High Seas Fleet Badge is a German military decoration (worn on the lower part of the left breast pocket of the naval service tunic, underneath the 1st class Iron Cross

Iron Cross

The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....

 if awarded, or equivalent grade) awarded for service to the crews of the High Seas Fleet

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

, mainly of the battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...

s and cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

s, but also those ships that supported them operationally for which there was no other award given. Required qualifications included e.g. active duty on 1 or more 12 week cruises, wounds or sinking in action.

Although the award was instituted in April 1941, it could be awarded for actions that took place prior to this date and could highlight the struggle against the British fleet.

Criteria

To be eligible to receive the badge one must have twelve weeks service on a battleship or cruiser, with proof of distinction and good conduct. The number of weeks were reduced if one of these conditions were met:

• If the recipient was wounded or killed during the voyage.
• Outstanding achievements in an engagement.
• If the cruise was successful.
• Individual's ship was sunk in action. (Bismarck
  German battleship Bismarck
  Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...
  
  , Admiral Graf Spee
  German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee
  Admiral Graf Spee was a Deutschland-class heavy cruiser which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. The vessel was named after Admiral Maximilian von Spee, commander of the East Asia Squadron that fought the battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands in World War I...
  
  , Blücher
  German cruiser Blücher
  Blücher was the second of five heavy cruisers of the German Kriegsmarine, built after the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles. Named for Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the victor of the Battle of Waterloo, the ship was laid down in August 1936 and launched in...
  
  )
• For participation in “Rawalpindi” and “Jan Mayen”.
• All crew members of the Scharnhorst
  German battleship Scharnhorst
  Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other ship, Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15...
  
   and Gneisenau
  German battleship Gneisenau
  Gneisenau was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship and battlecruiser, of the German Kriegsmarine. She was the second vessel of her class, which included one other ship, Scharnhorst. The ship was built at the Deutsche Werke dockyard in Kiel; she was laid down on 6 May 1935...
  
   received the award in view of the operational effectiveness of the ships.
• To every sailor who was present on the Tirpitz
  German battleship Tirpitz
  Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...
  
  when it was bombed and sunk by the British R.A.F. in Tromsö Fjord on November 12th, 1944.