Wild Card

Hi landsknechte I am really glad that you brought this little guy back out for discussion because I had some fun thoughts about it after it got lost which I will get to in a moment. You may recall that I had a problem with the assumption that the last ribbon was to the Brunswick House Order of Henry the Lion; and in that vein, suggested that it might go to the Lippe-Detmold military merit medal or (still my choice) the Imperial Russian St. Anna Order. Now to the fun thoughts. In solving this riddle, we seem to have overlooked the first ribbon. Sure, it?s Hohenzollern; but is it Prussian/Royal or Princely/House? Either way, especially without swords (no evidence of a sword device on this ribbon) the possibilities cover a wide range - from, approximately, a knight of the Royal order to a member?s eagle of the Princely order. Getting back to the ?Brunswick? ribbon assumption, the first and second class Henry the Lion knights with swords were originally put forth; but the merit crosses, again first and second class with swords, were not mentioned as possibilities. Now let?s go to the extreme, as far as I can see it. What we have here is a ribbon bar representing a Princely Hohenzollern member?s eagle, a centenary medal and (are you ready?) a medal for arts and science to the Henry the Lion Order; being of the first section of the of the second class - hence signified by a crown device, not the assumed swords, on the ribbon!! Okay, very very unlikely; but not impossible. In the end, we will never know the truth regarding this bar; but I appreciate the opportunity that it has presented in pointing out the fact that the answers in such identifications can lie in very obscure and often overlooked places. Thank you. Yours truly, Wild Card

Hi. The Order of the White Falcon was an order from the Grand Dukedom of Saxe-Weimar; and as such, it was founded in 1732. Personally, I think that it is one of the most complex Imperial German orders because its? insignia over the span of its? existence underwent many subtle changes and nuances. The knight?s cross, first class, was founded in 1815 and was awarded through 1918. As with some other Imperial German orders, the awarding of swords for miliitary merit was instituted with the occasion of the war of 1870. The knight 2nd class in it?s final form was introduced in 1902 and was awarded with swords from that time until 1918. I hope that this information is helpful. Best wishes, Wild Card

Some really fine and rare items there -thank you very much for sharing. Wild Card

Hi Christian, This is really nice. These two items on their own are super; but to have the two together is exceptional. Being relatively uneducated with regard to ribbon bars, I have a question. This ribbon bar appears to have, from left to right - Iron Cross 2nd cl., W?rttemberg Friedrich Order w/swds, Saxon War Merit Cross, W?rttemberg Military Merit Order and so on. It seems to me that the position of the W?rttemberg Military Merit Order should be between the Iron Cross and the W?rttemberg Friedrich Order. Unless (!) that second ribbon is a Prussian Crown Order w/swds, in which case it would seem that the Saxon War Merit Cross and the W?rttemberg Military Merit Order should be reversed - unless, I guess, the recipient was a Saxon, maybe? Now that I?ve gotten myself into this quandary, could someone please help me out? Many thanks, Wild Card

Rick, Thank you for an excellent presentation. Yours truly, Wild Card

Hi Ralph, In case you don?t have one, I checked the 1865 Hannoverian Hof und Staats Handbuch for your man, H. Barenscheer; but did not find a listing for him. As you know, there could be several explanations for this. It?s always worth a try, sorry, Best wishes, Wild Card

Hi Ed, I must say that in my limited experience with Soviet awards and decorations, this is definitely one of the most unique groups I have ever seen. I am hardly qualified to pass judgment on it, or even offer useful evaluation; but I do sincerely hope that it can proven to be a good one and its? recipient can be identified . Best wishes, Wild Card

