All awarded the medal for bravery in WWII. Heroes and awards

The second medal - for nothing that more than 5 million people were awarded it - was not as popular as the first. If the medal "For Courage" was awarded only for personal courage, then "For Military Merit" could be given for success in military and political training, as well as for other merits. At the front, this award used to be called "For sexual services", alluding to the fact that it often went to commander's mistresses. However, occasionally incidents happened with another award. So, the medal "For Courage" for his field wife Agnessa Podmazenko was organized by General Vlasov.

The first medals "For Courage" were awarded to border guards V. Abramkin, N. Gulyaev And B. Grigoriev- for battles with the Japanese at Lake Khasan. Before the Great Patriotic War, 26 thousand such medals were awarded, during the war - more than 4.5 million. Some received "Courage" 5 times - scout Pavel Gribkov, medical instructor Vera Ippolitova... By the way, for one medal, the nurse had to take out 15 wounded with weapons from the battlefield! Actors received two "Courage" I. Smoktunovsky And E. Vesnik, one - Y. Nikulin.

The medal "For Courage" was almost the only award that was awarded to the penalized. For example, in the 64th Army during the battles near Stalingrad, out of 152 released in connection with the awarding of government awards, 134 received it.

This medal provided an invaluable service to Smersh counterintelligence. When agents were sent to our rear, the Germans often stamped "For Courage" from copper and slightly strebered. When checking, it was enough to rub the fake - yellowness appeared. And a real Soviet medal was made from 27.9 g of pure silver!

"Courage" for courage

What is what

On the medal "For Courage" the artist of the Mint S. Dmitriev depicted the miracle weapon of the Red Army of the 30s. - I-16 fighter and T-35 heavy breakthrough tank.

It was the only mass-produced heavy five-turreted tank in the world. Armed with 3 cannons and 6 machine guns. Fought in the Soviet-Finnish and World War II. In the summer of 1941, almost all T-35s were lost.

The world's first serial fighter with retractable landing gear. Developed by aircraft designer Polikarpov, for a long time it was the main fighter of the Soviet Air Force. Participated in the civil war in Spain, the conflicts on Khasan and Khalkhin Gol, the Great Patriotic War.

From the USSR to Russia

The Medal "For Courage" is one of the few Soviet awards that has passed into modern Russia. Only the inscription "USSR" under the tank disappeared from the obverse of the medal. The first cavaliers of the Russian medal were servicemen of the GRU special forces brigade - for performing combat missions on the territory of Tajikistan in 1993. From 1992 to 1995, the medal was minted from a copper-nickel alloy for reasons of economy. Later, fortunately, they returned to silver.

Five "Courages" of one mortar

Stepan Mikhailovich Zolnikov was born in 1919 in the village of Staraya Goryasha, Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Before the war, he worked as a teacher, then he was drafted into the Red Army, participated in the Soviet-Finnish, and then in the Great Patriotic War. He received the first medal "For Courage" for the battles near Leningrad in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Sinyavinsky swamps. Then the calculation of junior sergeant Zolnikov destroyed the enemy's firing point and cleared the way for the advancing battalion.

For a similar feat in January 1944 in the area of the Pulkovo Heights, now the foreman Zolnikov received a second medal.

He received the third medal "For Courage" during fierce battles near Vyborg. On June 20, 1944, thanks to his decisive actions, an important stronghold of the enemy was taken.

Stepan Zolnikov received his fourth award for courage and bravery shown during the crossing of the river and the capture of the city of Narva. Finally, he was awarded the fifth medal for fighting on the outskirts of Riga - his mortar "covered" the German machine-gun point, which interfered with the advance of the infantry.

After the war, repeatedly wounded Zolnikov became a doctor. He received his last wound in peacetime. It happened in 1962 in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet hospital, where the operation was going on at that moment, was fired upon by saboteurs - opponents of F. Castro, and Stepan Mikhailovich was wounded in the arm.

