Soviet Paper Award Documents

[order_of_victory]

Im not sure weather this should go with Orders Books: Editions & Series. I have just been asked a question, that I didnt know the answer for, what are the Sereil numbers on the bottom of award documents for?

i.e Medal for the Capture of Berlin Award Document A 392374

I presume the A is early but the number I dont have a clue

[Guest Rick Research]

It may have something to do with a printing range-- ? for contract purposes ("We ordered 12,000 units and you only delivered 11,982!!!!!") but I don't see any particular PATTERN in the sense of a REASON for it--

"A" on either these or Orders Books of the 1945-46 period SEEM to have been MOSTLY to officers, while "B" or "V" went to enlisted ranks... but ASIDE from those, I see no "system" at all. The large certificate style documents for the WW2 Campaign Medals that came out before the Defense of Moscow started this fold open card-paper style certainly seem completely random, with all letters of the alphabet.

These were certainly used for "inventory control" purposes though--

look at any of the Award Record Cards posted in the Researched Groups sub-forum and you will see these medals listed by the nominal date of their creation--not actual bestowal date--

BUT

with the letter and serial number on the bestowal paper, as yours shows.

So if some clerk challenged a wearer's right to wear a Medal, the Awards Record Card confirmed--by matching--THIS specific authorization.

Seems unduly complicated,

but then the Germans numbered gasmask cannisters in chronological order by the unit member's place on the Stammrolle.

[Riley1965]

Here's my documents for the Campaign medals: First is the Caucasus. Note the Caucasus serial number.

Doc

Edited April 27, 2006 by Riley1965

[Riley1965]

And now the Document for the Defense of Stalingrad.

Doc

[Guest Rick Research]

Here is exactly what I mean-- Comrade Lastovka (see "Keeper of Secrets" thread in the Researched Groups sub-forum) =

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1975

received his Defense of the Caucasus Medal with award certificate serial number (lower left under stamp) "H 000876"--

[attachmentid=36715]

and THERE it is, page 2 of his Awards Record Card, 4th entry down-- note the certificate number in the 3rd column:

[attachmentid=36716]

Notice that he REALLY got the medal on 25 October 1944-- yet the ARC entry shows "1 May 1944." That is because while the clerks apparently actually LOOKED at the award certificate in their exalted presence, they duly recorded the PRECISE authorization...

and then almost always put the nominal date the campaign medal was created rather than really issued. Weird but S.O.P.

[order_of_victory]

Thanks Rick for clearing that up.

I must say have never seen such a low number on a Document bfore or H prefix .

Order of Victory

[Stogieman]

So then, any of the numbered award certificates for campaign, defense & capture should match up in the personnel file??

[Guest Rick Research]

Yup. There are sloppiness exceptions-- we've seen "defective" Award Record Crads with medals omitted, or multiple ARCs, but generally...

yup.

[kimj]

Very nice Caucasus document Doc! It's not too often one can see the Georgian awarded ones!

On a side note I can add that defence of Kiev has NO prefix letter, just the number. So I guess it wasn't that important after all..

/Kim