through repeated acts of extreme courage on the Eastern Front where Soviet armor posed a constant threat. The Panzervernichtungsabzeichen symbolized the desperate heroism required of individual German soldiers in the later stages of the conflict and remained one of the most respected close-combat awards in the Wehrmacht, distinct from the earlier General Assault Badge that had sometimes recognized similar feats before its creation.
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4 PANZERVERNICHTUNGSABZEICHEN
SS-Obersturmbannführer Vinzenz Kaiser (1904-1945), born on 28 February 1904 in Waltersdorf near Judenburg in Styria, Austria, and killed in action on 20 April 1945 near Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany, was an Austrian SS officer whose military career in the Waffen-SS spanned from the pre-war SS-Verfügungstruppe through major campaigns on the Eastern Front, culminating in the award of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for his decisive leadership during the Third Battle of Kharkov. After early involvement in the Austrian Nazi movement, including founding SA troops and SS units in Styria, arrests by the Austrian authorities, and flight to Germany as a political refugee in 1933, he completed training with the Austrian SS Legion at Lechfeld and advanced through various SS training and leadership roles before the war, eventually serving as a company commander in SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 4 "Der Führer" of the 2. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Das Reich". On 12 March 1943, as SS-Hauptsturmführer and Führer of the III.(gepanzerten) Bataillon of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 4 "Der Führer", during the bitter fighting to retake Kharkov, he found himself in a critical sector where the I. Bataillon of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment "Deutschland" had established a bridgehead in the first rows of houses in the Zalyutino suburbs after the 16. Kompanie breached a deep Soviet anti-tank ditch, only for heavy enemy counterattacks to threaten its collapse in the early morning hours. Rather than simply reinforcing the defensive line as initially planned while awaiting the arrival of tanks, Kaiser proactively decided to launch an immediate attack from the bridgehead with his SPW-equipped battalion to relieve the hard-pressed I. Bataillon "Deutschland" and expand the foothold; his bold initiative and personal leadership turned the situation completely, enabling his forces to push the Soviets back, advance to the railway station area, link up with reconnaissance elements of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" near the Red Square, and then pursue the retreating enemy in a Kampfgruppe of armored personnel carriers that inflicted heavy losses and captured approximately forty artillery pieces in the woods southwest of the city. Kaiser himself personally destroyed four enemy tanks at close range with handheld weapons during the fighting, earning him four silver Tank Destruction Badges, and his tremendous personal bravery, tactical decisiveness, and proven combat leadership were singled out in the recommendation submitted by acting divisional commander SS-Standartenführer Kurt Brasack, leading to the award of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 6 April 1943 (the 1684th such award). He later rose to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer, commanded units in formations including the 17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Götz von Berlichingen", and met his end during a reconnaissance mission in the final defensive battles around Nuremberg in April 1945.
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1 PANZERVERNICHTUNGSABZEICHEN
Leutnant
Josef Glatz (1920-1991), known as "Sepp", was born on 3 November 1920
and died on 14 January 1991. During the Second World War he served in
the Heer as a member of Panzerjäger-Abteilung 46, which formed part of
the (44.) Reichsgrenadier-Division Hoch- und Deutschmeister. He earned
the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse, the Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen in der I.
Stufe, the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse, the Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in
Silber and the Panzervernichtungsabzeichen in Silber before receiving
the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 7 August 1944 while serving as Leutnant
in the I. Abteilung of Panzerjäger-Abteilung 46. On 12 January 1945,
still holding the rank of Leutnant, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des
Eisernen Kreuzes as Führer der 1./Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 46 for his
outstanding leadership and combat achievements in that role during the
final stages of the war. His last rank remained Leutnant.
Source :
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderabzeichen_f%C3%BCr_das_Niederk%C3%A4mpfen_von_Panzerkampfwagen_durch_Einzelk%C3%A4mpfer
https://www.tracesofwar.com/awards/98/Panzervernichtungsabzeichen.htm
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