Silver gilt, enamels. Measures 51.3 mm in height, 50.2 mm in width; weighs 41.1 g without the screw plate.

In outstanding, excellent condition. The enamel is exceptionally well-preserved, essentially pristine; it shows a beautiful luster and has no wear visible to the naked eye, only a few microscopic contact marks unnoticeable without magnification.

The medallion has a couple of minuscule dings but is otherwise perfect, with its details exceptionally crisp and free of noticeable wear even at the high points of the bas-relief. The original gilt finish on the battleaxes

Silver gilt, enamels. Measures 51.3 mm in height, 50.2 mm in width; weighs 41.1 g without the screw plate.

In outstanding, excellent condition. The enamel is exceptionally well-preserved, essentially pristine; it shows a beautiful luster and has no wear visible to the naked eye, only a few microscopic contact marks unnoticeable without magnification.

The medallion has a couple of minuscule dings but is otherwise perfect, with its details exceptionally crisp and free of noticeable wear even at the high points of the bas-relief. The original gilt finish on the battleaxes and wreath is clearly visible. The screw post is full length, over 13.5 mm, and includes an original screw plate of WW2 era.

Vasiliy Kornev was born in 1911 in a village of the Ryazan region of Russia. He served a stint in the military in 1937-38 and rejoined the Red Army in October 1941, having just an elementary school education. Probably owing to the fact that he was a communist party member since 1940, he was apparently sent to an officer school rather than straight to the front and therefore began combat duty only in mid-February 1942. As of October 1943, Kornev had the rank of senior lieutenant and was serving as a machine gun company commander with the 919th Rifle Regiment, 251st Rifle Division (then under the 31st Army, Western Front). On 21 October, he effectively supported an infantry assault in the Vitebsk region of Belorussia with the fire of his machine guns. According to the subsequent award recommendation, Kornev and his men acted courageously under "a squall of enemy fire" and destroyed four German machine gun nests with their crews. When one of the company commanders fell in battle, Korenev assumed command of his company in addition to his own and repelled three fierce enemy counterattacks supported by massive artillery and mortar fire. In this skirmish Korenev personally eliminated six German soldiers. Three days later, he was recommended for the Order of the Red Star by his regiment commander. The award, Kornev's first decoration of the war, was bestowed upon him on 31 October by a general order for the 251st Rifle Division.

The front on the approaches to Vitebsk would remain static for half a year afterwards, while the Soviets were quietly gathering forces for a decisive blow against the Army Group Center. The massive Soviet offensive codenamed Bagration commenced on 22 June 1944 - a date that bore special symbolism because it was the third anniversary of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The 251st Rifle Division took part in the initial phase of the operation as a part of the 39th Army, 3rd Belorussian Front, which along with several other armies of the Front (army group) attacked the German Third Panzer Army in the relatively narrow area just southeast of Vitebsk. While four other Soviet fronts jumped off in a wide arc from the southern edge of the Pripyat marshes all the way to Ostrov in the north, the German defenses quickly crumbled. By the fourth day of the offensive, the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian Fronts had jointly pushed the Third Panzer Army to the Dvina and Ulla Rivers 50 miles west of Vitebsk, trapping five German divisions in a pocket around the city. Within three weeks from the start of the Bagration, the battle of Belorussia would end in the largest catastrophe the Germans had suffered by that point in the war, with the Army Group Center all but finished and some 57,000 German prisoners marched through the streets of Moscow.

Kornev, then already a captain, took part in the offensive as a deputy rifle battalion commander in the same regiment and division, re- assigned for the Operation Bagration to the 39th Army of the 3rd Belorussian (formerly Western) Front. In two weeks of fighting starting from 24 June the battalion under his direct command repelled six strong enemy counterattacks near the villages of Zhigaly, Kleshchi (now known as Klishi) and Podlipniki southwest of Vitebsk. During this period the battalion eliminated 100 German soldiers and captured 66 POWs, including six officers. It is noteworthy that Kornev's battalion liberated two of the settlements above without any losses in its own men. Kornev was subsequently recommended for the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st cl., but the recommendation was uncharacteristically raised to the Order of Alexander Nevsky by the division commander, probably owing to the strategic significance of victory achieved in Belorussia. The order was officially awarded to Kornev on 18 September 1944 by the command of the 39th Army.

As the Soviet offensive expanded to the flanks following the success of the Bagration, the 251st Rifle Division was shifted north to the 43rd Army of the 1st Baltic Front. On 14 September, Kornev distinguished himself while storming the enemy defensive line near the town of Bauska in southern Latvia. Braving strong artillery and machine gun fire, he led his battalion in a bold assault over the Lielupe River and into the German trench which was soon cleared of the enemy. In the skirmish Kornev personally killed two enemy officers and up to 20 enlisted men. On 23 September, he was recommended for the Order of the Red Banner by the regiment commander. Although approved by almost the entire chain of command, the award was unexplainably downgraded to the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd cl. by the command of the 4th Shock Army to which the division had been re-subordinated by that time. The order, bestowed on 23 October 1944, turned out Kornev's last high decoration of the war. He retired from the military in 1946 and returned to his native Ryazan region where he became a mechanic of the agricultural machine and tractor station in the Belkovsky district.

Research Materials: b/w photocopy of the award record and award commendations for all three WW2 decorations. Detailed information about the 251st Rifle Division is available in Vol. IX Red Tide of Charles Sharp's book series on Soviet order of battle in WWII.
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