Hungary Hungary - WW2 medals

[hunyadi]

and the back - note: there are several forms of this - numbered (very rare!) maker marked (rare) unmarked (rare) with silver sword (rare) with bronze collored sword (rare) This is an unmarked plain reverse.

[Kev in Deva]

Here is an example of the Vitezi Rend (Order of the Knight) that I got today! (well its at least exciting for me)

sorry about the poor photo the enamel kept shining back with and without the flash...

Hallo hunyadi,

nice looking piece, I took the liberty of working on your picture to reduce the glare, hope you like the results, can you give an indication as to the size, and are there any variations between makers and years of manufacture?

Kevin in Deva

Edited October 16, 2006 by Kev in Deva

[hunyadi]

Holy Cow and the Pasture! When you lightened the photo I just found out that this one is maker marked! The mark is for Budapest - but cant make out what is written below that - the prongs are in the way and make too much shadow to make it out - I dare not move the prongs as they break off easily. The dimensions are 56mm tall and 38mm wide.

There are several varaitions between the three that I own - two with me the third in storage. Just looking at these two in front of me there are slight differneces to the crown, to the enamel on the shiled (horizontal lines on the red sections more pronounced on the left, the oak leaves are deep set enamel on the left as opposed to the right, the color blue is deeper on the left that the right - it can go on and on. Thankfully the modern strikes are easy to spot. Poor cold applied enamel, one piece construction, and clutch back pins for attachment to the tunic. But they are modern originals.

Edited October 16, 2006 by hunyadi

[hunyadi]

For those interested a formal document signed by the first Knight Admiral Miklos Horthy.

[Kev in Deva]

For those interested a formal document signed by the first Knight Admiral Miklos Horthy.

Hallo hunyadi

a beautiful decorative scroll, great artwork, the only piece of paper I have at the moment is for the Fire Cross, I have the cross itself but it is damaged, one sword tip being broken off

Do you know was this small document issued with covers like a pay-book book?

Kevin in Deva.

[Kev in Deva]

Rear view of document.

Kevin in Deva.

[hunyadi]

Hi Dave -

Documents such as yours are hard to come by. I am not aware of any covers to protect these 'carrying documents'. You simply stuffed them in your military ID book. For the lower awawrds only a carrying document was issued. Only when you get into the offcier only awawrds do you begin to see the larger size 'displayable' award documents, but then only for the higher awards or promotions. Hungary was a 'poor nation' and most medals such as the fire cross, return of historical hungary medals, etc... didnt even come in a packet or a box to my knowledge. Officers who had the funds and the jewler that did them - would make boxes for you to put the medals in. Little while ago on Ebay there were some WW1 Hungarian commemorative medals in the boxes - reeeealllly rare! Other probelm with Hungarian items is the reprisals feared by the Hungarian soldiers. IN 1944 when Horthy was arrested and the Arrow Corss came to power, all your documents, military id's - everyting got an Arrow Cross stamp. The rumor (and true in many instances) was that the Soivets had an execute order for all Arrow Cross party members. Soldiers took a look at their documents with both the Royal Hungarian stamps and the new Arrow Cross stamps and then quickly burned them or buried them. In all my years here I have seen about a handful of documents for various grades. Ebay has been a better source as most of those are coming from veterans that made it to the west and then emigrated to Nothern America, West Germany, etc... I can only assume that you found this example in Romania - how I wish it could talk!

[hunyadi]

Also the back of the document is for recording wounds recieved - i.e. the silver wound bars.

Edited October 18, 2006 by hunyadi

[Dave Danner]

I guess I can add a few items.

Bronze Medal of Merit (Bronz ?rdem?rem), on the war ribbon:

[Dave Danner]

Signum Laudis, Bronze Medal with the Holy Crown (Koron?s Bronz ?rdem?rem, Signum Laudis katonai), on the military war ribbon with swords:

[hunyadi]

Very nice examples Dave! Where did you aquire them if I may ask?

