Christophe

Christian, Excellent answer for Zhukov . You have answered one half of the question , but the most difficult is now to come : to find the second one... Cheers. Ch.

Ch.

As said earlier, and because of the numerous posters, banners offically displayed in Moscow a few months ago, I would think it is issued by the Municipality of Moscow. My best bet... Ch.

Hi Wild Card, Very good answer, but I should probably have precised that I was looking after Orders with SN #1, but not #1 for subsequent orders... I'm sorry to say that, despite this excellent and quick answer, it is not what I was expecting. Sorry for this... But, if no one founds it, I will declare you the winner and let you post the next question, as my question was maybe too much unprecise and you answer excellent. Cheers. Ch.

Question #117 Back to Soviet Orders.... Orders with Serial Number 001 Only two Soviet personalities have ever been - each of them - awarded two orders SN #1. 1. Who are these two Soviet personalities ? 2. Which Orders with SN #1 has each of them been awarded ? Bonus : 3. Give the dates of awarding of each of the awards. Remember that each of these 2 Soviet persons has been awarded 2 orders with SN #1. Additional information / precision added later : We are not talking about Titles, Medals or subsequent Orders : ex Red Banner #4 or #5... Moreover, one personality is more known than the other, and as such easier to find. The winner will be the first of you to post the 2 names of the 2 Soviet personalities, with the names of the Orders. Good hunt and good luck. Cheers. Ch.

Again, a few stats : This small game has now been launched more than 18 months ago now (on 1 Nov. 2005), and since : * 116 questions asked, * with 1,363 answers, * This quiz has been viewed more than 13,120 times. * 32 Members of the Forum played, and 25 correctly answered at least 1 question : Nb of good answers : * 20 : Christian (Zulus) * 18 : Christophe * 10 : Bryan (Soviet) * 8 : Simon (Red Threat) * 6 : Belaruski and Jim (JimZ) * 5 : Carol I and Ed (Haynes). * 4 : Franck (Knarf) and Wild Card. * 3 : Andreas (Alfred), Auke (Ferdinand) and Kim (Kimj). * 2 : Chuck (in Oregon), Gerd (Becker), Ivan (Piramida), Jan (vatjan) and Order of Victory. * 1 : Dan (Hauptman), Darrell, Daredevil, Dave (Navy FCO), Dudeman, Rick (Stogieman) and Steen (Ammentorp). This is a great achievement. Thanks to all for your participation. Now, let's continue to have fun with the 117th question... Mine!!! Ch.

Here is the medal. Ch.

Hi Krigstrom, This medal is an unofficial one, recently issued. By whom? I don't know, as it is now quite difficult to follow who is issuing what in today's Russia... It is not an Umalatova medal, and of course not an official one from the Federation of Russia. But, has this medal been issued by the town of Moscow? Who knows? Have a look at my thread (from post #4) : http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=13348 You can see this medal was displayed on a number of banners downtown. Attached is a pic of the medal. Cheers. Ch.

Never too far... Let's try this : 1) What was that famous operation in april 1945 in Vienna? Take Vienna and avoid the destruction of the Imperial Bridge (Reichsbr?cke). 2) Who had been that Lady with a very wild animal in her name, who suggested to the King to confer an OBE to him? The Queen Mother of England, born Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon. 3) A Soviet General got crazy about the fact, that only the Admiral got an OBE from the King and not he himself, because his soldiers had been on board of the boats. Who was that - also rather famous & rather low-ranking - Soviet General? General Fyodor Tolbukhin ? Cheers. Ch.

Hi Ed, One more time, you did well on this one !!! You have beaten me... 14 minutes too late... Cheers. Ch.

Ed, Congrats for this acquisition!!!! An extraordinary piece of collection... and history!!! Cheers. Ch.

