Stalingrad encirclement War Merit medal # 173541

[Marcel Banziger]

The connection ring is not bent in combat! There was a practice at the mint to bend the ring in "8" style to do the medal hang straight and not to turn back to front while wearing.

Is there any info that backs this up? Because I find this hard to believe, especially since without bending the ring into an 8 the medal also hangs straight. Perhaps it is true, but I have never heard this before.

[Combattente]

I know it for sure! I got several medals and orders with "8" style connection. Is is not that easy to bent it like this in wear circumstances.



Here is a plate from my collection. Two medals in lower row to the right have more o less changed connection rings.
Medals were quite heavy and used to turn their backs up. Bending somehow solved that issue

[Combattente]

Here's same bend on the Combat merit medal of higher numbering:

[Combattente]

This is a full set of the Great Patriotic War veteran. Two bravery medals to same person.
These came from the family directly, all authentic and no interference. The earlier type (1943) has its ring bent.
I do not say all should be the same. Medals were produced in great quantities. Those men who gathered them with suspensions were sometimes just boys working 16 hours a day being too young to leave to the front lines. Young, weak, hungry and terribly tired. They were not jewelers but not bad locksmiths.

The bending practice existed at mint. But may be not all workers followed it. This is an area poorly studied to get documents or any other official proof. But numerous medal evidences from different men and different battle places speak for themselves.

[Marcel Banziger]

Even though I find this theory interesting, I also think these 8 rings as you refer to, are just bend due to wearing these in all kinds of extreme conditions. The way these rings are bend is too different, plus many don't have this. So to me this being done at the mint is a nice theory but without proof it remains a theory to me. It would make much more sense if an awardee did the bending himself in the field by the way.
And yes, I have plenty of these 8 rings myself, though I prefer to call these just bend rings

[Combattente]

I was surely done to prevent medal swiveling. I heard it was mint practice. Not proven, right, but the target of that manipulation is clear.

[paul kennedy]

That is a fantastic medal Marcel.

[BlackCat1982]

Very interesting thread Marcel, some good research as well. Good to be able to tell the story of one soldier among the maelstrom that was Stalingrad in 1942-43.