Lapa

Christian, It is possible to differentiate between 2nd and 3rd class, but it is a very tedious and tough process. Igor Pack did an excellent survey of confirmed 2nd classes, from which he came up with some very detailed fine points. To make things short, 2nd and 3rd classes were struck with different dies, ans it is possible to identify which is which. Gold plating is NOT a reliable indicator of class, as its state of preservation may vary greatly depending on many external and chemical factors. From the look of Andreas' order #718, some of the key watermarks of a 2nd class are indeed present. Now, to tell for sure beyond that would require very hi-res scans of some specific areas. Marc

Guys, Re-reading my previous hint, I must precise/clarify one thing: there was a village standing in the very spot where the battle took place; this village was entirely destroyed and was never rebuilt. Now, the name of the place is NOT the name of the village itself (I'd be really surprized if anyone came up with the actual name of the village). Marc

Rick, 13. City of Leningrad, Goncharnaya Street, house 13 apartment 4 Marc

Hipnos, No, that is very far from the place we are looking for. Marc

Christian, Nice job summing up things Marc

Well, it seems that major events that took place on the Eastern Front are not too well known at all in the West OK, one more hint (sorry for the movie parody): a river runs through it.

Christian, You are getting closer with Tikhvin, but still quite far from the place we are looking for... Marc

Christian, That's not it, you went too far away. So, how about one more hint: there also the town/village (although not a fortified one) was totally destroyed, and has never been rebuilt. Marc

Christian, Could you please post hi-res scans of both front and back of each order. Marc

Christian, The question refers to one very specific location. Marc

Christian, You definitely are on the right track. Now, you need to be much, much more specific than that Marc

Doc, Yes there is: History of Russian Uniform - Soviet Police 1918-1991 by Leonid Tokar. Good thing that you asked, I opened my copy and found your white boards: Officer's shirt boards, introduced by Prikaz MVD CCCP 238 on 24/8/1972 (as far as I know, the model remained the same until the end of the USSR). Marc PS: let me know if you need a copy of the book.

Guys, OK, let's clarify things here. The Verdun designation does not come from the existance of forts or fortresses; it comes from the fact that this place has been most certainly the utmost "meat-grinder" of the whole eastern front in term of casualties per square km (or m, or cm), and from the incredible amount of iron/lead/steel/whatever other metal that has been thrown there. Both Christophe (at least earlier...) and Christian are on the right track Marc

Doc, That is what I suspect too: the gray ones are very similar to Police boards. Marc

Definitely

Auke, No, it is not Borzov, it is 'Бурцев'. I have to see if I wrote the numbers somewhere; unfortunately I did not have all the time I wanted to admire, to take pictures, and to write all the specifics down. Marc

William, I, unfortunately, cannot answer your questions. This medal bar is held at the Central Museum in Moscow. It is not on display, but I was lucky enough to be shown a few things held in storage, this one among other things. On the matter of why join 2 suspensions instead of buying a longer one, it was not unusual for a veteran to fix his smaller suspensions together, probably a matter of savings (the USSR was a heaven for innovative re-use of almost everything). I have handled quite a few of these; they are either riveted, or soldered, or glued. I once even had one which was held by metallic thread! Marc

KDVR, Maybe it's the lighting, but I don't like it at all. The engraving looks very basic. Marc

And the reverse...

Guys, A couple of nice pics that may shed a bit of light on the topic at hand: group of General Burcev (currently held at the Central Armed Forces Museum) Marc

KDVR, Some pictures are not enough to tell for sure (Odessa & Sevastopol). Belgrade is not good, and I don't like the Defense of Soviet Arctic. The other ones are OK; by the way, nice Vienna medal, a late variation. Marc

OoV, Your medal is definitely a fake without a hint of a doubt. Most telling (apart from the ring) are the engraving (faces, etc), the shape of the letters, and most importantly the background pebbling which is way to big. Marc

Jim, Any chance you could post hi-res scans of the front and back of the medallions? Marc

Enzo, Where are the sapphires on the Order of Victory??? Marc

Sergei, I simply love those M55/58 parade uniforms. They were simply class! By the way, your cap is missing the wings on the crown. Marc