When it comes to the German Medal, the first thing that comes to mind is undoubtedly the Iron Cross. A German soldier is proud of winning the Iron Cross. This is why the head of state of the Third Reich almost always wears his Iron Cross. The Iron Cross is the symbol of the German nation, so the Iron Cross has become the pride of Germany.

The Iron Cross has a long history. The tradition of awarding the Iron Cross can be traced back to 18 13. At that time, King Friedrich Wilhelm Ⅲ of Prussia initiated this tradition in the war against Napoleon. The first iron cross medal was awarded on March 18 13 10. During the 1870 Franco-Prussian War and the First World War, Germany awarded them the Iron Cross for their achievements again. Although Germany was defeated in World War I, this tradition did not disappear, but was inherited during the civil war.

During the five years of World War II, the first and second Iron Cross medals were widely awarded, but this does not mean that these two medals are worthless. The soldiers who won these medals all made real contributions. The winner of the Knights Iron Cross is an elite in the German army and is also praised as a national hero by the Nazi propaganda machine.

According to tradition, a soldier is awarded medals step by step from junior to senior. However, occasionally, it is also possible to obtain the second-class iron cross and the iron cross 1 level at the same time, but this situation is still rare. Winners of the Iron Cross usually wear official copies, and the originals are kept by the winners to avoid being damaged on the battlefield.

The Iron Cross is awarded not only to those soldiers who showed bravery on the battlefield, but also to those who made other contributions to the victory of the war, such as putting forward excellent strategies. Many officers also won the Iron Cross for their excellent command. The Iron Cross is widely awarded to all arms of the German Army. Although it was originally used to honor soldiers' heroic acts on the battlefield, some people who later won the Iron Cross came from the J.C. fire brigade, the highway system and even the Hitler Youth League. The difference between combatants and non-combatants is that the latter has a special decoration.

More soldiers won the Knights Cross. For a soldier, winning the Knights Cross is a great honor, which means that he has become one of the military elites. Similarly, it can also win the respect of colleagues. Although there is no special requirement for the award of the Knight Cross, in general, officers and men of elite troops are more likely to get the Knight Cross. Knights Cross winners can get special attention from the propaganda machine of the Third Reich, and newspapers and other propaganda media repeatedly broadcast their deeds to people. In addition, the Third Reich issued postcards with their portraits, which were widely collected in wartime Germany.

To a great extent, the Iron Cross is included in the category of War Medal. The Iron Cross can evoke memories of Prussian soldiers, great victories in Bismarck's era and brave soldiers in the First World War. The shrewd Hitler reintroduced this symbol of will into his ruling system in the 1930s. Therefore, the Iron Cross immediately became a symbol of the powerful and practical military power of the Third Reich.

2. iron cross 1st class Medal

This medal was created in September of 1939, 1, and came out together with other medals. The medal itself is designed as a badge, the shape of which is exactly the same as that of the second-class Iron Cross, but there is only one side, with a length of 43.5 mm to 45 mm. The front of the medal is all black with a silver edge, and there is no other sign except the swastika and the year of winning. There is no decoration or mark on the back of the badge except the needle arm, silver content and manufacturer code.

The condition for awarding the Iron Cross first-class medal is that soldiers have had three to five heroic actions on the battlefield. When awarding the medal, the recipient also received a medal certificate, which stated the medal grade, recipient's name, position, unit, date of awarding the medal and the teacher's signature. It is estimated that during World War II, about 300,000 Iron Cross first-class medals were awarded (this number is exactly the same among different schools). Now the real Iron Cross Medal is not difficult to obtain, but it happens from time to time in wartime. In order to win the medal, the parties must risk their lives and have excellent combat performance. In other words, the winners of medals basically exchanged their precious lives for these honors. More importantly, with the Iron Cross, soldiers are entitled to other important medals, such as the Knights Cross.

3. Grand Iron Cross

18 13 Grand Iron Cross

18 13, the king of Prussia decided to set up a medal in recognition of the outstanding soldiers in the anti-French war. This medal later became the Iron Cross, which is a symbol of the spirit of German soldiers. This series of medals was designed by famous designer Friedrich schenkel. The Iron Cross consists of three grades: the Second Iron Cross, the iron cross 1st class Medal and the Grand Iron Cross. Among them, the Grand Iron Cross is the highest level medal, which is only awarded to generals who have commanded outstanding battles.

