Medals and honours

Medals and honours form an integral part of military history, and rewards for acts of extreme heroism, by either a group or by an individual, have been recognised by leaders over the centuries.

While armies with formal rank structures are able to reward those who show ability through promotion, there always exists the possibility that an individual will show heroism for acts of bravery above and beyond their rank. Expectations of junior ranks are lower than of senior non-commissioned officers or of officers.

Medals come in many forms and are typically issued by a nation to an individual. Typically, the individual must be a member of the forces of that nation, although medals such as the Victoria Cross are available to members of many nations within the British Commonwealth.

Other medals have been awarded dependent on rank, with officers being eligible for one medal while enlisted men were only eligible for another. Some medals have been dependent on the arm of service with the worlds navies and air forces issuing different medals to their army counter parts.

Some medals are issued as campaign medals, so all individuals who participated in a certain campaign are eligible for the award. These are typically issued by meeting a set criteria such as number of days the individual was active in a campaign.

Many forces issue medals to those injured in combat while fighting for their country. The US Purple Heart is probably the most famous of these.

Finally individuals can be awarded long service medals so there loyalty to their country and long service is recognised by their nation.

Honours have taken many forms, and the Knighthood was probably the most widespread form of honour for an individual in the medieval world.

Unit honours have been applied to many formations over the centuries. The British army has been awarding battle honours to regiments who fought in major battle for over three hundred years. The Soviet Army of the Second World War had its' Guard units, while the original Volksgrenadier designation was a sign of excellent performance before the Nazis last scrapings of the man power barrel created many such units at the end of the war.

Unit with honours should be separated from elite units. Honours have to be earned while elite units can be created by intense training and unit motivation.