Gentlemen, This has raised a great point of which all Soviet decoration collectors should be aware; and you all probably are. Anyway, here we go. What we have here is a Red Banner #72925 the award of which which, it seems, should chronologically fall between Red Banners #69910 (awarded on 5 June 1943) and #87522 (awarded on 6 Nov. 1943) but actually has an award date of 25 April 1944! How can this be? There are at least two possibilities. The first is that #72925 is a reissued piece. I have heard of various examples of reissues but just can not, with confidence, state the procedures and details. The second possibility is a situation very well outlined some years ago in the OMSA Journal (The Medal Collector) where, as I recall, and I emphasize ?recall?. the details are as follows. Pieces were first allotted to various fronts for distribution. Now, let?s say that 1,000 pieces are distributed to each front to be awarded as earned. If at that time there are ten fronts, the first award at the first front would be #1 while the first one awarded at front 10 (possibly on the same day) would be #90001. To make matters worse, let?s say that front 1 experiences minimal distribution of awards while front 10 has maximum distribution and needs another 1000 pieces for distribution. With this scenario, in a short period of time front 1 could be awarding #100 on the same day that front 10 is awarding #10700. Carrying this on to its? logical conclusion, we can see how the situation we have here can occur. Surely others in this forum have more knowledge and information on this situation and I would ask that you share it with us. Respectfully, Wild Card

Hey Ralph - Very funny, very funny, since the one on the right (George V of Hannover) was blind! BTW is that medal named? Best wishes, Wild Card

Hi Gerd - To help you zero in on an award date, I have a Red Banner #69910 awarded on 5 June 1943 and another, #87522, awarded on 6 Nov., ?43; so, going with those numbers and award dates, I would say that your estimate of July 1943 is pretty accurate. I wish that I had something that could narrow things down better; but it?s a start. Best wishes, Wild Card

Hi - If it is of any help, I have a red Banner #6298 which was awarded on 7 April 1940 for action in the Finnish War, Then I jump to #16587 which was awarded on 18 April 1942 for action at Pogost Mikhaylovsky. The second one is particularly interesting in that it was awarded to a Senior Quartermaster Officer for leading his unit & equipment through German lines after being surrounded in the area of Kudever. Also his unit eliminated a company of enemy & captured 7. I have always found these early pieces to be especially appealing; and Rick?s observation ?...the early war awards are usually MORE important than they became later-- a 1942 Red Star "worth" a 1944-45 Red Banner, an early Red Banner "worth" what Lenins were given out for by war's end? is so true. Taking that position one step further, imagine the results had Suvorov, Nevsky, Glory, et al. been existent from the beginning of the war. Thank you all for sharing (a great thread!) and best wishes, Wild Card

Kim - That's my man, thank you! As I mentioned before, I have several pictures of him; but none this late. It appears that he had his second Lenin Order when the picture was taken, so that would date it sometime after 30 December 1956. Also, thank you for the tip on the Hero's information site. I will check out my other recipients to see if there are any pictures I don't have. I did check on one earlier who is not on the list which surprised me because he is a relatively famous fellow. Thank you again and best wishes, Wld Card

Thanks Rick - Here we go - ?????? Looks good, so far. This great! Thanks again, Wild Card Oops?! Something went wrong, sorry. Have to leave right now; we'll get it yet.

Gentlemen - Thank you all for your kind comments; I will try to answer your questions. Biro, thank you for your offer; I can not seem to figure out how to convert my keyboard to Cyrillic, but I can tell you that, if you have it to refer to, that Comrade Sishkin is in the Atlas of Heroes of the Soviet Union, on page 787, vol. 2, and his picture is in the upper right corner of the same page. Do you know that looking at this, I am inclined to think that his name properly translated might be more Shishkin as opposed to Sishkin. Although I have a number of pictures of him, including some nice candids; additional shots would certainly be appreciated. Gerd, with regard to your comment ?I guess, some collectors would kill for this star?, let?s hope not; but unfortunately, you do bring up a point; and with regard to that, I was hoping to post a picture of all of Comrade Sishkin?s awards; but they are, as we say, ?off campus? and as such, they are located quite some distance away from my home and I was not able to get to them and bring them back for photos as I had planned. When the opportunity presents itself, I will do so and post them. Sorry, the times we live in. The group is quite complete, however his Suvorov 3rd class (#9611), one of two Red Stars (#21772) and large Hero award document (the small Hero award document is present) are missing. Copies of service records... are quite complete along with a number of standard congratulatory items. Some additional biographical and service information follows. With regard to his wounds, he was wounded in the stomach and leg in August of 1941. He saw service on the Southwestern, Stalingrad, Don, Central and 1st Belorussian Fronts and was involved in actions at Kiev (1941), Kharkov (1941-2), Stalingrad (1942), Orel/Kursk (1943) and in Belorussia (1944). I guess that pretty well covers it for now. Again, thank you all for your comments and questions. Best wishes, Wild Card