1870 version of the Grand Iron Cross

1870 During the Franco-Prussian War, the Iron Cross was re-established. At this time, the iron cross still has the original three grades. The Grand Iron Cross is still the highest honor of the Prussian army, which is used to commend outstanding commanders. With the king of Prussia crowned as the German emperor at Versailles Palace in Paris, the Franco-Prussian War ended and the 1870 version of the Iron Cross was suspended.

19 14 Grand Iron Cross

When World War I broke out, German Emperor William II reset the Iron Cross. The Grand Cross is the highest military honor of the Second Reich of Germany, which is more advanced than the famous "Blue Max" medal. This medal is a huge cross of 62 mm square hanging around the neck, which is only used to reward people above the general level. The only five Grand Iron Cross winners in the First World War were Emperor William II himself, Marshal von Hindenburg, Marshal erich ludendorff, Marshal Prince Maximilian and Marshal von Mackensen.

4. Knights Iron Cross

The shape of the Knight Iron Cross is basically taken from the Grand Royal Cross awarded by1870 (Grob Kreuz des Eisnen).

Kreuze). The appearance of the Knights Iron Cross in the German medal system represents the most important significance, that is, as long as there are significant military exploits in the battle, such a noble medal can be awarded to soldiers of any class, regardless of the rank, so that everyone has the opportunity to become a "national hero" and is particularly respected and treated by people around him and even the chief executive. Medal of Honor of the United States Congress (Medal

Honor)

The design of the award conditions is similar. In this way, the medal of breaking ranks barriers was introduced to encourage non-commissioned officers to bravely kill the enemy in battle and strive for excellent military achievements. In fact, among the winners of the Knights Iron Cross (including 43 foreign winners), a total of 73,665,438+0 people won the award, and many of them won this honor by virtue of their excellent, even incredible, brilliant combat performance. As far as encouraging military achievements is concerned, the Knights Iron Cross does have its role.

For the air force, the requirement of the Knights Iron Cross is based on the number of enemy planes shot down. In order to reach the standard, the navy takes the tonnage of sinking enemy ships as the standard, and the ground troops need to continue to complete their tasks in the battle, or they can apply for victory in the battle because of proper command and careful planning.

5. Silver Oak Knight Iron Cross

1940, Hitler thought that the war would end soon and the Knights Iron Cross should be enough, but he didn't expect the war to continue. The army has made achievements on all fronts, so it is necessary to introduce higher medals to reward more and more war heroes. Therefore, a silver oak leaf emblem was attached to the original Knights Iron Cross to represent a higher rank. The design is the same except that the original iron ring above the knight's iron cross is for the ribbon to pass through, and this one is changed to the back of the oak tree.

Release date:1June 3, 940

Award: officers and soldiers of any rank in the German Defence Force, any unit or auxiliary unit and organization of the Waffen-SS.

Qualification requirements:

Usually, he was awarded the Knights Cross, and continued to show unusual courage in the battle and completed his mission.

To the German Air Force: He was awarded the Knights Cross, and the number of victory points continued to increase. (Shoot down a single-engine plane and get 1 point, shoot down a double-engine plane and get 2 points, and shoot down a four-engine plane and get 3 points. If it is shot down at night, the victory point will be counted again. ) In the course of the war, the points of victory accumulated continuously, and the points needed to obtain the qualification of honours increased continuously.

For the German navy: it was awarded the Knights Cross, and the tonnage of sinking as a submarine force was increasing, or it continued to show unusual courage in the battle and completed its mission.

Total number of honours: 882 Germans and 8 foreigners, a total of 890.

How to wear it: the oak leaf knight cross is exactly the same as the knight cross, the only difference is that the oak leaf is added above the knight cross.

Note: Silver Oak Leaf Knights Cross is a higher military honor than Knights Cross. Only 890 victors in World War II proved this point (you know, at the peak of World War II, the number of German troops exceeded10 million! )。 Like the Knight's Cross, the Silver Oak Leaf Knight's Cross will also be awarded to foreigners and the commander of an army as a recognition of the heroic behavior of the whole army.

6. Double Sword Silver Oak Leaf Knight Iron Cross

Double Sword Silver Oak Knight Iron Cross is a higher military honor than Silver Oak Knight Iron Cross. Interestingly, when General Adolf Galland was first decorated, it was not formally established!

Only 160 winners in the whole World War II proved the sublimity of this honor. Like the Silver Oak Knight's Iron Cross, the Double Sword Silver Oak Knight's Iron Cross will be awarded to foreigners (the only winner is Japanese Isoroku Yamamoto) and the commander of an army as a commendation for the heroic actions of the whole army.

