#ThisDay On May 20, 1942, the Order of the Patriotic War of t | MoD Russia
#ThisDay
On May 20, 1942, the Order of the Patriotic War of two classes was established.
The first to receive this order posthumously was artillery captain Ivan Krikliy. In May 1942 his division destroyed 32 enemy tanks during two days of fighting near Kharkov. Together with captain Krikliy, junior political instructor Statsenko and senior sergeant Smirnov were awarded with the Order of Patriotic War of the 1st class.
In total about 350 thousand people were awarded with the order of the 1st class, more than a million were awarded with the order of the 2nd class.