I was afraid that someone would ask, so here we go. Please stay with me as typing is not one of my strengths. With regard to this particular decoration, I should first state that it has been properly authenticated by Paul McDaniel. Upon the final approval of Lt. Gen. Kostenko, Commander of the Southwestern Front on 12 March 1942, Captain Sishkin was given the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and issued the Gold Star medal by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on 27 March 1942. He was a squadron commander with the 43rd Fighter Air Regiment, 16th Air Division. Aside from ?...his immense devotion to the cause of the Lenin-Stalin Party...?, he and his squadron: 1. Eliminated up to 3,500 German men and officers, up to 300 motor vehicles with ammunition and enemy personnel, 6 enemy field artillery batteries, 7 antiaircraft batteries, 6 enemy tanks, 200 carriages, 200 cavalrymen, up to 40 motorcyclists, a bridge and 3 crossing facilities on the Dneiper and three ammunition depots. 2. His squadron has has flown 1352 combat missions of which 1293 were ground attacks against enemy ground troops and shot down 10 enemy planes. He has flown 65 ground attacks against enemy ground troops, 44 of which it is noted were effective missions after Peoples Commissar of Defense Comrade Stalin issued Decree #0299, and 82 combat missions to patrol troops and political centers and escort bombers. 3. Although wounded, he continued to lead his troops and so on. Comrade Sishkin was born in 1914 and received his final promotion, to Colonel in January of 1952. His other awards include two Lenin Orders, Suvorov 3rd class, 5 Red Banners, 2 Red Stars, and a medal for Combat Service. 14 defense, liberation and jubilee medals. I hope that this information is helpful and of some interest; and if anyone has any other questions about Col. Sishkin or his awards, I will do my best to provide the answers. Best wishes, Wild Card

Hi Rick - I am really impressed by your display! It is an excellent example of the variety and workmanship of these little guys. I think that these pieces, along with their close relatives, miniatures, are an under appreciated area of collecting -which is fine by me. Thank you for sharing this material with us. Best wishes, Wild Card

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Gentlemen, This is my first attempt at posting a picture, so please bear withme. The qualty of the photo is not up to my usual standards; but we will do better with that in the future. Assuming that this picture gets posted - Hero of the Soviet Union Gold Star (1st type) #842 awarded to Capt. Vasily Ivanovich Shishkin.

Hi Rick, This brings to mind the group that Igor Moiseyev had for sale some years ago to an officer who was given an award for cumulative events, the most significant of which was the ?liberation? (their words, not mine) of a vodka factory. Cheers! Wild Card

Hi Rosenberg, What you have appears to be an Erinnerungskreuz 1866 f?r Treue Krieger. This is one of a series which also includes the Erinnerungskreuz 1866 f?r Koniggr?tz, the Erinnerungskreuz 1866 f?r die Main-Armee and the Erinnerungskreuz 1866 f?r Nichtkombattanten. I hope that this is of some help. Wild Card

Hi Joe, I must say that I think that I really blew it on this one with regard to that (last) ribbon identification. I simply had not considered a foreign award out there... shame on me. Christophe - I have been looking at, and occasionally picking up, knopflochs for over twenty years. While I have a number of miniatures, during that time I have gotten only four knopflochs. Yet, as I said before, I have never noticed any with the wound badge/swords attachment. Then consider - anybody who could make a dumb mistake like I did on the ribbons (above) could be wrong on just about anything. Best wishes, Wild Card

Hi Chris, Great question! This s where collecting Soviet had its? advantages... okay... just one? Let?s go with my Prussian (gold) military merit cross. I know that as soon as I post this, I?ll wish that I had chosen something else; but I will go with this one. Thank you for asking, Wild Card

Hi Chris, I would agree with Heiko. Although the colors are right for a number of official W?rttemberg decorations, I am afraid that the combination of black stripes does not match up with any of them. A nice little ribbon bar nevertheless. Best wishes, Wild Card

Has anyone out there seen an actual (this is the real thing) "Hildegard" Cross? Wild Card

Joe, You are correct in that this is a knopfloch and you have correctly identified the ribbons. I have seen a number of these little guys over the years and I must say that this is the first one with the wound badge over the swords. Very, very nice - congratulations! Best wishes, Wild Card