Blue Division Medal (aguila de san andres)
Encyclopedia
Blue Division Medal (Aguila de San Andres) | |
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Medal and Ribbon |
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Awarded by Spanish State | |
Type | Campaign medal Campaign medal A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of the military who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater... |
Eligibility | Spanish Forces |
Awarded for | Volunteer Service in WW2 |
Campaign | Soviet Union |
Description | |
Clasps | None |
Statistics | |
Established | 9 November 1943 |
The Medalla de la campaña de Rusia ("Medal of the Russian Campaign"), commissioned 9 November 1943, was awarded by Nationalist Spain to those Spanish volunteers who served at the Russian front during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, as members of the Blue Division
Blue Division
The Blue Division officially designated as División Española de Voluntarios by the Spanish Army and 250. Infanterie-Division in the German Army, was a unit of Spanish volunteers that served in the German Army on the Eastern Front of the Second World War.-Origins:Although Spanish leader Field...
. This force, attached to the Heer of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, known as the 250th Infantry Division (span.), was in total composed of 47,000 men, sent by Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
to aid the Third Reich, as a way to payback Adolf Hitler's help with the Condor Legion
Condor Legion
The Condor Legion was a unit composed of volunteers from the German Air Force and from the German Army which served with the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legion developed methods of terror bombing which were used widely in the Second World War...
during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
Description
- The obverse is a Nationalist Spain Eagle with a Iron Cross, with the swastika, above the falange's symbol, all surrounded by a laurel circle and a crown on the top
- On the reverse the Novgorod Kremlin surrounded with chains and the inscription "Rusia 1941"
See also
- Blue Division Medal (anti-bolshevism)Blue Division Medal (anti-bolshevism)The Spanish Volunteer Medal formally known as the Commemorative Medal for Spanish Volunteers in the Struggle Against Bolshevism , commissioned 3rd January 1944, was awarded by the Third Reich to recognize the men of the Blue Division who served at the Russian front during World War II...
- Blue DivisionBlue DivisionThe Blue Division officially designated as División Española de Voluntarios by the Spanish Army and 250. Infanterie-Division in the German Army, was a unit of Spanish volunteers that served in the German Army on the Eastern Front of the Second World War.-Origins:Although Spanish leader Field...
- Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...