Azad Hind Awards

[Ed_Haynes]

Not sure where to put this, given the nature of these awards.

Shahed-i-Bharat / Martyr of India, Sher-i-Hind / Lion of India, Vir-i-Hind / Hero of India, Tamgha-i-Bahaduri / Medal of Bravery, or Tamgha-i-Azadi / Medal of Freedom (with and without swords in most cases, but not all).

1) Has anyone ever seen an authentic wartime Azad Hind award? R. Souval of Vienna made them and struck and sold specimens after the war widely even though the original dies were had been destroyed by the victors, they retained the die masters and made new dies. And, Souval being Souval, they cranked them out.

2) Awards were made both for the Indian Legion in Europe and for the Indian National Army in Southeast Asia. Has anyone ever seen an authentic Asian INA award?

I should say that based on the Indian Legion and Indian National Army veterans I have met and corresponded with, they never saw such awards (and neither did most of the Germans serving with the Indian Legion), but nominal awards were made. The awards were established in 1942 and lapsed by late 1944.

Would love to see scans of groups, documents, or solos.

Help, please.....

Ed Haynes

[Rich G]

Ed

I don't know much about these but last time I looked there was one on Bill Shea's site www.therupturedduck.com

Good luck in your quest

Rich

[Frank Heukemes]

Dear Ed,

I see some of the medals of the AZAD HIND award on shows in Germany. I handled some since this award also interests me.

All I have seen (4) during the last years have been zinc and the finish was almost completely absorbed by the zinc. They looked and felt ok, but who knows what a sixties fake might look like now?

Anyway, they were in too bad a condition offered for too high a price and sold by dealers I do not especially like, so I passed. I will continue to look for these.

Cheers, Frank

[Ed_Haynes]

Retrying

Gosh, this thread seems to have died quickly. Maybe if I dangle some information:

Shaheed-i-Bharat / Martyr of India - The circular bronze medal with swords. Established 1942. Awarded posthumously to all Indian soldiers who gave their lives in the armed struggle for Indian independence, 1942-45. The medal is sometime seen without swords, and this is almost certainly a fraudulent manufacture. It is estimated that only about three hundred of these decorations were manufactured in Europe; South-East Asian manufacturing has not been established. Known to have been awarded 4 times in Southeast Asia.

Sher-i-Hind / Tiger of India - The neck badge (RK-style), with and without swords. Established 1942, although there seem to have been no awards until 1944. Awarded to soldiers in the Indian Legion or Indian National Army or civilians, already in possession of the Sardar-i-Jang medal for additional or ongoing acts of bravery (with swords) or distinguished service (without swords). In this sense, the award was generally patterned on the German Iron Cross. This decoration carried with it an annual stipend of Rs. 300 when awarded with swords. It is estimated that only about one hundred of these decorations were manufactured in Europe; South-East Asian manufacturing has not been established. The medal – as well as the others – was also awarded to German (and, one presumes, Japanese) officers and others involved with the Indian Legion and Indian National Army. For example, the famous late German medal expert Dr. K.-G. Kleitmann claimed to have been awarded the Sher-i-Hind with swords. It is estimated that only perhaps twenty-five Sher-i-Hind medals were awarded, including two awards for Southeast Asia.

Sardar-i-Jang / War Leader - The breast badge (EK1 style), with and without swords. Established 1942, although the first award traced is from 1944. Awarded to soldiers in the Indian Legion or Indian National Army or civilians, already in possession of the Vir-i-Hind medal for additional or ongoing acts of bravery (with swords) or distinguished service (without swords). In this sense, the award was generally patterned on the German Iron Cross. There is good evidence that, at least in this case, the European and Asian awards differed substantially. The Southeast Asian variety existed in two classes and it is unclear how these relate – if at all – to the structure of the European award. This decoration carried with it an annual stipend of Rs. 250 when awarded with swords. It is estimated that only about one hundred of these decorations were manufactured in Europe; Southeast Asian manufacturing has not been established. Known to have been awarded 12 times in Southeast Asia.

Vir-i-Hind / Hero of India - The ribboned award (EK2 style), with and without swords. Established 1942. Awarded to soldiers in the Indian Legion or Indian National Army or civilians for acts of bravery (with swords) or distinguished service (without swords). This decoration carried with it an annual stipend of Rs. 200 when awarded with swords. It is estimated that only about one hundred of these decorations were manufactured in Europe; South-East Asian manufacturing has not been established. Known to have been awarded 11 times in Southeast Asia.

Tamgha-i-Bahaduri / Medal of Bravery - Crcular gilt medal, with and without swords. Established 1942. The medal with swords was awarded for bravery, while the medal without swords was awarded for distinguished service to the Indian Legion or to the Free Indian Government. This decoration carried with it an annual stipend of Rs. 150 when awarded with swords. It is estimated that only about three hundred of each division these decorations were manufactured in Europe; South-East Asian manufacturing has not been established. Known to have been awarded 21 times in Southeast Asia.

