During the course of World War II several brave German soldiers distinguished themselves in combat by taking out tanks or armored vehicles with hand held weapons.
In an effort to award and encourage such bravery the Panzervernichtungsabzeichen was instituted on March 9th, 1942.
The Panzervernichtungsabzeichen was to be awarded to individuals who single handedly destroyed an enemy tank with hand held explosives such as a panzerfaust, satchel charge or grenade
The award was worn on the upper right arm of the tunic with subsequent awards being attached directly below the first one until four were attached at one time. On the award of a fifth badge, the four were taken off the uniform and replaced with a single gold badge (December 18, 1943)

1.’’Typ erkennen, swächen wissen’’
The soldiers must know what type of tank they are dealing with. Know it's weaknesses and how to knock it out.