Soldier "Egoriy"

Until the beginning of the XIX century. in the award system of the Russian Empire for the lower ranks - soldiers and non-commissioned officers - there were no "universal" awards. Awarded medals such as "For the capture of Paris" or "For the conquest of Chechnya and Dagestan" were dedicated to specific campaigns. However, in February 1807, the insignia of the military order of St. George was established for the soldiers (the order itself was awarded only to officers). The first "Egoria" was given to a non-commissioned officer Egor Mityukhin who distinguished himself in the battles of the Prussian campaign. There is a known case of awarding a soldier's medal to General Miloradovich - for an attack in an infantry formation near Leipzig. In 1913, the award was renamed the St. George Cross; during World War I, more than 1.5 million people received it.

17.10.2013

The moiré ribbon on the award blocks is the same - steel gray. Only the stripes around the edge are different. The ribbon "For Courage" has blue. The one "For Military Merit" has yellow. Well, the medals themselves are different from each other, of course. Both externally and legally.

Judge for yourself. In the first case - "for personal courage and bravery shown ...". In the second - "for skillful, enterprising and courageous actions in battle, which contributed to the successful completion of combat missions by a military unit, subdivision ...". However, it is clear that in both cases the recipients accomplished a feat. Someone - "personally", someone - "boldly acting" ...

To this day, only one medal has survived as a valid medal - “For Courage”. Visually, it has changed a little: only the inscription "USSR" has disappeared from the obverse. And everything is like in 1938: at the top - three planes, at the bottom - a tank. And the inscription: "For courage."

Until the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet authorities were stingy with awards. In the sense that they were awarded slowly, and the awards themselves had not been established by that time. What was before the war? Orders of Lenin, the Red Banner (combat and labor), the Red Star and three medals: "XX Years in the Red Army", "For Courage" and "For Military Merit". Well, the Star of the Hero. They were highly valued. If you read the newspaper lines of those years, you can see: a scientist-order-bearer such and such or a commander-order-bearer such and such. Be sure to highlight...

The first awarding of combat medals happened immediately after their establishment. Two days after the decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, 168 people became holders of the medal "For Military Merit". The fighting on Lake Khasan with the Japanese did not go unnoticed in Moscow. Until now, there are discrepancies in the materials on this subject, who exactly received medal No. 1: junior commander Abdrakhmanov or state security officer Vasilevsky.

The medal "For Courage" was originally given a little stricter. On October 19, 1938, 62 people became the first medal bearers: the first number was for Lieutenant Abramkin. But already on October 25, the list was replenished with another 1,322 gentlemen. In total, before the start of the Great Patriotic War, 26 thousand people became the owners of the award. And here the medal "For Courage" is noticeably ahead of the "ZBZ" - about four times. By the way, I didn’t come up with this very “ZBZ” for the sake of a convenient abbreviation. So in army slang this medal is called a long time ago.

It is clear that the Great Patriotic War gave much more reasons for awarding military medals than all the military conflicts of the late 30s with Japan and Finland. From June 1941 to September 1945, over 4 million people received the Medal for Courage, and over 5 million for Military Merit. However, it would be a mistake to think that these medals, especially after going on the offensive, were scattered to the right and left. Yes, 4 million awards is, at first glance, a colossal number. But if we compare this number with the number of those drafted into the active army during the Second World War, it turns out that only one in eleven received the medal "For Courage". That's some decent arithmetic!

History has preserved unique cases.

The youngest recipient of all time in the USSR was the 6-year-old "son of the regiment" Sergey Aleshkov. A pupil of the 142nd Guards Rifle Regiment saved the life of the commander and received the medal "For Courage". Two of the same medals were awarded to the 12-year-old "son" of the 1191st Infantry Regiment, Afanasy Shkuratov, in 1944 and 1945. There were record holders among women. Larisa Moiseeva (nee Vishnyakova) served as a paramedic and then as a signalman in the artillery division. As a result - three medals "For Courage".

