For every officer of the Russian army, receiving a personalized weapon as a reward for military valor and courage has always been desirable and honorable. And although it did not provide for exquisite precious jewelry, which was the privilege of the highest military ranks, the officer's sword with a laconic inscription "For Bravery" was no less worthy reward.
In the history of Russian award melee weapons, 1788 is not in vain considered significant. If until that time only representatives of the generals were awarded the Golden Weapons, then the end of the 18th century was marked by the appearance of another type of award weapon intended for awarding officers who distinguished themselves in battle, also gold, but without precious jewelry.
This was explained primarily by the fact that it was during that period that Russia had to fight for a long time on two fronts. In September 1787, a war with Turkey began, and in the summer of 1788, realizing that all the main military forces of the Russian army were concentrated in the south, Sweden decided to take advantage of the situation in order to regain what was lost earlier in the wars with Russia. And although there was no official declaration of war, the hostilities launched by the Swedes near the northern borders of the Russian Empire posed a very serious threat.
The successful actions of the Russian troops, during which massive heroism and unparalleled courage were shown, demanded well-deserved awards, and not only for the highest military ranks, but also for officers. This is how the Golden Officer's swords appeared with the inscription “For Bravery”. And although the type of this inscription did not change over the next 130 years, it did not develop immediately. In any case, after the Russian troops took possession of the Ochakov fortress, the first Golden officer swords with honorary inscriptions were presented, on eight of which were inscribed "For courage shown in the battle on June 7, 1788 at the Ochakovsky estuary", and on the other twelve - the same inscription but no date. Pretty soon such lengthy inscriptions were replaced by the laconic "For Courage". At first, these words were applied to the blade, a little later - on the hilt, and after 1790 - on the guard of the weapon. Moreover, the golden officer's weapons were issued to both land and naval officers who distinguished themselves.
At the last stage of the Russian-Turkish war, after the famous assault on Izmail, the Golden Weapons were issued to 24 officers. All these swords and sabers had the inscription "For Bravery" on both sides of the hilt. After the conclusion of peace with Sweden in 1791, the Russian army, which had only one enemy - Turkey, began to defeat her with renewed vigor. In June of the same year, 4 officers were awarded with Golden Swords for the assault on Anapa, on the same days at Machin (on the Danube) the Russian corps under the command of General-in-Chief N. V. Repnin dealt a crushing blow to the 80,000-strong Turkish army. And although many officers were awarded for this victory, judging by the documents, to date, the names of only six holders of the Golden Weapon for Machin are known: five of them received the Golden Sabers "For Bravery" and one major of artillery - the Golden Sword with the same inscription. The last battle in the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791 was the battle at Cape Kaliakria, when on July 31, 1791, a Russian squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Ushakov utterly defeated the Turkish fleet. For this "naval victory", which ended with the signing of a peace treaty with Turkey, both representatives of the generals and officers were awarded the Golden Weapon in accordance with the Decree of Catherine II of September 16, 1792. They received 8 award Golden Swords with the inscription “For Bravery”. All in all, for the entire 18th century, judging by the existing data, about 280 officers of the regular army and navy have become holders of the Golden Weapon with the inscription “For Bravery”.
The most outstanding period in the history of the Russian Golden Weapon was the years of the Patriotic War. In 1812 alone, over 500 units were issued. And most of it was received by officers. Unparalleled mass heroism, which became the norm of life for the Russian army literally from the first days of the war, sharply increased the number of awards given out. On January 27, 1813, the commanders-in-chief of the armies received "the power during the very action to appoint swords for bravery for the most important brilliant feats." And although the Diploma for the Golden Officer's Weapon "For Courage" was approved by the emperor himself, this step made it possible to significantly accelerate the receipt of awards for distinguished officers. Some of them have been awarded the Golden Weapon more than once. In total, for the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Foreign Campaign of 1813-1814, the Golden Officer's Weapon was issued about 1,700 times.
By the beginning of the 19th century, the officer's Golden Weapon was one of the most honorable military distinctions, which almost every commander dreamed of getting. The first battle of this century was the famous Austerlitz. And although the Russian troops suffered a crushing defeat, the Golden Weapon "For Bravery" was nevertheless awarded to those officers who, in the then difficult situation, managed not only to maintain their composure, but also to help in every possible way to reduce the losses of the Russian army.
