Medal "For the capture of Budapest": description and history

For any soldier, regardless of the country, military awards have always been a matter of special pride. After all, they testify not only to bravery and courage, but also to participation in historical events for the country. In our country, where the word "war" can be found only in history textbooks, we can see various orders and medals of the Patriotic War on the chest of many veterans. These awards testify that they fought bravely, not sparing themselves for the sake of the future of our state.

Among many others it is possible to allocate a series of medals, established as a reward for taking cities. Today we will talk about one of them. It is a medal "For the capture of Budapest".

History of institution awards

After the end of the last battles of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet government raised the issue of rewarding the fighters who participated in the assaults of the capitals of Europe. So, in the summer of 1945 a series of medals "For liberation" or "For the capture" appeared. At the same time, different wording was used for different medals. If the troops stormed the city, which was in the hands of the Nazis initially - issued a medal "For the capture." In the case of the occupied cities - Prague, Belgrade or Warsaw - the medal "For Liberation" was awarded. The date of establishment of all these awards is July 9, 1945.

These combat awards of the Great Patriotic War were given to all who participated in the storming of a particular city - both to the command and officer staff of the army, and to ordinary soldiers.

Features of the series "For the capture"

Since these medals were part of the same series, they had some similarities and were executed according to the same pattern.

All medals were made of brass and had the same dimensions. All the sketches for them were performed by the artist A. I. Kuznetsov. The medals themselves had a round shape, each - 32 mm in diameter. It is worth mentioning that this series did not differ any pretentiousness or pomp in the design. As the basis of the image, on each award there was an inscription "For the capture" or "For liberation" and the name of the city. This inscription was placed on the obverse. The reverse carried the date of the capture of a particular city, over which a five-pointed star was placed. All inscriptions or images were made convex.

Medal "For the capture of Budapest"

The award, like other medals from this series, was approved on June 9, 1945. The decree was issued by the Presidium at the request of the USSR People's Commissariat of Defense, and the Presidium approved the description of the award and the corresponding Regulations.

The award was given to all who participated in the assault on Budapest, the capital of the then pro-fascist Hungary. This operation has become one of the key to the liberation of Europe from the invaders.

The storming of the city took place in difficult conditions. The enemy concentrated around 250,000 soldiers and officers in the combat area. As a result of the enemy's stubborn preparation for defense, there were about 300 knots of resistance and defensive points in the city. The ultimatum about capitulation and surrender of the command of the city rejected. As a result, Soviet troops began fighting for the possession of Budapest. The opponent was given stubborn resistance, moreover - from outside there were several counter-attacks to release the besieged forces. By January 18, 1945, the eastern part of the capital was liberated - Pest, and the western part - Buda - on February 13 of the same year. By that time, the enemy forces numbered 188,000.

According to the Decree of the Presidium, this medal was awarded to employees in the Red Army, Navy, the NKVD, as well as various state institutions that took part in the heroic assault of Budapest, as well as those who designed and organized the assault and accompanying military operations.

In the event of the death of a soldier with this award, the medal "For the capture of Budapest" remained with his family in storage as a memory (according to a decree issued on February 5, 1951). Prior to this decree, after death, the reward was returned to the disposal of the state. In total, about 350 thousand medals were awarded.

Description of the award

Like other awards of the series, the medal was made of brass in the form of a circle with a diameter of 32 mm. The obverse of the medal was "For the capture of Budapest", the inscription was made in capital letters. Above the inscription was a five-pointed Soviet star, and below it - a hammer and sickle, crossed against the background of two laurel branches. On the reverse of the medal stood the date - February 13, 1945. This date is the capture by the Soviet troops of the Hungarian capital. Above the inscription was also a five-pointed star.

The medal was fastened to a standard pentagonal shoe with the help of a lug and a ring. The shoe itself was intertwined with an orange band, its width was 24 mm, in the middle of which there was a longitudinal blue strip 8 mm wide.

The medal was awarded on behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to all those who participated in the storming of Budapest and could confirm this with the relevant documents. These were issued by unit commanders, as well as heads of medical and sanitary units. The medal was issued both to those who had completely taken the city, and those who had left the fighting on the wound.

Rules of carrying and delivering documents

According to the rules of wearing, the medal was supposed to be fastened to the left side of the chest, and in case the possessor has other military awards of the USSR, it was prescribed to wear it after the medal "For victory over Japan".

Also the medal "For the capture of Budapest" presupposed the delivery of the relevant documents confirming the rewarding. It was a certificate that had several options, depending on the date of issue. On the emblem of the USSR could be either 11 or 15 ribbons, the release date contained printed letters 19 or 194 depending on the time of issue. In addition to the certificate, the serviceman was issued a certificate confirming the right to wear a medal.

Results

Soviet awards have always been a testament to the fact that the soldiers of the Red Army fought bravely and selflessly. Despite the disintegration of the USSR, the combat awards of the Great Patriotic War are highly respected today, because they witnessed the courage of many soldiers in those harsh years.