Bill, To make it short, it is said : The Lord Denys network has been created by Andr? V?rot, a railroader of SNCF (French railways company) from St Denis, close to Paris. This man has founded as soon as 1940 a resistance network for allies escape, intelligence, action... This network has never been "homologated" (recognised ?). This network cooperated with Pas de Calais groups. Hope this helps. Ch.

Hi Bill, Interesting medal. Please, have a look at here : http://zitocland.forumpro.fr/IDENTIFICATIO...highlight=denys Hope this helps... Cheers. Ch.

He, he... I was sure.... Ch.

There seems to be a consensus there, so... Cheers. Ch.

Yes, maybe another Member of the Forum has already taken these pics... Cheers. Ch.

I Know how difficult it is to take pics in such museums... Any idea who he was ? Cheers. Ch.

Hi Bob, Who is the bearer of these medals (can't read the name in the 1st pic...) ? Cheers. Ch.

Hi Gerd, Yes, seems logical... but I have difficulties to recognise here an Order of Lenin My eyes, maybe... Cheers. Ch.

I'm wondering what could be this order : The Order of Frienship of the Russian federation ? Ch. Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection

Portrait #16 Close-up pic #2 Ch. Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection

Portrait #16 Close-up pic. Ch. Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection

Portrait #16 A HSU with some foreign medals (Poland...). Ch. Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection

