Original German WWII Wehrmacht Year Long Service Award Set with Ribbons - 25 Year 1st Class and 4 Year 4th Class

Original Item: Only One Set Available. This is a nice set of two German WWII Wehrmacht Long Service Awards (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), one in the 1st Class for 25 years of service, and the other in the 4th Class for 4 years of service. Both come with their original ribbons, however they do not have any pins on them, so they could be used for any branch of service. Condition of both awards is very good, showing just aba bit of wear and oxidation. The ribbons are in great shape as well, though one is definitely shorter than the other.

A very nice set of German WWII Military Long Service awards!

Wehrmacht Long Service Awards - 40, 25, 18, 12, and 4 Years:

This award was a military service decoration of NSDAP Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. The award itself is cumulative, so after the 3rd class, both a cross and a medal were worn, and the color indicated service.

On 16 March, 1936, Adolf AH ordered the institution of service awards for the first four classes, each reflecting the completion of a select number of years of military service.

Each branch of the Wehrmacht (army, navy, and air force) maintained their own version of the Long Service Award and the decoration was issued for:
- 4 years (silver medal – fourth class)
- 12 years (gold medal – third class)
- 18 years (silver cross – second class)
- 25 years (gold cross – first class)
- 40 years (1939 special class). The 40 years special class service award was introduced on 10 March 1939.

Professor Dr Richard Klein designed the awards. Recipients of lower year awards would wear the decoration simultaneously with higher level decorations. The manner they could be worn was:

3rd Class with 4th Class (gold medal with silver medal)
2nd Class with 4th Class (silver cross with silver medal)
1st Class with 3rd Class (gold cross with gold medal)

The Long Service Award was retroactive throughout a service member's career, encompassing Reichswehr service as well as service dating during and before World War I. As such, there were a handful of 40 year awards presented, even though the NSDAP era only lasted 12 years (1933-1945).

Apart from their finish, (gilt or silver), the third and fourth class medals have a common obverse. Both are 30mm in diameter and bear the German eagle clutching a swas, surrounded by the words Treue Dienste in der Wehrmacht (Loyal service in the armed forces). The reverse shows the number of years of service, either '4' or '12', surrounded by a wreath.

Likewise, the design of the first and second class crosses are similar. Both bear the German eagle on the obverse center, with the years of service, '18' or '25', on the reverse. The first class is gilt and 38mm wide – the second silver and 35mm. The 40 year award is identical to the first class, with the addition of a gilt oakleaf cluster to the ribbon.