Well, among the men there were two soldiers who were nominated for this medal five times! And all five times the awarding took place. These are Stepan Zolnikov and Pavel Gribkov.

Curiously, in the open archives, it was not possible to find information about the multiple awarding of the ZBZ medal. Although during the 10-year Afghan war, this medal was awarded more often than the sister medal. Which in itself is a reason for a researcher interested in the peculiarities of the award system of the USSR-Russia.

There are cases in the history of the Great Patriotic War that are heroic and curious at the same time. So, for the awarding of the medal "For Courage" was presented, in particular, Hitler. First name and patronymic - Semyon Konstantinovich, title - Red Army soldier, year of birth - 1922. Further, I hope everything is clear. It turns out that the names of the leaders of the German Reich were not so rare. And among the Soviet citizens were their namesakes, who fought against the German invaders more than worthily. At least, this is evidenced by a copy of the award list dated August 19, 1941, published on the Internet.

Another curiosity is connected with the sailors from the crews of the legendary cruiser of the Russian Imperial Fleet "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets". 1954 marked the 50th anniversary of the heroic feat of the crews in the Korean port of Chemulpo at the very beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. By this time, 45 team members remained alive. In honor of the anniversary, the Soviet government decided to award them with the Soviet medal "For Courage". In 1955, participants in the uprising on the battleship Potemkin-Tavrichesky were honored. These sailors received the Order of the Red Star. It so happened that the stoker "Varyag" Pyotr Polyakov after Chemulpo got to serve on the "Potemkin" and ended up there exactly in the days of the uprising. As a result, in addition to royal awards, he received both the medal "For Courage" and the Order of the Red Star.

The last of the well-known awards, which is of an unusual nature, is already associated with a peaceful structure - with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On August 11, 2008, a decree of the President of the Russian Federation was issued on awarding the medal "For Courage" to three employees of the Russian embassy in Iraq - for courage shown in the line of duty.

It so happened that for 13 years - from 1944 to 1957 - the medal "For Military Merit" was awarded not only for military merit, but also for long service. Namely: for 10 years of impeccable service. In a sense, this fact moved the ZBZ medal away from the Medal for Courage in the hierarchy of awards. But when you see award pads on a veteran's chest, don't get excited about the grades. The vast majority of people wearing a gray last with a yellow stripe along the edge fought no less heroically than those wearing a gray last with a blue stripe. And if the veteran is still relatively young, then in the first case, most likely, he went through Afghanistan, in the second - hot spots after 1991.

Mikhail Bykov

Briefly: For personal courage and courage shown in the defense of the socialist Fatherland and the performance of military duty, a pendant on a rectangular block, no straps are provided, it has no degrees.

Description

The medal "For Courage" has the shape of a regular circle with a diameter of 37 mm.

On the front side of the medal in the upper part there are three aircraft flying one after another in the direction to the left upwards. The wingspan of the first aircraft is 7 mm, the second - 4 mm, the third - 3 mm. Below the planes there is an inscription “FOR COURAGE” in two lines, under which a tank 10 mm wide, 6 mm long is depicted.

At the bottom of the medal is the inscription "USSR". The width of the inscription is 9 mm. The height of the two central letters is 3.5 mm, the height of the extreme letters is 2.5 mm.

All images on the medal are embossed, the inscriptions are indented and covered with ruby-red enamel. Deepening of letters of inscriptions - 1 mm. The front side of the medal is bordered by a 0.75 mm wide and 0.25 mm high border.

The medal is made of 925 sterling silver. The total weight of silver in the medal (as of September 18, 1975) is 25.802 ± 1.3 g. The total weight of the medal without a block is 27.930 ± 1.52 g.

The medal, with the help of an eyelet and a ring, is connected to a pentagonal block covered with a gray silk moiré ribbon with two longitudinal blue stripes along the edges. Tape width - 24 mm, strip width 2 mm

Position

The medal "For Courage" was established to reward personal courage and courage shown in the defense of the socialist Fatherland and the performance of military duty.

