Anniversary medal "XX years of the Red Workers and Peasants Army"
The anniversary medal "XX Years of the Red Workers and Peasants Army" ( Russian Юбилейная медаль "XX лет Рабоче-Крестьянской Красной Армии ") was donated on January 24th, 1938 , on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Red Army . It was the first portable state award of the USSR in the form of a medal. The number of awards was 37,504.
Award requirements
The medal was awarded only to personalities in the command and leadership of the Red Army and the naval fleet who had served in the Red Army for 20 years up to and including February 23, 1938. Also to participants in the October Revolution , the Russian Civil War and other military struggles for the defense of the freedom and independence of the USSR. The medal was also awarded to all those who had been awarded the Order of the Red Banner during the Civil War. The 20 years of service could also include the periods from 1917 to 1921 that had been completed in the ranks of the Red Guard and the Red Army.
Appearance and wearing style
The 30 mm diameter silver medal shows a dominant enamelled red star and the Roman numeral XX on its obverse . The smooth edge is three millimeters wide. The reverse of the medal, on the other hand, shows a right-wing Red Army soldier holding a rifle at the ready. To the right of this, the anniversary dates 1918–1938 can be read. From 1943 the medal was worn on the left side of the chest on a gray pentagonal clasp with a two millimeter wide red hem. The interim clasp is of the same quality. From 1938 to 1943 the medal was worn on a clasp with a red ribbon.
literature
- Dietrich Herfurth: Military Awards of the USSR. Recordings by Jean Molitor. Military Publishing House of the GDR, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-327-00294-0 , p. 138.