In addition to the French campaigns of 1805, 1806-1807, before the start of the Napoleonic invasion, Russia was again forced to wage wars with Turkey (1806-1812) and Sweden (1808-1809). According to far from complete data, over the years, during the hostilities, about 950 people were awarded the Golden Officer's Weapon "For Bravery". Among them: 20-year-old Guards officer Ivan Dibich, who was wounded in the right hand during the Battle of Austerlitz, but did not leave the battlefield, continuing to fight with his left; on the Turkish front - the then unknown staff captain, and later Field Marshal of the Russian army Ivan Paskevich; in Swedish - the future famous commander of partisan detachments Denis Davydov and Colonel Yakov Kulnev. Golden officer's weapons were also awarded for distinctions in military operations against the highlanders in the Caucasus.
In the decade following the Patriotic War, the awarding of the Golden Weapons was of a single nature. But from 1826 to 1829, when Russia did not stop hostilities both with the mountaineers in the Caucasus, and with Persia and Turkey, their number increased significantly.
Until 1844, all awards Golden weapons were issued from the Cabinet of the Emperor, and since April of the same year, an order was received to continue to issue Golden weapons with diamonds from the Cabinet, and Golden officers without decorations from the Chapter of Orders. And since since 1814, when sending the Golden Weapon to those awarded, 10% was added to all expenditure amounts, which went in favor of the disabled war veterans, the Chapter was invited to continue this tradition.
The Crimean War of 1853-1856 gave Russia 456 holders of the Golden Weapon "For Bravery". In addition, almost the entire first half of the 19th century, continuous hostilities continued in the Caucasus. In the period from 1831 to 1849, the Golden Officer Weapon "For Bravery" was issued 176 times, and from 1850 to 1864 - more than 300. one hundred. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, about 600 officers were awarded the Golden Weapon "For Bravery", and more than 800 were awarded for the war with Japan in 1904-1905.
The appearance of the so-called Anninsky weapon became a special page in the history of Russian award weapons. This variety was associated with the Order of St. Anne, established in 1735 by the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich in memory of his deceased wife Anna, daughter of the first Russian emperor Peter, and had one degree. After Charles' death, the throne of the Duchy of Holstein passed to his son Karl Peter Ulrich, who was later destined to become the Russian emperor Peter III. When, after the overthrow of Peter III, power was seized by his wife Catherine II, their young son, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, became the Duke of Holstein. Subsequently, Russia renounced the rights to this duchy, but the Order of St. Anne remained in the country.
After the death of Catherine, on the day of his coronation - April 5, 1797, Paul named the order of St. Anna among other orders of the Russian Empire. Since that time, it was divided into three degrees, the lowest of them, III, was worn on melee weapons in the form of a small circle topped with an imperial crown, in the red enamel ring of which there was a red enamel cross, exactly the same as in the central medallion of the Order's star. The Order badge was worn not on the inner, but on the outer skewer cup, since there was no longer any reason to hide it. The largest number of awards fell on the period of the Italian and Swiss campaigns of A. V. Suvorov (1799), as well as during the successful operations of the Russian squadron under the command of Admiral F. F. Ushakov in the Mediterranean campaign (1798-1800). In total, during the period of his reign, Paul granted the Anninsky arms to 890 people. The last of them on February 10, 1801, a few days before the death of the emperor, was Captain P. G. Butkov.
In 1815, Emperor Alexander I divided the Order into four degrees, henceforth its III degree was a cross worn on a ribbon on the chest, and IV, again the last one, was a weapon. In 1829, the first official Charter of the Order of St. Anna, according to which on Anninsky weapons received for military distinctions were placed not only the badge of the order, but also the inscription “For bravery”. Unlike other Russian orders, the lowest degree of the Order of St. Anna did not withdraw from the awarded, even if he received his higher degree. The weapon continued to be worn as an insignia received in battle. In the Statute of the Order, dated the same year, 1829, it was stipulated that the sign of its IV degree can be worn on all types of edged weapons, that is, not only on sabers and sabers traditional for award weapons, but also on half-swords, broadswords and sea daggers. The new Statute of the Order, adopted in 1845, once again confirming the previous provisions, made one important change in its fate. From now on, officers professing a non-Christian religion were awarded orders decorated with the image of the State Russian eagle instead of the cross and the image of St. Anna, and not a red cross, but a black two-headed eagle was attached to the Anninsky weapon.
