A terrible, unexpected and cruel war, called the Great Patriotic War, broke into literally every home, every family. Men and women, without a shadow of a doubt, went to the front, occupying numerous ranks of the regular army of the Soviet state. But besides the Red Army, partisans won victory, often at the cost of their lives.
Partisan movement
In the period from 1941 to 1944, 6,200 detachments of partisans and similar formations actively fought on the occupied by the Nazis territory. The total number of partisans, according to various estimates, is approaching one million people. The main task of this resistance movement was the destruction of the main system that provided the enemy front. The partisans destroyed headquarters, blew up warehouses, and disrupted rail and road communications. In the first year of the war, during the winter period alone, valiant and brave detachments of partisans derailed more than two hundred trains, blew up at least six hundred bridges and about two thousand cars.
Partisan movement withevery month became more and more numerous and stronger. The action of the resistance was coordinated with every step of the regular army, thereby repelling the advancing German invaders intensified. People of almost all ages joined the ranks of the resistance, there are isolated cases of the participation of children under the age of ten.
The Emergence of the Medal
The exploits and successful resistance of the partisans, their invaluable contribution to the cause of the common victory, indicated the need to reward especially distinguished fighters. While there were no special instructions, the "Medal to the Partisan of the Patriotic War" was handed over by local commanders. As a rule, these were homemade specimens.
But on February 2, 1943, things changed. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree establishing the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War", divided into two degrees.
The artist who developed the sketch was Nikolai Ivanovich Moskalev. Further additions and some changes were made in June 1943 and February 1947. The awards ceremony was first held in the year of the medal's founding on November 18.
Medal to the partisan of the Patriotic War, 1st class
Medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" 1st class was awarded both to ordinary partisans and to those who held commanding positions. Movement coordinators were also awarded. Encouragement was due for the most special, extremelyimportant merit, such as courage, valor and courage. Heroic deeds, outstanding breakthroughs in the organization of the partisan movement, and successful operations carried out in the rear of the enemy army were noted. Commissar of the detachment Mikhail Moroz received the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" 1st degree at the age of twenty-two for selflessness and devotion to the Motherland.
Among those awarded there were quite a few very young partisans who were not inferior to adults in patriotism and heroism. Yuta Bondarovskaya, who fell in battle near an Estonian farm, Vasya Korobko, who blew up enemy trains and was killed by a German bullet, Volodya Kaznacheev, who went through the whole war side by side with older soldiers, and many others, still children who gave their strength and lives, were awarded this medal of honor.
Personal Achievement Medal
Medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" 2nd class was awarded for personal achievements of the participants of the partisan resistance. It was awarded to commanders of detachments and subdivisions, organizers of operations and movement coordinators, ordinary partisan fighters who carried out certain orders and tasks of the military authorities. Also, awards of the second degree were awarded in case of active and important assistance in the fight against the enemy.
Some fighters received the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" 1st and 2nd degree at the same time, among them Kondraty Alimpievich Letyagin. From the first days of the war, Kondraty Letyagin took part invarious battles and in one of them he was captured by the Nazis. But at some point, he managed to escape and join the partisan detachment, with which he was able to go through the entire war, was repeatedly injured and was subsequently awarded.
Appearance of the award
The medal has a regular round shape. It is thirty-two centimeters in diameter, has a ribbon around the circumference, the width of which is four millimeters. On the ribbon is an inscription indicating to whom the medal is awarded: "Partisan of the Patriotic War." The line is highlighted by two small stars, in the lower sector of the circle there is a five-pointed star with a hammer and a sickle, located in the middle of the letters "USSR". Also on the front side are profile images of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and, at that time, the commander-in-chief, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. On the reverse side there is an inscription: "For our Soviet Motherland".
For the distinguishing sign of the first degree, silver was used, and the medal itself is attached using a ring and eyelet to a pentagonal block. In the design, a moire silk ribbon of light green color, having a width of 24 millimeters, was used. A 2mm red stripe runs along the tape.
Second class award made of brass with a blue longitudinal stripe.
From the history of awards
Operation "Concert" can be called a significant and large-scale partisan victory. It was carried out from the nineteenth of September to the first of November 1943 and was coordinated with the upcoming Soviet offensive, during which serious battles were to be fought forDnieper. 193 detachments took part, which included more than one hundred and twenty thousand people.
"Concert" covered about a thousand kilometers along the front and more than seven hundred and fifty kilometers going into the depths. A powerful blow was de alt to the railroad tracks. About two hundred and fifteen thousand rails were destroyed, seventy-two railway bridges were blown up, and the number of enemy echelons that did not reach their destinations exceeded a thousand. The German command was discouraged, this operation caused serious difficulties in the transportation of the Nazi troops, and made it very difficult for the German command to carry out the maneuver. As a result, the advancing troops of the Red Army received huge assistance.
Medal "Partisan of the Great Patriotic War" received more than 127 thousand participants, and 248 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
