Description: Soviet Badge of a Veteran of the 39th Army.This is GUARANTEED ORIGINAL Soviet-made badge issued to a World War II veteran, not a recent replica!The badge is in aluminum and paint, quite well made. The pendant measures about 40 mm in height (including the eyelet), 36 mm across; overall height of the entire badge with suspension is approx. 59 mm. The medallion has inscription “Veteran of the 39th Army.” The reverse has raised inscription “30th Anniversary. Kalinin. Smolensk. Vitebsk. Vilnius. Kaunas. Koenigsberg. Port Arthur” – the sites of important battles in which the 39th Army was involved. The two campaign ribbon designs on the suspension represent Germany and Japan, while the one at the bottom of the pendant is for Koenigsberg. The reverse of the suspension has the raised maker mark of the Pobeda factory in Moscow. The badge was awarded in 1975 in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the WW2 victory over Germany.The badge is in GREAT condition, with nicely preserved paint and finish; it shows only a few tiny scuffs and contact marks, no significant wear. The pin attachment is sturdily attached to its base and fully functional. The suspension is also fully intact.This specific badge is shown on Page 22 of Paul Schmitt’s reference guide Soviet Second World War Veteran Badges. The maker mark is shown as #128 in Annex A of the same book.The 39th Army was formed in 1941 in the Arkhangelsk Military District. In December, the Army was involved in the Soviet counteroffensive at Moscow (the part known as Kalinin Offensive Operation) and was able to break through the enemy defenses advancing to the area of Rzhev. In the second phase of the offensive, it tore up the German defenses near Sychyovka allowing the 11th Cavalry Corps to penetrate into the breach. In late January 1942 however, the army was cut off by superior German forces northwest of Vyazma and practically annihilated.The second formation of the 39th Army was raised under the Kalinin Front in August 1942 using the personnel of the former 58th Army, also badly depleted. It was again involved in exceptionally bloody and protracted fighting near Rzhev that became known as the Rzhev Meat Grinder. In the fall of 1943, the army was still under the same front (renamed 1st Baltic Front), in early 1944 it was reassigned to the Western and later in the year was shifted between the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian Front.The Army acquitted itself well in the Vitebesk – Orsha Offensive in June 1944 (part of the Operation Bagration), successfully broke through the German front at Kovno (Kaunas) in August, and cleared the eastern bank of the Neman River in October. During 1945, it fought in East Prussia and took part in storming Koenigsberg (the German city Hitler had claimed would house a museum for every treasure the Germans “found in Russia”.) After the destruction of the German troops in Koenigsberg area, the 39th Army was relocated to Mongolia. It was involved in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria under the Trans-Baikal Front, which formed the western half of the Soviet pincer movement in the August 1945 Blitz against Japan.Pins of this kind were awarded to the veterans of the unit often in commemoration of an anniversary of the unit or anniversary of victory over Germany. They were often handed out to surviving servicemen at veterans’ conventions, patriotic rallies or other special events. Because not many veterans were still alive at the time, veteran badges of a specific unit are quite often scarce – especially for a unit of relatively small size.Veteran badges were NEVER available for sale. Unlike the usual souvenir pins that could be purchased in a Soyuzpechat kiosk, this badge does not have a price in raised characters on the back (common Soviet anniversary pins available for sale to general public always had a price in Kopeks marked on the back, something that looked like 10 k. or 15 k.) Original Soviet veteran badges are fun to collect if you are interested in military history. With plenty of information available online and in published books, you can often trace where the unit fought in WW2 and what battles it won. Moreover, a correct badge can be a nice addition to a WW2 medal group or even an individual researched decoration and will bring extra dimension and interest to a collector’s display.FREE SHIPPING (USPS 1st cl. Mail) WITHIN USA ONLY! We WILL NOT ship our eBay items outside USA.
Price: 28.99 USD
Location: Tenafly, New Jersey
End Time: 2024-04-12T15:47:57.000Z
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