For what was given the medal "For Courage"? Military orders and medals of the Soviet Union

This medal is considered more honorable than all others. Received it mostly ordinary soldiers, sergeants and sergeants, although the statute is not forbidden to reward her and the officers. It just so happened that, unlike other medals, it was possible to receive them simply by taking part in some large-scale front-line operation, this was given for quite specific heroic actions that, in the opinion of the command of the military unit, before the order for some reason " Did not hold out. " About what was given the medal "For Courage", and what is the history of this government award, there will be a short story offered to the attention of the reader.

New award, 1938

In the late thirties, the Soviet Red Army soldiers had to fight with different opponents. Some of them managed to take part in the Spanish Civil War, first met with the Nazis. The share of others fell to battle with the Japanese militarists, who tried to squeeze the position of the country of the Soviets in the Far East. On external near borders it was restless - there were trying to filter out groups of saboteurs and spies. Border guards often died and were wounded, fulfilling their military duty. There is a need for a new award, quite prestigious, to assess the courageous acts of the Red Army and Navy soldiers. In the autumn of 1938, a sketch of the medal with the motto written on its front side was confirmed, eloquently (large and really red letters) to the speaker, for which it will be honored. There are other details on the image, but the main thing is the inscription. It is designed so that the descendants do not have any questions, for which they gave the medal "For Courage". To understand, it is enough to read.

Other design elements

The front side reflects the overall aesthetics of the time of taking the sample award. The T-35 tank was considered to be the most powerful Soviet ground weapon, it was multi-towed and very heavy, so I found my place on the obverse. It was used quite rarely during the Winter Campaign on the Karelian Isthmus, it was not used at all at Khalkhin-Gol and proved ineffective during the first months of the Great Patriotic War, but even after that it was changed to "thirty-four", IP or KV did not.

Three more aircraft are visible at the top, similar in silhouette to the I-16. These cars, too, in 1941, withdrew from the aviation of the Red Army, but managed to fight for some time. Victor Talalikhin on this was made famous ramming ram.

In the lower part of the award, the nationality of the sign of distinction is designated: the USSR, and in the center large ruby-red enamel letters are written, for which they were given a medal. For courage. That is for selfless courage.

On the smooth reverse side, only the instance number is knocked out.

Material of manufacture

The medal is cast from high purity silver, corresponding to 925 samples. This means that the proportion of impurities in the alloy is only seven and a half percent. The weight of the award fluctuated, depending on the year of release, from 27.9 to 25.8 grams. The allowable deviation from the norm for casting the workpiece also changed (from one and a half to 1.3 grams). The medal is quite large, its diameter is 37 mm. The deeper inscriptions "For courage" and "USSR" were filled with enamel, which solidified after roasting. On many specimens, it exfoliated from mechanical loads, fighters wore awards for many years, they were covered with scratches and other injuries. It happened that they saved the fighter's life. The chamber, which rejected the deadly bullet, explained without any words what the medal "For Courage" was for.

Versions

The initial sketch implied rectangular forms of a hanging pencil of small dimensions (25 x 15 mm), to which the medal was attached by a ring, which was passed through the ear, also quadrangular. Tape is silk, moire, red. On clothes, it was fixed by means of a round nut on a threaded pin.

The medal "For courage" of 1943 and later years of production was brought into line with the traditions and standards of state awards that were established in the USSR. The eye became round, and the pentagonal shoe was provided with a pin. The color of the ribbon was also changed (to the gray with two blue stripes), so that it would be easier to distinguish it on the medal planks.

First Cavaliers

The list of medal winners "For Courage" for the time that has passed since its establishment, has long exceeded four million. And this despite the fact that there was an unspoken rule with regard to it - to reward only desperate brave souls who really did something special. And the frontier guards got it first, there were two of them.

The story is silent about who got the first medal "For Courage" - F. Grigoriev or N. Gulyaev, although it can be found out by finding copies of award sheets in the archive. But this, in essence, does not matter, because both of them became heroes at the same time, detaining a diversionary group in the area of Lake Khasan , which was trying to infiltrate the country from the adjacent territory.

The pre-war period

Then there was the Finnish winter war, during which the Red Army men had to be very difficult. It is possible to assess her character from the political point of view in different ways, but the heroism and the ability to sacrifice were undoubtedly shown by Soviet soldiers. In the conditions of the Arctic winter, terrible frosts and polar night, the Red Army stormed Mannerheim's reinforced defensive line, breaking several echelons of fortifications. The list of medal winners "For courage" in the so-called "pre-war" period reached 26 thousand soldiers who proudly wore it on the left side of the chest.

War

There was no test in the history of our country harder than the Great Patriotic War. In the first months of her awards were not enough. But soon the heroism took on such a massive character that it required its visible official recognition. One of the most common was the "For Courage" medal. 1941 went down in history as the date of victory near Moscow, many other heavy and bloody battles that do not always lead to success. The medal was then awarded to many soldiers, nurses, snipers, scouts, men and women, and even fighters of penalty battalions, who needed to do something for this, for which the other was supposed to be the high title of Hero. She did not get to those who settled on "unspoken" posts, even if they had very good relations with their superiors. This could be another medal, which is also very serious, for example, "For military merit" ("services" - insulting teasing in such cases, real front-line soldiers). Cavaliers of the medal "For Courage" in the eyes of relatives and simply met on the street citizens looked like real heroes. The prestige of the award was not questioned.

Sometimes the soldier was honored many times. It is difficult to explain this, because there are other awards - orders, for example. Most likely, there was a usual front-line confusion.

Nowadays

There were plenty of reasons to show courage during the Afghan war and other regional conflicts of the late 20th century, in which our soldiers took part.

This medal became so beloved and respected by the people that they refused to abandon it even after Russia gained independence. In 1992, it was restored to the rights, although the letters of the USSR from the obverse disappeared. Cavaliers of the medal "For Courage", our contemporaries, received it for the same as our glorious ancestors. All explanations are written on it in large red letters. True brave souls who defend their homeland in the face of the very uneasy situation prevailing in the world today, do not like to talk about their exploits. In this, as in many other things, they are similar to World War II veterans. For them, combat awards are given, worn on holidays.

There is a medal "For courage" and in Belarus. Well, the common victory, and the rewards are common.