Great job, Christian!!! Here are the answers : 1. Who was this Naval military leader ? Vice-Admiral Georgi Kholostiakov (exact name... ), Commander of the Soviet Navy and of the naval base of Novorossiisk. 2. When has he been awarded this Order ? Awarded on 18 September 1943. 3. For which action ? Your answer is absolutely correct : For successful commanding the operation "Malaja Semlja" ("Small Land") in 1943, bridgehead close to Novorossiysk. The Admiral himself fought with a machine pistol in the first row. Bonus : 4. Serial Number of his Suvorov 1st Class ? Order of Suvorov 1st Class - SN 154. For complementary information, below is what Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Nikolai Kuznetsov said about these events in his book : "Memoirs of Wartime Minister of the Navy - Progress Publishers 1990" : " (...) Early in 1943, the Nazis were forced to pass to the defensive in the Northern Caucasus. GHQ ordered the Southern and Transcaucasian Fronts to encircle and wipe out the enemy force there. The main part was to be played by the Southern Front and the Black Sea Group of Forces (under Lieutenant General I.Y. Petrov). The latter conducted its operations in close cooperation with the Black Sea Fleet. The sailors prepared for these engagements with great enthusiasm. Among other missions it was intended to liberate Novorossiisk, an important port. In the latter half of November 1942, when the Battle of Stalingrad was raging furiously, I was summoned to GHQ and received by J.V. Stalin. He said that the General Staff was working on an offensive operation in the south. He asked me to prepare proposals on the fleet's operations. When I arrived at the General Staff, I learnt, as it frequently happened, that the plans had already been drawn up. The General Staff only wanted to know a few details. In the operation of Novorossiisk the ships and coastal defence batteries of the fleet were to provide Fire support to the Forty Seventh Army in the penetration of enemy defences. The fleet was to land a descent in proximity of Yuzhnaya Ozereika which was to assist the units of the Forty Seventh Army in the taking of Novorossiisk. The submarines and air arm were to disrupt the enemy's shipping between the Crimea and the Taman Peninsula. At the same time the fleet was to assure uninterrupted delivery of war supplies by sea along the Caucasian coast. Though the plan for the landing of descents at Yuzhnaya Ozereika and Stanichka was worked out in a haste, it was thorough and detailed. It was decided that sailors would be in the assault wave. To this end I issued an order transferring the 255th Marine Brigade, the 323rd, 324th and 327th Marine Battalions to the Black Sea Group of Forces. The descents and ships engaged in exercises in daylight and darkness to achieve efficient cooperation between all the forces carrying out the operation. The main descent was to be landed at Yuzhnaya Ozereika and the secondary descent at Stanichka. Rear Admiral N.Y. Basisty was charged with the transportation and landing of the main descent. His ships were to provide artillery support to the descent and protect the transport vessels. On January 27, 1943, the left flank of the Black Sea Group of Forces (of the Transcaucasian Front) went over to the offensive before it was able to regroup its units. The Army was supported by the fleet air arm, six coastal defence batteries and the cruiser Voroshilov. But the assaults were unsuccessful. It also proved impossible to land the descent. The enemy had concentrated a large force on the shore. In addition, a strong gale was blowing and the sea was rough. The wave that had been landed was ordered to break through the enemy dispositions and force its way to Stanichka. The landing operation at Stanichka was more successful. The arrival of ships there was a surprise for the enemy. The assaults of the descent were effectively supported by coastal defence batteries. Another reason why the landing went off successfully here was that the enemy's attention was focussed on beating off the assaults of Army units and our descent at Yuzhnaya Ozereika. Major Kunikov's detachment numbering 900 officers and men secured a foothold and consolidated the ground. The fleet commander took advantage of the situation to land the main body of the descent there. Thus, the secondary attack was turned into the main attack. By February 15, the beachhead was being held by 17,000 troops, tanks and artillery. It had a frontage of seven kilometres and a depth of three-four kilometres. Owing to lack of forces the descent was unable to develop the offensive. In addition, the situation was complicated by lack of support from land. The Forty Seventh Army failed to penetrate the enemy's defences. The Naval Staff closely watched the developments and regularly reported the situation to me. Moscow tried to help, although it was difficult to do so. The fleet command was also doing its best to develop the offensive, but was unable to do very much. Despite this, the descents landed near Novorossiisk played a big role. The beachhead at Stanichka which later became widely known as Little Land compelled the enemy to divert a large force. On February 18, I was summoned to GHQ. I was ordered urgently to go to the Black Sea Fleet and to supervise the transfer of troops to Gelendzhik, which were to be moved to Little Land. A group of generals under Lieutenant General S.M. Shtemenko, chief of operations department of the General Staff, immediately proceeded to General I.I. Maslennikov's headquarters. He was then preparing for an offensive. I went by car to Tuapse via Shapsug Pass. When I arrived there practically all the troops had been moved. The last units were already aboard the destroyers Nezamozhnik, Besposhchadny and Soobrazitelny on February 25. We already knew that GHQ decided to build up the strength of the forces near Stanichka, because this beachhead offered an advantage for subsequent development of an offensive in the direction of Novorossiisk. By the end of February, there were two-a descent and an infantry-corps in Stanichka. These formations expanded the beachhead