The medal "For Courage" is awarded to servicemen of the Soviet Army, Navy, border and internal troops and other citizens of the USSR.

The medal "For Courage" can also be awarded to persons who are not citizens of the USSR.

The medal "For Courage" is awarded for personal courage and bravery shown by:

In battles with the enemies of the socialist Fatherland;
in the defense of the state border of the USSR;
in the performance of military duty in conditions associated with a risk to life.

The medal "For Courage" is worn on the left side of the chest and, in the presence of orders and other medals of the USSR, is located after the orders.

Note

Features and types of the medal.

Type 2. Pentagonal block.
After the Decree of June 19, 1943 came into force, the appearance of the medal changed somewhat. The block of the medal has a pentagonal shape, covered with a ribbon of the corresponding color. The medal was fastened with a pin located on the reverse side of the block.

Option 1. The eye of the medal is attached by soldering. The serial number is stamped. The height of the digits of the number is in the range from 2.5 to 4.5 mm. This option, except for the block, does not differ from the third option of the first type. After the Decree of June 19 was issued, many early medals were changed from a quadrangular pendant to a pentagonal one. Therefore, it is difficult to establish whether the pentagonal block on the medal is original or whether it has replaced the quadrangular one. Thus, it is difficult to draw a clear line of serial numbers between the first and second types. The letters on the obverse are filled with varnish. Depending on the shape of the punches in the digits of the number, two varieties of the first option can be distinguished.

Variety 1. The digits of the number are stuffed with wide punches. Depending on slight differences in the obverse stamp, the first variety can be divided into Variation 1a and Variation 1b, the features of which are described below.

Variety 1a. A frequently occurring variety. On the obverse of the medal, the right protective shield of the tank protrudes noticeably beyond the contour of the caterpillar. The minimum known medal number is 450826, the maximum is 3657727.

Variety 1b. This variety is less common. On the obverse of the medal, the right protective shield of the tank does not protrude beyond the contour of the caterpillar and is on the same level with it. The minimum known medal number is 827608, the maximum is 1341700.

Variety 2. The digits of the number are stuffed with narrow punches. The minimum known medal number is 2737375, the maximum is 3657651.

Option 2. The eye of the medal is one-piece stamped, U-shaped. Awarded for a limited period of time around 1946-47. The serial number is stamped. The letters on the obverse are filled with varnish. Depending on the shape of the punches in the digits of the number, two varieties of the second option can be distinguished.

Variety 1. The digits of the number are stuffed with wide punches. The minimum known medal number is 2864684, the maximum is 3659136.

Variety 2. The digits of the number are stuffed with narrow punches. The minimum known medal number is 3373688, the maximum is 3655783.

Option 3. There is no number on the reverse. According to paragraph 8 of Protocol No. 176 of the Secretariat of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated January 30, 1947, "further production of USSR medals, with the exception of the Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Hammer and Sickle medal of the Hero of Socialist Labor, is carried out without applying numbers." Thus, since January 1947, the medal was made without a number. The eye of the medal is one-piece stamped, flat. The letters on the obverse are filled with enamel.

Option 4. The eyelet of the medal is one-piece stamped, rounded. The letters on the obverse are filled with enamel.

If the awarded person loses his order (medal), its replacement, as a rule, is not made. Instead of a lost award, a Duplicate can be issued only as an exception - if it is lost in a combat situation, lost as a result of a natural disaster, or in other circumstances when the recipient could not prevent this loss. On the reverse side of the duplicate order (medal), the number of the lost award is reproduced with the addition of the letter “D”. This letter can be applied both by stamping and with a chisel. On some duplicates, the letter “D” may be missing. The digits of the duplicate number are usually small and stamped. However, on some early duplicates, the numbers were applied with a chisel. The dependence of various marking methods on the year of issuance of a duplicate is not yet fully clarified. Probably, on the early duplicates, the letter “D” could be absent.

