Glory.

[MONDVOR]

Well, if we keep looking, we probably would find even 1943 awarded Glories, that were bestowed after 1945. But I don't know what important information we can learn from this. There would be no correlation between award's number, date of Prikaz and person's unit were he served at the time of Prikaz.

[desantnik]

I've found 1942-authorized awards given in 1945.

What it does show is the blocks of awards that were sent to a particular front/army and the approximate time it was awarded. Thus, for example, if you collect Berlin-related awards and are buying an award with a certain serial number, you can be reasonable assured prior to spending a penny on researching that it will be for that action.

[MONDVOR]

Oh, now I see your point! But I'm still confused with the example of three Glories (604791, 605042, 605270). They were awarded at different time in different Armies. And of course not for the same battle or operation.
Let's say I'm looking for awards given for Berlin Battle. I know the units participated in this battle. But if I see Red Star 1038294 for sale without any papers, how shoud I know that it was awarded for Battle of Berlin and not for other events?

[Dave]

Originally Posted by MONDVOR

Let's say I'm looking for awards given for Berlin Battle. I know the units participated in this battle. But if I see Red Star 1038294 for sale without any papers, how shoud I know that it was awarded for Battle of Berlin and not for other events?

You can never really know for certain that it was, but if there are award numbers close to it (say, 1038282 or 1038400) that were awarded for Berlin, the chances are fairly high that it's a Berlin award. One thing that exists, but I don't believe anyone has ever seen, is the award numbers by case of awards that was sent to the individual fronts/armies/etc. Padolsk has this, but I have yet to figure out a way to get it. :banghead That way, you would be able to know how many awards were in each case (box) sent to the front, and you'd also be able to determine how they were distributed to the various fronts.

But nothing is 100% certain when it comes to award numbers. One of our forum members had a Red Banner that I was CERTAIN was an October Revolution 1968 award, as it fell in that serial number range quite nicely (I have owned Red Banners with both lower and higher numbers than that one, and all were for the Revolution.) However, the research came back for his and it turns out that it was for the invasion of Czechoslovakia! Go figure!

I think one of the largest benefits accomplished by finding the Prikaz/Ukaz award dates is that you eventually find patterns for the issuing of awards. Particularly with post-war awards, you can also be fairly certain that there is a pretty tight serial number range around each Ukaz as well. For example, Glory 3rds in the parts of the 570XXX range thus far have all been found to have been issued under the Ukaz of 6 November 1947, which was an en masse awarding of decorations for heavily wounded veterans. So, if I were to see Glory 3rd 570200 at a show, I would be fairly certain that it would be a 1947 award for wounds. Of course, my certainty would not be 100% until the research is done on it as there are always anomolies with award issues.

I have often wondered why no one has yet gone through the Protocols in Padolsk and made up lists of award numbers, dates of issue and names for a lot of awards, like they've done for the Gold Star and Glory 1st Class. It wouldn't be a 100% complete list, but it would be good enough. Could you imagine a book that had all of the recipients (or at least 75%) of say, Nevsky recipients in it? That way, you've got a good chance of knowing exactly who each award was given to. Dreams...dreams....

Dave

[slava1stclass]

Originally Posted by Nack

We can all agree that the Slavas (of whatever class) are both very-cool looking and historically significant, especially for those who earned them and who collect them. As far as I am concered, they may be the most pure, if you will, reflection of Soviet military history, as they are strictly battle-merit-related award. Developing a good knowledge base for these awards both enables vets/families and collectors to ensure these awards recieve their just accolades.

To all:

Nack's above statement precisely echoes my sentiments concerning the Order of Glory - especially its Full Cavaliers. As I've already stated in another forum, the Order of Glory = in your face combat valor - no ifs, ands or buts about it.

Regards,

slava1stclass

[MONDVOR]

Dave, here is another protocol. As you can see, close numbers were bestowed by the Prikazes of different Fronts (North-Western and Kalinin Fronts) and even for the same Front there are two different datas of Prikaz (for February and March). I highlighted the dates and the names of the Fronts.
So, if you are looking for some specific awards for actions on Kalinin Front you can took wrong award that was issued on other Front (North-Western).
And do not forget about awards that were bestowed in Kremlin, Moscow. Warriors from different Fronts were invited to Moscow to get their medals. So with two subsequent numbers one can be bestowed for Stalingrad Battle and the other for actions near Leningrad.
Why do I tell all those things? Because I think that if we like history and historical events we shoud rely only on facts, not on our assumptions. Even if they seem to be real. Facts only!!!:)

[PaulR]

Hi Nack,

Here is a close up of the golden section of the order.

Soviet,

Thank you for the heads up on the photo posting.:idea I would have never guessed.:thumbsup

[Soviet]

It looks nice!

The Glory 2 is the next one on my list. I'm still confused if I should buy the Odessa (which I don't have) or a Glory 2nd Class.

[Nack]

Thanks Paul--when you bought the order, did the seller say that it had been re-plated or anything?

[PaulR]

Thanks Soviet!! I would get the Odessa!

Nack,

I bought it from Igor M(now Atlantic Crossroads) in 1993. I do not remember him telling me anything about it being replated. What raises your eyebrow?