[decker]

At last I found a topic I can post my pictures to... Here's my table of medals. There are a few among them, that I haven't seen here before.

Click the pic for full size

The medals:

(upper line)

Signum Laudis (Merit Medal with the Crown) (for military merit) silver

Signum Laudis (Merit Medal with the Crown) (to a civilian) bronze

Hungarian Bronze Merit Medal (on military ribbon awarded in peace)

Bronze Bravery Medal

Merit Cross (socalled "Firecross") for the 1942 campaign in tombak

National Defense Cross

(lower line)

WWI Commemorative Medal with helmet and swords (for combatants)

Service Cross for 20 years of service

Service Cross dor 10 years of service

Commemorative Medal for reoccupation of Northern Hungary

Commemorative Medal for reoccupation of Transylvania and East-Hungarian parts

Commemorative Medal for reoccupation of Southern Hungary

Edited January 26, 2007 by decker

[decker]

Here's a card for the Transylvania Medal

[Kev in Deva]

Here's a card for the Transylvania Medal

Hallo decker,

Welcome to the GMIC Forum, do you know if anybody else is having trouble to open the links to your pictures? I click on them and even after 5 mins nothing shows up, just how big are they??

Kevin in Deva Transylvania, Romania.

[decker]

having trouble to open the links to your pictures

I have resized and put them to imageshack now. What about them? Working?

[Kev in Deva]

I have resized and put them to imageshack now. What about them? Working?

Hallo decker much better now can see them perfectly, thanks, Kevin in Deva,

[hunyadi]

Udvozlom! Decker!

Isten Hozott a GMIC - nagyon szep gyutemeny! Magyar vagy?

[decker]

Udvozlom! Decker!

Isten Hozott a GMIC - nagyon szep gyutemeny! Magyar vagy?

K?szi! Magyar vagyok. Gondolom, te is, de r?g?ta ?lsz az US?ban.

[hunyadi]

Just to bring an old thread up to speed - I have found a couple of Fire Crosses lately and I wanted to post them to show the various types and construction methods.

Left one is a Fire Cross II Class (wreath / w/o swords) - these are hard to find as they were awarded for soldiers serving in the rear areas of a combat zone - the Right one is a Fire Cross I Class (wreath w/ swords) and was awarded for serving in a direct front line combat situation - also it has two 5mm wide aluminum strips which indicate the Fire Cross was also awarded for two wounds.

As for construction - notice (faintly) how the wreath is soldered on the IInd Class and also how the suspension ring is different between the two.

[hunyadi]

Here is a line up of three - notice the different styles of wreath attachment here - on the far left the wreath is attached with stamped metal 'prongs' while the one with the wound strips is attached with fine rivets. The center IInd class has the wreath soldered on the front - but also this variant is without the institution date that is normaly stamped into the reverse (1941)

[hunyadi]

a recent find as well - sports badge in silver grade

[hunyadi]

Picked this one up recently as well - its the badge for the Volunteer Universtiy Work Service. (Sort of like a RAD unit - but made of vounteers). Not too valuable - but also not too common either

[Hauptmann]

Hi all,

Don't know for sure if this fits... and it's been posted before here:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1632...rian+fire+cross

but figured I'd pop it in just in case.

Edited August 16, 2007 by Hauptman

[Hauptmann]

Dan

Edited August 16, 2007 by Hauptman

[hunyadi]

Sigh - sniff, sniff - she's a great bar! Yes Dan it can belong here as it has the Fire Cross of 1943 with Swords indicating front line service. And the Commemorative Medal for an Independant Hungary. This one is for soldeirs, politicians, etc... who participated in forming the Debrecen Provisional National Government in 1944. Awarded on 4500 times. Lastly is the 1956 Commemorative Medal for participation in the October - November Revolution of 1956. The bar belonged to a man who in 1943 fought the Soviet Red Army. Then in Debrecen joined to the Red Army to fight off the German invaders of late 1944 to 1945. (though only a small fraction were actualy raised and encounted actual combat) and then in 1956 rose up with the Hungarians to fight the Soviets.