bringing the frontline to the suburbs of Novorossiisk. The length of the frontage was now 45 kilometres. I suddenly learnt that it was proposed to land another big descent there. When Marshal G.K. Zhukov, General S.M. Shtemenko and I arrived in the Novorossiisk zone, Georgi Konstantino-vich studied at the staff of the 18th Army under General K.N. Leselidze the possibilities for further enlargement of the beachhead. The forces in Little Land were engaged in heavy fighting. From a hill on the outskirts of Novorossiisk you could get a good view of the whole of Tsemesskaya Harbour. But you could not see the beachhead because it was enveloped in smoke. The roar of the artillery could be heard distinctly. Air engagements were being constantly fought overhead. During the war, I seldom went to the battle zone together with Marshal G.K. Zhukov. But though I was in his company only a few times, I could not help seeing that he was a distinguished military leader. He had a knack for making a quick and accurate estimate of events and people. He would grasp the situation deeply and comprehensively. He would see the main point, he would trust people but also check them. Marshal Zhukov and I increased the flow of supplies to Myskhako. The importance of that beachhead was already obvious. As Zhukov and General Shtemenko studied the possibilities for the penetration of the Nazi Blue Line (which the Germans were constantly fortifying) they pinned big hopes on the forces holding Little Land. That was why Zhukov wanted to know all the details about the flow of supplies to the beachhead by sea. Although it seemed that Little Land was very close to us (only ten miles away from our shore), the space was covered by enemy cross Fire. G.N. Kholostyakov, the base commander, said that every run to Myskhako involved serious difficulties. Ships and vessels (mainly small vessels and craft) would make their way there only in darkness. To conceal their movement smoke-screens would be laid. Special ships and craft would be assigned the mission of diverting the enemy's attention. Other methods were devised to allow the ships and vessels to slip through without detection. The vessels carrying troops and supplies would be covered by coastal defence battery fire and large forces of the fleet air arm. Each venture of supply ships to Little Land was planned like a full scale combat operation. The transport vessels and craft, and escort ships would be carefully prepared for the move, and routes would be plotted to take the enemy by surprise. The time of departure would be changed each time, depending on the situation. Reconnaissance would plot the enemy batteries. The crews of coastal defence batteries would take advantage of the wealth of experience acquired by the defenders of Leningrad in counterbattery fire. Our batteries and the air arm would bombard the Nazi batteries. Sometimes short, but violent engagements would be fought. Gun fire, shell bursts, hundreds of flares and beams of numerous search-lights would illuminate the harbour brightly. It would seem that it was broad daylight. While our ships headed for Little Land and discharged their cargoes there, battles would rage at sea, on land and in the air. Despite formidable odds, we managed to supply the beach-head with all that it needed and to build up a force there, which later helped liberate Novorossiisk. The Army and fleet air arm fliers provided reliable air cover to the beachhead until they gained air supremacy over Novorossiisk. Having appraised the situation that had taken shape G.K. Zhukov agreed with us that, at the moment, it was inexpedient to land another big descent on Little Land. In my presence he reported this opinion to GHQ over the phone. Moscow accepted it. At the proposal of Zhukov it was decided to discontinue the attack on the North Caucasian Front in order to prepare the formations for further determined action. Soon after I returned to Moscow I was summoned to GHQ on April 22 or 23. Stalin asked me who I thought fit for the post of Black Sea Fleet commander. I knew that the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was displeased with F.S. Oktyabrski. But I did not know that he was so deeply displeased. The unsuccessful landing at Yuzhnaya Ozereika must have had something to do with it too. I knew I could not do .anything to help Oktyabrski. GHQ had already taken the decision on his removal. I proposed Vice-Admiral L.A. Vladimirski. Until then he was in command of the main fleet detachment. He was a determined and shrewd commander. Before that throughout the war, not a single fleet commander had been removed from bis post. But Oktyabrski, owing to circumstances, was removed from that post only temporarily. In less than a year, in March 1944, he was reappointed to the post of commander of the Black Sea Fleet. During that he was commander of the Amur River Naval Flotilla. (...)" Christian, Congrats!! Your turn, now. Cheers. Ch.

Question #115 The Order of Suvorov, one of the most prestigious Soviet awards has been established on 29 July 1942. This award was created to award "Red Army commanders for distinguished accomplsihments in control troops, for organizing combat operations and displaying decisiveness and persistence in their execution as a result achieved victory in battles for the Motherland in the Patriotic war." The 1st class order was awarded to army commanders for exceptional direction of combat operations, while the 2nd class order was awarded to corps, divisions, and brigade commanders for a decisive victory over a numerically superior enemy, and the 3rd class orderto regiment commanders, their chief of staff, and battalion and company commanders for outstanding leadership leading to a battle victory. The Suvorov 1st class has been awarded to many Marshals of the Soviet Union, and Army and Aviation military leaders. Only one Naval military leader has ever been awarded the Suvorov 1st Class. 1. Who was this Naval military leader ? 2. When has he been awarded this Order ? 3. For which action ? Bonus : 4. Serial Number of his Suvorov 1st Class ? Good hunt and good luck. Cheers. Ch.