By a decree of March 19, 1855, issued during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, it was prescribed for the "more visible distinction" of the Order of St. Anna IV degree, given for military exploits, wear a lanyard made of a red-gold medal ribbon with silver tassels at the Anninsky arms "For Courage". The clarification "for military exploits" is not accidental here - the fact is that until 1859 the Anninsky weapon was awarded to officers not only for military, but also for civilian merits. And during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, it was allowed to give the IV degree of the Order of St. Anna to doctors who, at the risk of their own lives, rescued the wounded on the battlefields, however, with the proviso that the inscription "For Bravery" on such an award weapon should not be.
Interestingly, the hilt of the Anninsky weapon, unlike the other two Golden Award weapons, has always been made of base metal. The very same badge of the order, placed on the hilt, was made of tombak (an alloy of copper and zinc), while any other signs of the Russian orders of all classes, without exception, were always made of gold. This was explained by the fact that the Anninsky weapon, being the lowest officer's combat award, was issued much more often than other distinctions. Over the years of the existence of the Anninsky weapon, hundreds of thousands of officers were awarded as awards. And although in the army it was not considered as honorable as the Order of St. George or the Golden Weapon "For Courage", any officer dreamed of getting it.
In 1913, the Order of St. George and the Golden Award Weapon assigned to it, according to the new Statute, received the name of St. George, and a small enamel badge of the Order in the form of a cross was placed on it, the hilt of such a weapon became not gold, as before, but gilded, although the person awarded was allowed, if desired, however, for your own money, replace it with gold.
In the outbreak of the First World War, the St. George Golden Weapon became, although an honorable, but very common type of awards. This was explained primarily by the unprecedented scale of hostilities. During the First World War, the St. George Golden Award weapon was issued much more often than ever before. Judging by the surviving documents, in 1914 it was awarded to 66 officers, in 1915 - 2,377, in 1916 - about 2,000, in 1917 - 1,257.
Despite such an impressive number of award weapons, each candidate went through a mandatory, and very strict, check before receiving it. First, the regiment commander sent a presentation to the division chief, attaching eyewitness accounts, then the documents were sent to the corps commander, army commander, minister of war (or his chief of staff). The certificate for its presentation was signed by the Chancellor of the Orders.
Unfortunately, most of the Golden Georgievsky weapons that have come down to us are unnamed, information about its owners is rare. The Historical Museum houses the St. George saber with a hilt of pure gold and the inscription "For Bravery", which belonged to Lieutenant General of the Russian Army Joseph Romanovich Dovbor-Musnitsky.
In the Novocherkassk Museum of the History of the Don Cossacks there is a St. George saber with a bronze gilded hilt, presented to Lieutenant General Alexei Maksimovich Kaledin. In addition to him, who later became a "white" general, on the fronts of the First World War, the Georgievskoe Golden Weapon was deserved by several more active leaders of the White movement - P. N. Krasnov, N. R. Dukhonin, A. P. Kutepov and others.
After the February Revolution, the order of awarding the Golden Award Weapons practically did not change, which cannot be said about its appearance. From February 1917, an order was issued "on the hilts and blades of the officer's weapons, the monograms of the emperors should not be made in the future, leaving a smooth oval in place of the monogram on the hilt." Until that time, the hilts and blades of the officer's weapons were decorated with the monogram of the emperor in whose reign the owner received his first officer's rank. In October 17, a few days before the overthrow of the Provisional Government, it was discovered that the cross of the Order of St. Anne of the IV degree, crowned with a crown, in connection with the establishment of republican rule, was completely inappropriate. But nevertheless, they did not manage to make new signs corresponding to the republican spirit …
In 1913, in connection with the introduction of a new type of award weapon - Georgievsky, changes were made to the rules regarding the Anninsky weapon. Since that time, everyone who has weapons of any kind of St. At the same time, the St. George sign was always placed on the head of the hilt, and the Anninsky - on a special metal plate under the hilt, although other options for its attachment are known.
And in February 1918, after the Bolsheviks came to power, in connection with the seizure of the weapons of the population in the Petrograd military district, an order was issued: “Due to the incoming petitions of the former cavaliers of the Georgievsky weapons for permission to keep such as a memory of participation in the war … Those who were awarded in the past campaigns for military distinction with the St. George weapon, have the right to keep it in their possession … Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces Eremeev."
On this, in fact, the institute of Russian award weapons, which had a 300-year history, ceased to exist.