As an award of the USSR, the medal "For Courage" lasted until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, after the release of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation of March 2, 1992 No. 2424-1 “On STATE AWARDS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION”, the medal was revived as an award of the RSFSR.

History of the medal.

The medal "For Courage" is the second, after the medal "XX Years of the Red Army", according to the time of establishment in the USSR. The medal "For Courage" is the highest Soviet medal and is placed before other medals when worn (similar to the Order of Lenin in the system of Soviet orders).

Since the medal was awarded for personal deeds, it was awarded mainly to privates and sergeants, less often to junior officers. Senior officers and generals were practically not awarded the medal "For Courage".

The first awarding of the medal "For Courage" was made by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 19, 1938. According to this Decree, 62 people were awarded medals. The alphabetical list was opened by the names of Lieutenant Abramkin Vasily Ivanovich, Senior Lieutenant Alekseev Fedor Alekseevich, Lieutenant of State Security Almaev Bari Usmanovich, Political Officer Baimuldin Abilkhair, Lieutenant Barbotko Grigory Pavlovich, Senior Political Officer Bochkarev Ivan Semenovich, Junior Commander Bukhanov Ivan Yakovlevich.

The next award ceremony took place just three days later. By decree of the USSR PVS of October 22, 1938, the medal "For Courage" was awarded to the Red Army border guards Gulyaev Nikolai Egorovich and Grigoriev Boris Filippovich. While on night watch near Lake Khasan, they engaged in battle with a large group of saboteurs who were trying to break through the border. Despite the fact that the forces were unequal, and the border guards were wounded, they did not let the saboteurs through.

For the first time in the pre-war years, the medal "For Courage" was awarded en masse to participants in the battles near Lake Khasan. For the exemplary performance of combat missions, for valor and courage shown in the defense of the Lake Khasan region, 1322 awards were made by the Decree of the USSR PVS of October 25, 1938. The alphabetical list was opened by the names of the Red Army soldiers Abakumov A.N., Abramov M.G., Abrosimova P.I., Agalkov I.F., Ageeva N.P., Agisheva A.A., Azarov R.A.

On November 14, 1938, by the Decree of the PVS of the USSR, 118 servicemen were awarded the medal "For Courage". First on the list were the names of military technician 2nd rank Avetisov Vartan Saakovich, military technician 2nd rank Aksionov Mikhail Filippovich, military technician 2nd rank Aleshenko Nikolai Alexandrovich, senior lieutenant Antonov Viktor Pavlovich.

For the excellent performance of combat missions in the Far East, 14 people were awarded by the Decree of the PVS of the USSR of January 19, 1939. A list of the names of junior commanders Babukh Fedor Moiseevich and Belyaev Vladimir Efimovich was opened. Almost all the awardees had the military ranks of a Red Army soldier or junior commander. Only one of the fourteen had an officer's rank - junior lieutenant Fitasov Fedor Alekseevich.

Then military personnel who distinguished themselves in the area of the Khalkhin-Gol River were massively awarded.

For the whole of 1939, 9234 fighters and commanders were awarded the medal "For Courage".

The next major award came during the Finnish campaign. In total, before the start of World War II, about 26,000 servicemen were awarded the medal "For Courage".

During the Great Patriotic War, the awarding of the medal acquired a truly broad character. In total, over 4 million 230 thousand awards were made with the medal "For Courage" for the feats accomplished during the Great Patriotic War.

Many soldiers during the war were awarded the medal again. So, for example, the commander of the submachine gunners department, junior sergeant M. Menshov, was awarded the third medal “For Courage” for the battles in the city of Gdansk (Poland).

