The medal "For Military Merit" was one of the very first insignia in the Soviet state. It was established at the same time as another well-known and similarly related medal - “For Courage”. Their establishment took place in October 1938.
Appearance of the insignia
The medal "For Military Merit", the photo of which is presented in the article, is made in the form of a regular circle, having a diameter of 31-32 mm. The weight of the award is a little less than 20 grams. The author of the drawing on the obverse and reverse, artist Sergey Dmitriev, depicted the following. The front side of the coin represents the inscription with the indented letters “USSR” around the circumference of the upper part, which are covered with ruby-red enamel. In the middle part there is a three-line relief inscription “For military merits”. Below is a relief drawing of crossed checkers and a rifle with a bayonet. Along the entire edge on the front side of the award is a slightly convex rim with a width of 1 mm. On the reverse side, the medal "For Military Merit" is smooth, without any images or inscriptions. Although in versions of the product made before 1948, its serial number was engraved here, since in the first period of its existence, the awards were numbered. The medal "For Military Merit" is made of silver alloy. The ribbon for the award is silk - gray with golden stripes along the edge.
In different years, regalia had various features in its execution. There are several known. First of all, there are two options for pads: rectangular and pentagonal.
Rectangular shoe.
In this form, the medal existed from its very foundation, in 1938, until 1943, when its appearance was changed by a party decree. In its first version, the “Medal of Military Merit” had a rectangular hanging block, which was covered with a red ribbon. To the block, on the reverse side of it, a threaded pin and a clamping nut located there to fasten the regalia on clothes were attached. The serial number in this version was located on the reverse, at the bottom.
Pentagonal block.
After the government decree of June 19, 43, the overall appearance of the award was slightly changed: the rectangular block became pentagonal, and the product was now secured with a pin, which was located on the back of the block.
Documents for the medal
The certificate for the insignia was introduced already in 1939, at the same time as the document attached to the medal “For Courage”. However, in the first post-war years there were changes in the order of extradition. First, credentials have changed in design, and most importantly, they are now no longer individual.
Award provisions
According to the decisions of the Soviet leadership, the medal “For Military Merit” could be awarded to the following distinguished ones: a) who showed direct courage in the defense of the country's state borders; b) soldiers who demonstrated initiative, skillful and bold decisions in battle that became the key to the successful completion of a combat mission by a military unit or unit; c) those who have distinguished themselves by particular successes in combat and political training, in the development of new models of military equipment; for other merits that were shown by the military during their period of active service.
Award history
The first ones awarded the medal "For Military Merit" appeared before the Second World War. However, its presentation really gained a wide scope during the years of the Great Patriotic War and immediately after it. Here the bill went into the millions. In the second half of the 20th century, regalia again began to rarely find its heroes.