The Order of the Patriotic War is one of the most famous symbols of the victory over fascism. This Soviet one was established directly during the war years and had two degrees.
History of the creation of the order
The preparation of the draft order for rewarding servicemen who distinguished themselves in battles with the Nazis began on April 10, 1942. It was led by the chief of the rear of the Red Army, General Andrei Khrulev, on the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Joseph Stalin. The original title of the award was For Military Valor.
In addition to General Andrei Khrulev, artists Sergei Dmitriev and Andrei Kuznetsov worked on the order. The first of them has already managed to work on the Order of Lenin and the medal "XX Years of the Red Army", and the second has created a number of different military insignia. In just two days, the artists created about 30 sketches, after which General Khrulev selected two of the best works from each of the authors.
Four sketches were presented to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Stalin, as a result of which he chose one of Kuznetsov's projects, ordering it to be finalized and made several significant changes. The order received the appearance of a convex five-pointed star with rays covered with ruby-red enamel. The star also had an outer edging of the rays in gold. In the center was a ruby-red circle with the hammer and sickle mark, bordered in white enamel. It bore the inscription "Patriotic War" with a gold star at the bottom. The ruby red five-pointed star was complemented by a crossed rifle and saber. The first and second degrees of the order differed from each other in that the second degree award had a red star edged with silver, and the first degree - with gold. The order was given the name "Patriotic War".
Awarding the order
In accordance with the military regulations, combatants were awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the first degree in 30 different situations, and the order of the second degree - in 25. During the Great Patriotic War, the award was awarded to many heroes who performed legendary feats. One of the awardees was the Red Army soldier Mikhail Panikakha. On October 2, 1942, he took part in a fierce battle for the Krasny Oktyabr plant in Stalingrad. The Red Army soldier tried to inflict damage on an enemy tank using bottles with a combustible mixture.
Suddenly, an enemy bullet hit one of the bottles, and the fighter instantly ignited. Undaunted, Mikhail rushed to meet the tank, continuing to throw bottles at it, as a result of which he was able to neutralize the combat vehicle. On December 9, 1942, for this feat, Mikhail Panikakha was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree. Also awards of the 1st were received by 18 fighters from the Siberian Rifle Division, about whom they later composed the song "At anonymous height".
