Photographs Of Recipients Of Soviet Awards/Service Personnel.

[Pobeda45]

What a great man. I wonder if one of those Red Banners was a downgrade from a HSU. He certainly deserved a HSU title.

George

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

A stunning image of a top-notch combat leader. Guards Colonel V. M. Gorelov rose from very humble beginnings as an orphan to command the 1st Guards Tank Brigade for two years.

When subsequently serving as Deputy Commander of the 8th Guards Mechanized Corps, 1st Guards Tank Army he would meet his untimely end at age 35.

Over the years, 1st Guards Tank Brigade veterans have come forward with a heretofore unpublished account of how Gorelov met his demise. On January 28th, 1945 while in the field to inspect subordinate corps units, he entered a small village where he came upon subordinate troops engaged in a heavy bout of drinking - "Pyanka" in Russian. When Gorelov attempted to break it up, one of the officers involved killed him.

According to the veterans, after his murder those present at the scene immediately convened a field tribunal which decided to summarily execute the perpetrator by firing squad.

Gorelov's awards included the HSU Star, two Orders of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner, Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class, two Orders of the Red Star and a British decoration described as being from the "third class."

He was awarded his HSU title on April 26, 1944.

Regards,

slava1stclass

[desantnik]

Very impressive.

[deValcourt]

Was he using open sights or did he have the standard issue scope? I ask because if you were an excellent shot, the standard scope would suffice, but the actual sniper scope was not much better.

Phillip

[slava1stclass]

Originally Posted by deValcourt

Was he using open sights or did he have the standard issue scope? I ask because if you were an excellent shot, the standard scope would suffice, but the actual sniper scope was not much better.

Phillip

Phillip,

Open sights - he was truly a gifted marksman. The Russian used to describe his third-generation Mosin was "без оптического прицела" which translates as "without an optical sight." See the attached images of him in the field.

An amazing backstory here. Raised on the taiga in Zabaykal Oblast, he learned to hunt from a very early age. He was just about to turn 41 when the war started. Initially serving as a medic and then sapper on the Kalinin Front, he was quickly transferred to the sniper platoon when his prowess with a rifle became known. Fought at the Valdayskiy Heights; on the Karelian Peninsula; in Ukraine, Lithuania, Eastern Prussia and finally Manchuria. Was assigned to five fronts, two divisions and six regiments over the course of the war. Wounded eight times and suffered two concussions. The Germans nicknamed him "The Shaman of the Taiga."

Never far from his smoking pipe, he used it to record his kills - dots for enlisted men and crosses for officers.

Regards,

slava1stclass

[UQWozza]

Interesting story!

No British Combat awards had classes. I wonder what it was.

Simon

[slava1stclass]

Originally Posted by UQWozza

Interesting story!

No British Combat awards had classes. I wonder what it was.

Simon

Simon,

I can only assume it refers to a degree of a given order e.g., CBE, OBE, MBE etc.

Regards,

slava1stclass

[medals73]

Maybe a CBE? It is "third class" whether you count down (GBE, KBE, CBE) or up (MBE, OBE, CBE).

The various classes of the Order of the British Empire were the commonest courtesy award for allies, Soviets and others.

[slava1stclass]

Originally Posted by medals73

Maybe a CBE? It is "third class" whether you count down (GBE, KBE, CBE) or up (MBE, OBE, CBE).

The various classes of the Order of the British Empire were the commonest courtesy award for allies, Soviets and others.

Ed,

Quite true regarding the Order of the British Empire. It is definitely the most common British award I've noted among Red Army personnel. After it, I've also seen the DSO and possibly the Military Medal (for enlisted personnel).

Please see the attached image for what I believe to be an award of a MM to a Double Red Banner, Double Slava enlisted man. What do you think?

Regards,

slava1stclass

[medals73]

Originally Posted by slava1stclass

Ed,

Quite true regarding the Order of the British Empire. It is definitely the most common British award I've noted among Red Army personnel. After it, I've also seen the DSO and possibly the Military Medal (for enlisted personnel).

Please see the attached image for what I believe to be an award of a MM to a Double Red Banner, Double Slava enlisted man. What do you think?

Regards,

slava1stclass

No clue what that is, not a MM, even with the wearing wierdness that the Soviets inflicted on foreign awards (yet no worse than what foreigners did to Soviet awards). MM shown below.

Yes, to senior Soviet officers, it was almost always the British Empire, very rarely the Bath for the senior-most. Those who fought got other more appropriate awards, but these were uncommon. I may have (and having the WO 373 recommendations in hand, could locate) a fairly compllete list. As honorary (honourary, if you wish) awards, these would usually not be in the London Gazette.