Release date:

194 1 September 28th

Grant:

Officers and soldiers of any rank in the German Defence Force, Waffen SS units or auxiliary units and organizations.

Qualification requirements *:

Usually:

He was awarded the Silver Oak Knight Iron Cross, and continued to show extraordinary courage in the battle and completed his mission.

For the German Air Force:

He was awarded the Silver Oak Knight Iron Cross, and his victory points continued to grow. (Shoot down a single-engine plane and get 1 point, shoot down a double-engine plane and get 2 points, and shoot down a four-engine plane and get 3 points. If it is shot down at night, the victory point will be counted again. ) In the course of the war, the points of victory accumulated continuously, and the points needed to obtain the qualification of honours increased continuously.

For the German Navy:

He was awarded the Silver Oak Knight Iron Cross, the tonnage that sank with the increasing number of submarine troops, and/or he continued to show unusual courage in the battle, thus completing his mission.

* Standards often change during the war.

7. Diamond Double Sword Silver Oak Leaf Knight Medal

The Diamond Double Sword Silver Oak Leaf Knight Ten Medal is a military honor second only to the Diamond Double Sword Gold Oak Leaf Knight Medal. It is also the highest military honor awarded by the Third Reich except one person. It was only used to reward the most outstanding heroic performance of the German armed forces, and 27 people won this honor. Just like the cross of the knight with the oak blade mentioned later. When Varna Moldes was first renovated, it was not formally established!

Release date:

194 1 September 28th

Grant:

Officers and soldiers of any rank in the German Defence Force, Waffen SS units or auxiliary units and organizations.

Qualification requirements *:

Usually:

He was awarded the Double Sword Silver Oak Leaf Knight Iron Cross, and continued to show extraordinary courage in the battle and completed his mission.

For the German Air Force:

He was awarded the Double Sword Silver Oak Leaf Knight Iron Cross, and his victory points continued to grow. (Shoot down a single-engine plane and get 1 point, shoot down a double-engine plane and get 2 points, and shoot down a four-engine plane and get 3 points. If it is shot down at night, the victory point will be counted again. ) In the course of the war, the points of victory accumulated continuously, and the points needed to obtain the qualification of honours increased continuously.

For the German Navy:

He was awarded the Double Sword Silver Oak Leaf Knight Iron Cross, the tonnage that sank with the increasing number of submarine troops, and/or he continued to show unusual courage in the battle and completed his mission.

8. Diamond, gold, double sword, gold and oak knight.

1944 12.29, Nazi Germany established the Golden Diamond Oak Blade Knight Cross/Medal (Goldenem Eichenlaub Schwertern

And Brillanten). The Knight Cross of the Golden Oak Leaf, Sword and Diamond is the highest order of the Iron Cross. It can be said to be the highest military medal of the Third Reich.

The diamond gold oak leaf decoration is similar to the Diamond Oak Leaf Knight Medal, which is also hand-made and inlaid with 50 diamonds. But the former contains 8 carats of pure gold. Diamond Knight, Golden Double Sword and Golden Oak Leaf are made by Gordete Company in Berlin.

Diamonds, Golden Double Sword and Golden Oak Leaf Knights are also the highest honors awarded by the Third Reich to warriors on the battlefield. It was awarded only once in the whole World War II (contrary to the original honor principle-

When the war ended and the Axis countries won the final victory, they were awarded the most outstanding 12 officers and men in any unit or auxiliary unit and organization of the German Defence Force and the Waffen SS. The winner is Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the ace pilot of Stuka dive bomber of Nazi German Air Force, in recognition of his incredible and unparalleled heroic behavior. His achievements include destroying 565,438+09 tanks, 65,438+050 artillery positions, nearly 65,438+0,000 other vehicles, 70 ships, 2 La-3 fighters and 65,438+0 Il -2 attack aircraft, and sinking USS Mara. At the same time, it was shot down 32 times and recorded 2530 sorties (more than once a day on average for six years, no vacation and no rest! )。 The establishment of the medal was largely driven by Rudder's record.

Release date:

1944 65438+February 29th.

Grant:

In principle, 12 outstanding officers and men in any unit or auxiliary unit and organization of the German Bundeswehr and Waffen SS should be awarded at the end of the world war and the final victory of the Axis. According to this principle, since Germany lost the war, it should not honor anyone. Actually, there is one exception. One person won this honor during the war.

Qualification requirements:

Usually:

He was awarded the Knight's Cross decorated with oak leaves, swords and diamonds, and continued to show unusual courage in the battle and completed his mission.