The Condor Legion was established in July 1936 to provide direct military support to the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War.

The Legion, consisting of members of the German Wehrmacht, included armoured units equipped with Panzer I light tanks under the command of Colonel Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma.

[1] The Tank Badge was created in September 1936 by Colonel Von Thoma, and was recognised as an official award of the German state on 10 July 1939.

It was issued in both white metal and bright bronze,[2] with a gold version presented to Colonel von Thoma in 1939 after a victory parade in Madrid to mark the end of the Civil War.

The Condor Legion Tank Badge was not among the Nazi era awards reauthorised for official wear by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957.