Soviet Honorary British Knighthoods Bestowed on Red Army Officers During World War II

[slava1stclass]

To all:

On 12 July 1945, Field Marshal Montgomery, acting on behalf of the King of England, presented honorary British knighthoods to the following Red Army officers:

Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov; Commander, 1st Belorussian Front - Knight Grand Cross of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (G.C.B.)

Marshal of the Soviet Union Rokossovskiy; Commander, 2nd Belorussian Front - Knight Commander of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (K.C.B.)

General of the Army Sokolovskiy; Deputy Commander, 1st Belorussian Front - Knight Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (K.B.E.)

Colonel General Malinin; Chief of Staff, 1st Belorussian Front - Knight Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (K.B.E.)

The ceremony took place in the heart of shattered Berlin directly underneath the Brandenburg Gate. The Kings Company of the Grenadier Guards formed the Guard of Honor with tanks of the Kings 8th Royal Irish Hussars drawn up on either side.

Regards,

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

To all:

If you look closely at any M1945 Victory Parade uniform photo of MSU Vasilevskiy (Commander, 3rd Belorussian Front as well as Commander of one of the two fronts committed against the Japanese in August 1945) you will notice the breast star for the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (G.B.E.).

Additionally, General of the Army (later MSU) Moskaleneko was awarded the Knight Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (K.B.E.).

Regards,

slava1stclass

[NavyFCO]

The Soviets also presented quite a number of awards to British officers. Interestingly, I have researched an Order of Lenin with a 1942 Ukaz date, which is quite out of the ordinary for foreign awardings.

Dave

[slava1stclass]

To all:

A very nice M1945 VP uniform shot of HSU Col Gen Mikhail Stepanovich Shumilov, Commander, 7th Guards Army. Note the neck decoration for the K.B.E. pinned to his tunic's front breast (second row, first from the left).

Regards,

slava1stclass

Edited May 18, 2006 by slava1stclass

[Ed_Haynes]

As almost all of these foreign awards were not published in the London Gazette, they are a bit tricky to trade down. They were, however, discussed -- often at great length -- in the valuable and fascinating proceedings of the Committee on the Award of Orders, Decorations and Medals in Time of War, and these are available in the National Archives (nee PRO) at Kew.

[Wild Card]

Gentlemen,

Following are two pictures of Vasili Vasilyevich Rassokhin as well as the reverse of the second picture showing biographical notes. I also have a copy of his award document for his appointment as an Honorary Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent order of the British Empire which is dated 19 January 1944; and is, unfortunately too large to be copied on my scanner.

Lastly, pictured is his badge to the OBE.

Best wishes,

Wild Card

[Wild Card]

Second photo

[Wild Card]

Bio info.

[Wild Card]

Badge to the OBE

[Steen Ammentorp]

As you see here my entry on him is quite blank http://www.generals.dk/general/Rassokhin/V...viet_Union.html Any chance of making the bio info more readable?

Kind Regards

Steen Amnmentorp

The Generals of World War II

Edited May 24, 2006 by Steen Ammentorp

[slava1stclass]

Gentlemen,

Following are two pictures of Vasili Vasilyevich Rassokhin as well as the reverse of the second picture showing biographical notes. I also have a copy of his award document for his appointment as an Honorary Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent order of the British Empire which is dated 19 January 1944; and is, unfortunately too large to be copied on my scanner.

Lastly, pictured is his badge to the OBE.

Best wishes,

Wild Card

Wild Card,

Great pictures! One clarification though. The decoration depicted is the neck decoration for the CBE (not the OBE) This can get very confusing as the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire has several classes/degrees (ranked from highest to lowest):

GBE

KBE

CBE

OBE

Two classes of MBE

Following common Red Army practice at the time, he wears this foreign neck decoration pinned directly to his tunic (in the first picture) and then with a jury-rigged suspension using the standard Soviet five-sided hangar (in the second picture). First time I've seen the latter technique employed.

Regards,

slava1stclass

Edited May 24, 2006 by slava1stclass

[NavyFCO]

Lastly, pictured is his badge to the OBE.

Is it just me, or does it appear in the photos that his CBE has the hanging loop twisted so the hole runs parallel to the arms of the cross, instead of perpendicular as it is in the one that you have? My eyes are just going buggy from trying to figure out how he connected it to his uniform in the first photo, that's all.

Dave

Edited May 24, 2006 by NavyFCO

[Ed_Haynes]

Is it just me, or does it appear in the photos that his CBE has the hanging loop twisted so the hole runs parallel to the arms of the cross, instead of perpendicular as it is in the one that you have? My eyes are just going buggy from trying to figure out how he connected it to his uniform in the first photo, that's all.