Four medals "For Courage" were awarded to Astafiev V.D., Babich V.P., Bashmakov Ya.T., Bublikov A.V., Buketov K.F., Voronov A.N., Gavlovsky E.A., Gnidenko Ya.F., Goryachiy I.T., Gromyko N.I., Danilyuk O.A., Zui A.I., Kozorezov N.P., Koptev I.L., Briefly I.I., Levchenko A. Ya., Makarenko A.L., Marchenko M.G., Mitelev M.I., Nalet N.S., Naumov P.M., Nikolenko I.D., Osipov M.N., Papchenko V.F. , Peshkov A.D., Potapov G.V., Prokofiev A.E., Rudenko A.F., Ryabchenko P.M., Sivoraksha I.I., Sirotenko A.I., Startsev P.T., Strelnikov N.T., Telikh V.N., Tretyak S.Ya., Cherpak M.F., Yakimshin V.K., Yatsun V.S. and others.

A participant in the Victory Parade, mortar sergeant of the 8th separate Guards Rifle Brigade Stepan Mikhailovich Zolnikov was awarded five (!) Medals “For Courage” and the Order of Glory III degree during the war years. The hero was awarded the first medal for the battle that took place on September 3, 1942 in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Sinyavinsky swamps near Leningrad. Zolnikov received the last, fifth medal "For Courage" for the battle on the Courland Peninsula on the night of May 9, 1945. Another holder of five medals "For Courage" was Pavel Iosifovich Gribkov.

Many women during the war years were awarded the most honorary Soviet medal. There are cases when a woman was awarded the medal "For Courage" again. Moiseeva Larisa Petrovna (nee Vishnyakova) began the war as a paramedic, and ended up as a signalman and telephone operator of the 824th separate reconnaissance artillery division. During the war years, she was awarded three (!) Medals "For Courage" and the Order of the Red Star.

The youngest recipient of the medal was six-year-old Sergei Aleshkov, a graduate of the 142nd Guards Rifle Regiment, who was awarded a high award for saving his commander. Afanasy Shkuratov at the age of twelve became the son of the 1191st Infantry Regiment and by the end of the war was awarded the medal "For Courage" twice. He received his first medal during the battles for the city of Sourozh (Vitebsk region), when he bandaged and delivered the seriously wounded major Starikov to the medical battalion. Shkuratov received his second medal for the courage shown in breaking through the Mannerheim Line in Karelia.

The medal was also awarded to foreign citizens. By decree of May 15, 1964, citizens of Denmark Viggo and Lilian Lindum were awarded the medal "For Courage" for saving the life of a Soviet officer. By decree of June 19, 1964, the Dane S.A. was awarded the medal. Essen-Ballee. By decree of July 8, 1964, a Czechoslovakian citizen Alexander Galler was awarded a high award, who at the very end of the war showed the leading Soviet patrol the way to Prague.

In total, over 4 million 230 thousand awards were awarded with the medal "For Courage" for the feats accomplished during the Great Patriotic War.

It should be noted that until 1947 a serial number was applied to the medal. However, according to paragraph 8 of Protocol No. 176 of the Secretariat of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated January 30, 1947, "further production of medals of the USSR, with the exception of the Gold Star medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Hammer and Sickle medal of the Hero of Socialist Labor, is carried out without applying numbers" . Thus, from January 1947, the medal was made without a number, although previously made numbered copies continued to be awarded for some time.

In the post-war years, the medal "For Courage" was awarded much less frequently, since officially the Soviet Union was not at war. However, in 1956, a large group of servicemen who distinguished themselves in suppressing the "counter-revolutionary rebellion" in Hungary was awarded. So, only in one 7th Guards Airborne Division, 296 people received this award.

The second mass awarding of this honorary medal falls on the period of military operations of the Soviet Army in Afghanistan. Thousands of soldiers and officers who took part in this "undeclared" war became holders of various military awards, including the medal "For Courage".

