Medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad." Award for participating in one of the most violent battles in the history of the Second World War

Stalingrad (present-day Volgograd) was an important frontier in the Great Patriotic War. The victory here meant an almost automatic preponderance in the struggle. Hitler very well understood the importance of the city and fought for him desperately. However, the Soviet troops did not surrender this settlement, and despite the exhausting months of fighting, they still retained their positions and threw the enemy back. The heroic defense of the city was immortalized in the state award, which is called - the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad."

Establishment of awards

The Battle of Stalingrad is rightly called by historians one of the most important battles in the Great Patriotic War. These were fierce battles for every inch of the earth, not just for every street, but for every house. The result of the stoic endurance of the Soviet troops in this struggle was the liberation of the city from enemy invaders and the capture of the sixth army of General Friedrich Paulus, which was a real blow for Hitler.

In December 1942, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR decided to mark the heroic feat of the defenders of the city with a state award and established a medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad."

Nowadays, the awards of the Great Patriotic War are very popular among collectors. There are a lot of black markets where medals with real certificates confirming rewarding are sold. And although in the series of other awards one of the most significant - the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad", its price varies from 20 to 100 dollars.

Description

The medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad", the photo of which is presented in the article, has the standard for such awards shape and size. The diameter of the insignia smelted from brass is 3.2 centimeters. The obverse depicts a group of Red Army soldiers with extended rifles in their hands. On the right above them is a fluttering banner of battle. On the left, tanks and flying planes are depicted on the background. In the upper part of the medal above the soldiers there is a five-pointed star in the center , which separates the inscription "For the defense of Stalingrad", engraved with a semicircle. On the reverse there is an inscription "For our Soviet Motherland". Above these words are a sickle and a hammer. All the inscriptions and images on the medal are embossed.

The pentagonal pad, to which is attached the medal "For the defense of Stalingrad" with the help of a ring and a lug. It is covered with a moiré band of olive color with a red line, located longitudinally in the middle. Worn the medal on the left. If there is a reward for the defense of Sevastopol, it is located after it.

The author of the award

The distinction mark was established on the initiative of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR, as well as for the defense of Sevastopol, Odessa, Leningrad. On November 24, Stalin issued a decree on the drafting of medals. The creation of sketches was entrusted to the artist Nikolai Moskalev, who began engaging in the design of award badges in the 1930s.

Among other things, he was the author of medals "For the Defense of Moscow", "For the Defense of Leningrad", "For the Defense of Sevastopol", "For the Defense of Odessa", "For the Defense of the Caucasus" and others.

It is worth noting that Volgogradians have great respect for the memory of those heroic events. They modernized the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad", a photo of which was installed on the whole wall on the building of one of the military units.

Chestnut Chevaliers

In total, awarded with the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" as of the beginning of 1995 amounted to about seven hundred and sixty thousand people. During the war and after its termination, this distinction was awarded to all participants in the defense of the city, which lasted from July to November 1942. They were servicemen of all types of Red Army troops, as well as serving in the Navy and the NKVD. In addition to these awards were awarded to all civilians who actively participated in the defense of the most important facility.

However, it should be noted that in those years there were many missing, dead and buried in haste. In modern history, many search teams find fallen heroes, other attempts are being made to track down as many as possible those who fought. The medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad", like many other awards, continues to find its heroes.