Dave

The CBE (repeat: CBE) is constructed like the one pictured (the KBE badge the same too), as a neck badge, with suspension loop at right angles to the plane of the cross. The CBE, KBE, and GBE badges are enameled. The OBE and MBE are breast badges (gilt and silver, respectively), with suspension ring in the same plane as the cross. There is also the medal of the order, in several forms. And all came in both military and civil (not relevant here?) divisions. Though, looking at that lovely photo, when the fellow remounted his CBE exotically and perversely onto a Soviet pentagonal suspension, he used the wrong (civil) ribbon rather than the proper military ribbon!

See: http://www.medals.org.uk/united-kingdom/un...-kingdom024.htm

However, the CBE (and DBE and GBE) badge for women was constructed for wear from a bow ribbon, and you need to wonder how many Soviets wore "female" badges.

The Soviets, in particular, did great violence to the wearing regulations of foreign awards to make them fit into their traditions. But, then, so did foreign recipients of Soviet awards, adapting (what a kind word) the Patriotic War and Red Star for wear on a suspension ribbon, for example.

British awards are as (really, less) complex than Soviet awards, but rather than reflecting a (nominally) classless society, their structure reflects a society that is "all about" class.

Edited May 24, 2006 by Ed_Haynes

[Gerd Becker]

The Soviets, in particular, did great violence to the wearing regulations of foreign awards to make them fit into their traditions. But, then, so did foreignr ecipients of Soviet awards, adapting (what a kind word) the Patriotic War and Red Star for wear on a suspension ribbon, for example.

Ed, do you have a picture of an example, where a Red Star or an OPW is worn on a Medalbar? I would love to see one.

Gerd

[Ed_Haynes]

As these are pictures (only) that I have (and I can't remember where they came from) of medals that aren't mine, I am reluctant to post them. I shall, however, put some up. But not here, in another thread, so as not to get us off track here.

See: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=8605

Edited May 24, 2006 by Ed_Haynes

[Gerd Becker]

Thank you

[Wild Card]

As you see here my entry on him is quite blank http://www.generals.dk/general/Rassokhin/V...viet_Union.html Any chance of making the bio info more readable?

Kind Regards

Steen Amnmentorp

The Generals of World War II

Of course -PM sent

[Wild Card]

Hello All,

I really stepped into it on this one and I apologize. When I used the term OBE, I was referring to Order of the British Empire, forgetting that OBE, properly used, stands for Officer, British Empire.

As has been pointed out all that applies to General Rassokhin is Commander, British Empire (CBE). I was also a bit confused, and concerned, when I saw his commander?s badge suspended on a breast, rather than neck, ribbon; but now, thanks to your explanations am at ease.

Again, sorry about the confusion.

Best wishes,

Wild Card

[slava1stclass]

Hello All,

I really stepped into it on this one and I apologize. When I used the term OBE, I was referring to Order of the British Empire, forgetting that OBE, properly used, stands for Officer, British Empire.

As has been pointed out all that applies to General Rassokhin is Commander, British Empire (CBE). I was also a bit confused, and concerned, when I saw his commander?s badge suspended on a breast, rather than neck, ribbon; but now, thanks to your explanations am at ease.

Again, sorry about the confusion.

Best wishes,

Wild Card

Wild Card,

No need to apologize whatsoever. We're all here to help. Thank you again for the great photos.

Regards,

slava1stclass

[Ed_Haynes]

Wild Card,

No need to apologize whatsoever. We're all here to help. Thank you again for the great photos.

Regards,

slava1stclass

Agreed! It is an unfortunate vagueness that the official abbreviation for the next-to-lowest class of the order (OBE) is the same as the unofficial shorthand for the order as a whole (OBE). If it helps, this confusion goes all the way back to the first days of the order (which was a very new and even revolutionary creature in British phaleristics, a multi-classed continental-style order that was actually awarded for MERIT!).

Even as they discuss renaming the order today (what "empire" are they speaking about??), they struggle to keep the same postnominals ("Order of Britsh Excellence"?).

[CUSSONNEAU]

Hello,

Here is a certificate of OBE awarded to Major Nicolai Izotovich VARCHUK, given January 19th 1944.

Ed, do you know tne number of CBE and OBE given to Russian at this occasion?

Anticipated thanks

Michel

Edited April 10, 2007 by CUSSONNEAU

[slava1stclass]

Michel,

Great post - thank you! While I have no knowledge of exact numbers, I do have images of some of the recipients. The below photo is of Soviet naval aviator M.A. Kurochkin seen wearing his OME or MBE.

Regards,

slava1stclass

Edited April 11, 2007 by slava1stclass

[RichieC]

Алексеев Константин Степанович

While we are on this subject, would it be possible for one of the members to show what an example of his OBE might look like in colour?

[Ed_Haynes]

See Megan's site: http://www.medals.org.uk/united-kingdom/un...-kingdom025.htm

[Wild Card]

...or post #9 of this thread.