A curious case of awarding occurred in 1954. Many people know about the heroic battle of the Russian cruiser "Varyag" and the gunboat "Koreets" with the Japanese squadron on January 27, 1904. Fifty years later, 45 more participants in that tragic battle remained alive. All of them, in recognition of their heroic deed and in connection with the half-century anniversary of this event, were awarded medals “For Courage”. Some of the "Varangians" a year later (in 1905) took part in the uprising on the battleship Potemkin. Accordingly, in 1955, in connection with the 50th anniversary of this revolutionary event, they were awarded new awards (the Order of the Red Star). One of the heroes of these two events was the stoker "Varyag" Pyotr Yegorovich Polyakov. He received both a medal and an order.

By the beginning of 1981, about 4.5 million awards with the medal "For Courage" had been made.

Kravchenko Dmitry Yakovlevich born in 1913, Title: ml. Lieutenant GB in the Red Army since 1938 Place of service: 5th Guards. sd 33 A ZapF

In the dead by OBD Memorial not listed.
Who does not know - "For Courage" - the highest medal in the award system of the USSR. What were they given for?
This medal is considered more honorable than all the others. It was received mainly by privates, foremen and sergeants, although it is not forbidden by the statute to award officers with it. It just so happened that, unlike other medals, which could be obtained simply by taking part in some large-scale front-line operation, this one was given for very specific heroic actions, which, according to the command of the military unit, for some reason, before the order " didn't make it." About what the medal "For Courage" was given for, and what is the history of this government award, there will be a short story offered to the reader's attention.

New award, 1938

At the end of the thirties, Soviet Red Army soldiers already had to fight with various opponents. Some of them managed to take part in the Spanish Civil War, meeting the Nazis for the first time. It fell to the lot of others to fight the Japanese militarists, who were trying to press the positions of the country of the Soviets in the Far East. It was restless at the outer close borders - groups of saboteurs and spies tried to infiltrate there. Border guards often died and were injured while doing their military duty. There is a need for a new award, prestigious enough to appreciate the outstanding courageous deeds of the soldiers of the Red Army and Navy. In the autumn of 1938, a sketch of the medal was approved with a motto written on its front side, eloquently (large and really red letters) saying what exactly it would be awarded for. There are other details in the image, but the main thing is the inscription. It was conceived in such a way that the descendants would not have any questions, for which they were given the medal "For Courage". To understand, it is enough to read.

Other design elements

The front side reflects the general aesthetics of the time when the award sample was accepted. The T-35 tank was considered the most powerful Soviet ground weapon, it was multi-turreted and very heavy, so it found its place on the obverse. It was used quite rarely during the Winter Campaign on the Karelian Isthmus, was not used at Khalkhin Gol at all, and proved to be ineffective in the first months of World War II, but even after that it was not changed to "thirty-four", IS or KV.

Three aircraft are still visible above, similar in silhouette to the I-16. These machines also left the Red Army aviation in 1941, but managed to fight for some time. Victor Talalikhin made a battering ram that made him famous.

At the bottom of the award, the state affiliation of the insignia is indicated: the USSR, and in the center it is written in large ruby-red enamel letters what the medal was given for. For courage. That is, for selfless courage.

On the smooth reverse side, only the copy number is embossed.

Production material

The medal is cast from high purity silver, corresponding to 925 fineness. This means that the proportion of impurities in the alloy is only seven and a half percent. The weight of the award varied, depending on the year of issue, from 27.9 to 25.8 grams. The permissible deviation from the norm during casting of the workpiece also changed (from one and a half to 1.3 grams). The medal is quite large, its diameter is 37 mm. The recesses of the inscriptions "For Courage" and "USSR" were filled with enamel, which hardened after firing. On many copies, it peeled off from mechanical stress, the fighters wore awards for many years, they were covered with scratches and other damage. It happened that they saved the life of a fighter. The lumbago, which deflected the deadly bullet, without any words explained what the medal "For Courage" was given for.

