Military Medals

[Kingfish]

What is the highest military medal awarded to an individual in WW2? I know for the Americans it was the Medal of Honor, and for Germany the Iron Cross. Is the Victoria Cross the highest for the Commonwealth? What about Russia?

[Michael Dorosh]

Hero of the Soviet Union (I think - not sure of the order of precedence of Soviet awards)

Victoria Cross

You really had to ask about the VC?

There is a non-combat version of the VC called the George Cross which is also held in esteem. (You asked for military awards but not specifically combat awards).

Some might argue being Knighted had as much esteem as the VC, certainly admission to the Order of St. Michael and St. George was considered a big deal for a battalion commander; some of the other orders were even more prestigious and reserved for corps or army commanders.

The highest for Germany is NOT the Iron Cross, but the Grand Cross, awarded only once, to Hermann Goering. Below that is the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds, also awarded only once, to Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

There were lower grades of the Knight's Cross, the basic Knight's Cross, then higher than that was the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves, then the KC with Oakleaves and Swords, and then the KC with OL, S and Diamonds.

There was a non-combat version of the Knight's Cross called the Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross, it came only in a basic version (no oakleaves, etc.)

Incidentally, there are listings of all these at www.deutschesoldaten.com - it isn't as indepth as some of the medal sites, but will give you an idea of the most common combat awards.

German

http://www.deutschesoldaten.com/uniforms/decorations.htm

Russian, Italian, Romanian etc.

http://members.shaw.ca/grossdeutschland/decorations.htm

Allied

http://members.shaw.ca/madorosh/decorations2.htm

[ March 01, 2005, 07:55 AM: Message edited by: Michael Dorosh ]

[Foreigner]

An excellent (if a wee bit concise) source for Soviet Union's awards seems to be the following site. And this is an even more detailed site concentrating on the different versions and visual identification of Soviet military awards.

To summarize - the highest honor the USSR could bestow was the Hero of the Soviet Union. It could be granted both for military and civilian exploits, as well as for 'lifetime achievement' (there was a separate but similar "Hero of Socialist Labor"). The "Hero" honor was signified by a Golden Star medal, and came with an 'automatic' Order of Lenin, which was in fact the highest "order" (technically, a "Hero" is more like a title than an award).

Although extremely rare, one could be awarded a "Hero" more than once. In fact, Zhukov was a "quadruple Hero" (plus a Hero of Mongolia); 'Joe' Stalin, Kozhedub, and Pokryshkin (the last two - the top scoring Allied fighter aces of WWII) were "triples"; IIRC some 100+ were "doubles" (including Field Marshals Konev and Rokossovsky), though I might be way off base on the count and/or names.

The above were "general purpose" awards; others were much more strictly defined as to whom to and what for they could be awarded, but were noteworthy in their own right. The jewel-studded Order of Victory was reserved for top military brass only - for achieving major strategic successes. Only 21 were awarded - including one for Ike and one for Monty. Zhukov's the only one with two.

"Mere" army commanders and other senior officers had to do with orders named after famous Russian military commanders of old; among those, the Order of Suvorov seems to had been the most prestigious.

For soldiers, enlisted men and NCOs, one of the highest awards was the Order of Glory - for outstanding courage; you were a "Full Cavalier" if you had all three classes. The Medal for Valor also seems to be highly regarded.

[Michael Dorosh]

No response?

[Kingfish]

Muchos Gracias, Senor Dorosh y Foreigner

[Rob Murray]

The War Merit Cross family ran parallel to the Iron Cross family. The 1st & 2nd classes were awarded in two grades 1) with swords for bravery in a non-frontline situation & 2) without swords for significant contributions to the war effort. A War Merit medal was given to civilians.

The Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross came in to classes as well. The "basic" silver KC of the KVK (War Merit Cross) {often just silver-plated tombac as the Germans were pretty cheap with their medal manufacturing materials} was also awarded with & without swords. In 1944 a gold class was instituted. This was the same cross; only gold plated. The KC of the KVK (War Merit Cross) is actually a very high sought after item by collectors & depending on it's condition, commands a much higher price than the "basic" KC of the Iron Cross.

[ March 03, 2005, 12:55 PM: Message edited by: Rob Murray ]