Medal "For the defense of the Caucasus." Combat awards of the USSR

The battle for the Caucasus became one of the longest battles of the Great Patriotic War. In the name of the medal instituted on May 1, 1944, only the initial phase of confrontation between the two armies in the mountain regions of the south of the USSR was noted, although according to the regulations, the medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus" was awarded to the participants of offensive battles that were fought during 1943.

Operation Edelweiss

The plan to seize the main oil-producing regions, from where the Soviet Union received up to 85% of the raw materials for fuel, was approved by Hitler in the summer of 1942. This military operation was given a code name by the name of a beautiful mountain flower. "Edelweiss" provided for three directions of strikes for the group of German armies "A": two - bypassing the mountain ranges of the Caucasus with the occupation of the Black Sea coast ports and attacking the Caspian Sea with access to the Baku area; the third one - through the main Caucasian ridge with the seizure of Grozny oilfields.

Given that there were deposits of tungsten and manganese, without which it is impossible to smelt armored and armored steel, that after the loss of Ukraine the Caucasus became one of the main suppliers of grain, the implementation of the Edelweiss plan would put the Soviet Union in an extremely difficult situation. All those awarded with the medal "For the defense of the Caucasus" - both military and civilian, understanding the significance of victory in the south of the country and the severity of the fights in the foothills of the Caucasus, considered this award one of the most honorable among all war time awards.

Sketch author

Nikolai Ivanovich Moskalov. The name of this artist is included in the description of medals and orders created by his sketches. Among them medals "For the Defense of Moscow", "For the Defense of Stalingrad", etc., the Order of Kutuzov and, perhaps, the most revered Order of the Great Patriotic War - the Order of the Order of Glory.

The medal "For the defense of the Caucasus" stands out in this series by the fact that in its design the artist has only used national motifs with geographic reference: flowers and bunches of grapes.

Description of the medal

On the front side a round brass medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus" with a diameter of 32 mm has the image of the highest peak of the Caucasian Mountains - Elbrus. At its foot - images of oil-producing towers, tanks and combat vehicles with soldiers. There are three airplane silhouettes over the mountain. All this is inside the decorative rim with the image of the vine. In the upper part - an arched inscription with bulging letters "For the defense of the Caucasus". The decorative rim in the upper point is divided by a star, at the bottom - a ribbon with a sickle and a hammer and the inscription "USSR".

The reverse side of the medal - the reverse - has a concise solution, which many war medals of the Great Patriotic War possess: a convex sickle and a hammer, and below them there is a horizontal inscription in three lines "For Our Soviet Motherland".

The standard pentagonal shoe, which has almost all the USSR medals, is covered with a moire ribbon. Its width is 24 mm, the main color is olive, at the edges - blue stripes 2.5 mm wide. In the middle - an olive strip (2 mm) with a red outline, superimposed on a strip of white (6 mm) with a blue contour.

The first stage of the Caucasian battle

The operation of Edelweiss was initially successful for the German armies and was proceeding according to schedule. One after another, the largest cities of Stavropol and Krasnodar Krai, including the regional capitals, as well as Armavir, Elista, Mozdok, Maikop and much of Novorossiysk were captured. The symbol of the success of the Hitlerites was the installation in August 1942 of a special group of flag climbers with a swastika on the top of Elbrus.

The retreat of the Red Army in some mountainous areas looked unorganized: the Soviet command did not expect that the Germans would attack through difficult passes. And there was too much difference in the training of the German mountain shooters and the opposing units of the Red Army. And yet, by September 1942, the Wehrmacht's offensive had been stopped.

Regulations on the medal

According to the statute, all the servicemen of the Red Army, the Navy and the NKVD troops were awarded with a medal. They took part in battles for the Caucasus during the period from July 1942 to October 1943 for at least three months. The medal "For the defense of the Caucasus" received in these battles was awarded regardless of the term of participation in the Caucasian military operations.

Civilians were also awarded this medal, including for their participation in the construction of defensive structures, which began in 1941. USSR medals were awarded on the basis of documents issued by the military, military medical authorities and authorities of the areas where the military actions took place: the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, the Georgian and Azerbaijan Union Republics.

Like all such awards, the medal "For the defense of the Caucasus" is worn on the left side, its place was determined after the medal "For the defense of Kiev".

Counterattack of Soviet troops

The main reason for the defeat of the Germans in the southern campaign, military analysts call the dispersion of forces in two directions - the Caucasus and Stalingrad, which led to the defeat of the Wehrmacht off the coast of the Volga and off the coasts of the Black and Caspian seas. But the main reason was steadfastness and courage shown by Soviet soldiers and sailors. The Germans did not manage to seize Stalingrad, nor break through to Grozny and Baku.

After stubborn defensive battles from the beginning of 1943, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive, and if not for Hitler's order to withdraw the southern army to the Crimea, the main forces of Army Group "A" would be surrounded and destroyed.

Particularly impressive was the air battle that unfolded in the sky of the Kuban, one of the largest in history. The victory in it provided the Soviet pilots an advantage in the air, which they did not miss until the end of the war. It was from that time that the star of the Soviet ace Alexander Pokryshkin, also awarded an honorary award, ascended.

On October 9, the last German soldiers left the Taman Peninsula, the Caucasus was completely liberated. And German pennants were dropped from the top of Elbrus by Soviet mountaineers in February 1943. Instead of them, flags of the USSR were hoisted.

South Bant

The unofficial name of the set of three awards - USSR medals, dedicated to the events in the southern sector of the Great Patriotic War - the South Bant. "For the defense of the Caucasus" - the most massive award from this set: by 1985 it was awarded about 870 thousand. It includes more medals "For the Defense of Sevastopol" (52.5 thousand awarded) and "For the Defense of Odessa" (about 30 thousand ), Established at the same time - December 22, 1942.

The Knights of the South Bant is about 990 people in all. The most famous of them is the legendary Marshal Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny - he commanded the units that took part in the most difficult battles of the first stage of the war on the Black Sea coast. But the feat of all the participants in those fights deserves eternal memory - from the marshal to the rank and file.