Versions

The initial sketch implied the rectangular shape of a small hanging block (25 x 15 mm), to which the medal was attached with a ring threaded into the eyelet, also quadrangular. Silk ribbon, 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 issue was brought into line with the traditions and standards of state awards that had developed in the USSR. The ear became round, and the block was pentagonal; it was equipped with a pin. The color of the ribbon was also changed (to gray with two blue stripes) so that it would be easier to distinguish it on the order bars.

First Cavaliers

The list of those awarded the medal "For Courage" since the date of its establishment has long ago exceeded four million. And this despite the fact that an unspoken rule applied to her - to honor only desperate daredevils who really did something special. And the border guards were the first to receive it, there were two of them.

History is silent about who got the first medal "For Courage" - F. Grigoriev or N. Gulyaev, although this 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 sabotage group in the area of Lake Khasan, who was trying to penetrate the country from the adjacent territory.

pre-war period

Then there was the Finnish Winter War, during which the Red Army had a very difficult time. One can evaluate her character in different ways from a political point of view, but the heroism and ability to sacrifice were undoubtedly shown by Soviet soldiers. In the Arctic winter, severe frosts and polar nights, the Red Army stormed the super-fortified Mannerheim defensive line, overcoming several echelons of fortifications. The list of those awarded the medal "For Courage" in the so-called "pre-war" period reached 26 thousand fighters, who proudly wore it on the left side of their chest.

War

There was no test in the history of our country harder than the Great Patriotic War. Few awards were presented in its first months. But soon heroism took on such a massive character that it required visible official recognition. One of the most common was the medal "For Courage". The year 1941 went down in history as the date of the victory near Moscow and many other heavy and bloody battles, which did not always lead to success. The medal was then awarded to many - soldiers, nurses, snipers, scouts, men and women, and even fighters of penal battalions, who needed to do something for this, for which others were entitled to the high title of Hero. It did not go to those who settled down in “non-dusty” positions, even if they had very good relations with their superiors. This could have been another medal, also very serious, for example, "For military merit" ("services" - insultingly teased real front-line soldiers in such cases). Recipients of the medal "For Courage" looked like real heroes in the eyes of relatives and citizens just met on the street. The prestige of the award was not questioned.

Sometimes a fighter was honored with it 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.

The medal was established by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 17, 1938. Subsequently, by Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 19, 1943 and December 16, 1947, changes were made to the description of the medal and to the Regulations on the medal. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 28, 1980 approved the Regulations on the medal in a new edition.

Order of the medal.

The medal "For Courage" was established to reward personal courage and courage shown in the defense of the socialist Fatherland and the performance of military duty.

The medal "For Courage" is awarded to servicemen of the Soviet Army, Navy, border and internal troops and other citizens of the USSR.

The medal "For Courage" can also be awarded to persons who are not citizens of the USSR.

The medal "For Courage" is awarded for personal courage and bravery shown by:

in battles with the enemies of the socialist Fatherland;
in the defense of the state border of the USSR;
in the performance of military duty in conditions associated with a risk to life.

The medal "For Courage" is worn on the left side of the chest and, in the presence of orders and other medals of the USSR, is located after the orders.

Description of the medal.

The medal "For Courage" has the shape of a regular circle with a diameter of 37 mm.

At the bottom of the medal is the inscription "USSR". The width of the inscription is 9 mm. The height of the two central letters is 3.5 mm, the height of the extreme letters is 2.5 mm.

The medal is made of 925 sterling silver. The total weight of silver in the medal (as of September 18, 1975) is 25.802 ± 1.3 g. The total weight of the medal without a block is 27.930 ± 1.52 g.

The medal, with the help of an eyelet and a ring, is connected to a pentagonal block covered with a gray silk moiré ribbon with two longitudinal blue stripes along the edges. The width of the tape is 24 mm, the width of the strips is 2 mm.

From the history of the medal.

During the Great Patriotic War, the medal "For Courage" was issued more than 4 million times.

By the beginning of 1981, about 4.5 million awards with the medal "For Courage" had been made.

In total, about 5 million awards were made with the medal "For Courage".