Code: 56484
A Sleeve Shield to the 21st Mountain Division of the Skanderbeg (1st Albanian) which was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS.
Constructed with a machine embroidered double headed eagle over a red shield on a black woollen backing, the Shield is in excellent unissued condition.
The division was developed around the nucleus of an ethnic Albanian battalion which had briefly seen combat against the Yugoslav Partisans in eastern Bosnia as part of the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian). Composed of Albanians with mostly German and Yugoslav Volksdeutsche (ethnic German) officers and non-commissioned officers, it was given the title Skanderbeg after medieval Albanian lord George Kastrioti Skanderbeg, who defended the region of Albania against the Ottoman Empire for more than two decades in the 15th century.
Skanderbeg never reached divisional strength, being at most a brigade-sized formation of between 6,000 and 6,500 troops.
