Most Decorated Soldiers

* 518+ Tanks
* 700 Trucks
* 150+ Flak and Artillery positions
* 9 Fighter/Ground Attack Aircraft
* Hundreds of bridges, railway lines, bunkers, etc.
* Battleship October Revolution, Cruiser Marat, and 70 landing craft

Source: http://members.aol.com/ab763/rudel.htm

I am not sure of the exact numbers. "518+" sounds a little dubious, but oh well. It gives you the general idea.

 

That's all?? :roll:

 

I seem to recall that it wasn't created for him, but he was its only recipient. I think the award was intended to honour the very bravest soldiers of the Reich and only a small number were ever going to be issued.

 

i heard that it was spacially created for him. here his the summary of his carreer:

During his career, Rudel flew over 2530 (around 400 of his sorties were flown in a Focke-Wulf 190 fighter plane during whichhe was credit with 11 air victories) missions and destroyed around 150 various artillery pieces, 519 tanks, around 1000 various vehicles, 70 landing crafts, 2 Lavochkin La-3 fighters, Il-2 Stormovik and sunk Battleship "Marat", 2 Cruisers and a Destroyer. Rudel was responsible for such huge damages to the Red Army that Joseph Stalin himself put a price of 100.000 rubles on his head.He flew more than 600.000km and used more than 5.000.000 liters of fuel. Hans Rudel dropped over 1.000.000kg of bombs, fired over 1.000.000 of machine gun rounds, over 150.000 20mm rounds and over 5000 37mm rounds

note that he flew a distance that is almost equel as to the moon and back again and he has the record of flying the most combat missions. for somebody like that you have to create a medal specially for him

 

Apparently not...

From: http://www.worldwar2aces.com/iron-cross.htm

This medal was of the highest recognition, Hitler intended to limit this award to 12 of the most distinguished servicemen in the entire German armed forces after the war ended, assuming an axis victory. As the Third Reich collapsed, an exception was made and only one award was ever presented.

The only Golden Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds holder was Hans Ulrich Rudel of the Luftwaffe. A Stuka dive bomber pilot, Rudel destroyed 518 Russian tanks (that's five Russian tank corps), 150 flak and artillery positions, 700 trucks, sunk the Russian battleship Marat, a Russian cruiser, a Russian Destroyer, 70 Russian landing craft, and hundreds of other targets (bridges, railways, bunkers). He also heavily damaged another Russian battleship, the October Revolution. Rudel flew 2,530 combat missions, of which 400 were in a Focke-Wulf 190, claimed 11 air victories and was shot down 32 times.

Note that this seems to make it clear that the award was not created for Rudel but for the 12 most distinguished members of the German armed forces. I have Googled various sites and not one reference that I read for this particular award makes the claim that it was created for Rudel, just that he was the only man to recieve it.

The only awards or ranks that were specifically created for an individual seem to have gone to Goering to avoid offending his ego (He apparently couldn't stand having people will equal ranks or decorations to his, so Hitler would create higher awards or ranks especially for him!).

Also it states that he flew some of his missions in the Fw190 and claimed 11 air victories throughout his career, not that he claimed 11 victories in the Fw190, a slightly different meaning. (This also tallies with what I'd read elsewhere).

 

well, talking about an ego. and that for the man who was wrong his whole life.
"Four days of good weather and the RAF is finished" => that quote just sais everything about him. he got a whole summer and still he lost and kept saying that. but why aren't we supprised about that

 

i read somewherte he lost his leg and kept flying withg a wooden leg and also that he was shot down a dozen or so time and always made itback alive.


lol yea goring was crazy like that...

 

A bit more than 12 or so!

Yes you are correct, he was wounded and had part of his leg amputated, was banned from flying combat missions but defying orders still insisted on getting back in the cockpit.

 

at the battle of britain you got the same thing. a good allied pilot ,and i believed he got bot his legs amputated but kept on flying with two wooden legs. when he was shot down and captured by the germans Adolf Gallant insisted that he would get new wooden legs

 

Douglas Bader - IIRC his legs were metal, and a special RAF flight was allowed to overfly German territory to drop him a spare when one of his original false legs was damaged when he was shot down.

He also had a special set of legs made for playing golf with - one was slightly longer than the other to improve his swing.

 

[Edited by Moderator]

to come back to the decoration system its true the u.s. forces gain a medal for [many things that other nations do not]
my uncle and his wife moved to shepard afb for two years to complete pilot training and even my ant has a cupboard full of awards and certificates from the airforce for example to survieve one month without her husband or for house hold management and cooking skills etc.

 

:lol: :lol: BAHA, HA, HA :lol: :lol:
That is a good one

 

:-? :roll: Do you not realise that this might be considered to say the very least inflamatory?

I don't see how certificates given to a spouse can really be regarded as a reflection of the value of a nation's bravery awards (even if this is the case). If so the British are just as bad, British children can join the Cub Scouts and Brownies or Guides and earn badges and awards for all manner of activities, and some of them are even the children of British soldiers!

So there you go, the British military medals systems are meaningless since the soldier's children can easily earn awards, badges and certificates. :roll:

 

There is no need to come back at this again, it was discussed sufficiently already and as you well know it is a highly risky thing to insult a proud nation's armed forces in front of said proud nation's militarily interested citizens. If an army chooses to give that many awards then that is its policy, so be it. I'm perfectly sure that those who have recieved these awards know perfectly well the difference between earning a Good Conduct Medal and earning a Medal of Honour, so there is no need to proclaim either of these "bullshit".

No German soldier was interested in 1945 when they were awarded with an autographed picture of Von Rundstedt for heroic actions.

 

Except to say 'Danke' for the extra toilet paper!

 

a photo as a medal . where do you have to put that? you might just give them a big white paper for on their backs with the words "here i am, shoot me"

 

"strong words by a strong strong man" thats a qote from my tv i hear it somewhere

 

Matt Urban, US Army, matched Audie Murphy in medal count in WWII.

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/murban.htm

 

7 Purple Hearts, the Legion of Merit, the Croix de Guerre with a Silver Star and the Congressional Medal of Honor.


dzeejes, what did he do in WW2?? i don't kow how you can get so many medals

 

As I was told, the Medal of Honour really isn't congressional at all, and the addition of that word is an error. :-?

Don't shoot the messenger!