Tamgha-i-Shartu Nash / Medal for Destroying the Enemy - Design and establishment details unknown; may have been only a certificate. Awarded to members of the Indian National Army or to civilians for the killing or capture of a British or American officer or enlisted man under conditions where individual bravery and initiative were involved. This appears to be the only Free Indian award distinctive to the Asia Theater. The award came in two classes: first class, for those members of the I.N.A. who exhibit conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in killing or capturing alive any British or American officer or other rank, either in single combat or in group fighting, where qualities if individual initiative and bravery come into play; second class, for those members of the I.N.A. who kill or capture alive any British or American officer or other rank, either in single combat or in group fighting, where qualities if individual initiative and bravery come into play.

Tamgha-i-Azadi / Medal of Freedom - Circular silver(ed) medal, established 1942. Awarded to all soldiers in the Indian Legion who had served for a year and a half in the unit. The medal is sometimes seen without swords, but this seems to be a fraudulent postwar restrike. It is estimated that only about three hundred of these decorations were manufactured in Europe; South-East Asian manufacturing and award has not been established.

Sanad-i-Bahaduri / Certificate of Bravery - Design and establishment details unknown; may have been only a certificate. Awarded to those who rendered meritorious service in the field but fell short of qualifying for a decoration. While it appears to have been a sort of mention-in-dispatches award, some sources suggest some sort of medal accompanied the award. Known to have been awarded 12 times in Southeast Asia.

Awarded, in Europe, both to Indians and to Germans, and I have illustrations of certificates, but no certain illustrations of wartime badges.

OK, that thud is the ball falling back into your court(s) . . .



Ed Haynes

[Ed_Haynes]

PS / footnote / on-line bibliography

The best on-line sources are:

http://www.feldgrau.com/azadhind.html
http://www.geocities.com/riz_zaman/Indische.html
http://www.photosammler.de/indiana.htm

The evidence for the conversion of the I.R. 950 (ind) / Freies Indien Legion to Waffen SS status is, however, FAR from conclusive.

Ed Haynes

[Greg Domian]

Well, Here is my grouping of Azid Hind awards. Sorry for the large scan. I do believe all are correct and period made. Other than the bronze award, the others have lost their true color..I am not sure what grade they were.it is possible the one one the left is also a bronze and the one one the right nearest the center was or is a sliver grade. In 18+ years of collecting I have seen maybe 5 more of these awards in collections..they are very hard to come by. I have not looked at the one on Bill Shea's site but he had one at the max a few years back with out the backing plate to it..with out that almost impossible to tell if it was real or fake. The fakes had their backing plates attached with epoxy.

Greg

[Ed_Haynes]

Greg,

Many, many thanks.

While I draft a coherent response to your posting, if you have a reverse scan of the Sher-i-Hind (neck badge), I'd love to see it.

Again, thanks,

Ed

[Frank Heukemes]

Hi Greg,

Beautiful! That´s what I meant when I said that most I ever saw had the typical zinker look to them, finish absorbed.

Could you please describe "epoxy" to me? I am not sure I understand this right, is it some kind of glue?

Are the two ribbons on the right and the small bar replacements/repros?

Cheers, Frank

[Frank Heukemes]

Here is one Detlev Niemann had for sale a while ago (photograph by Niemann). I hope Detlev or the new owner do not mind. If yes, please inform me and I shall remove

Cheers, Frank

[Frank Heukemes]

umm, sorry, here´s the pic:

[W. C. Stump]

SOUVAL WAS SOLE PRODUCER

The firm of Rudolf Souval was the sole producer of the Order of the Azid Hind awards during the war and continued producing them after 1945.

[Greg Domian]

Frank,
Epoxy is a strong bonding glue...original period peices had the back plate sodered. Many years ago I bought a cased order as the one Detlev had on his site but with the enameling. As it turned out..the back plate was epoxied and I had to return it. I tried to acquire the one Detlev had, but missed out. As for the ribbons..I am not sure as they were attached when purchased. I really have no yes or no opinion on if they are replacements or not..nothing glows and it could be that they never saw the light of day..worn. Could be that the other ribbon was worn and was dirtied and faded. I have never seen any other awards with ribbons to compare. If someone else has pics to show I would love to see them.

Ed,
I am attaching a pic of the reverse to the neck order.

Greg

[McCulloh]

Bravo!

I have a few things to add:
1. On page 131 of Littlejohns' "Foreign legions" vol.4 there is an Urkunde for one Oberlt. Till Muutzenbecher on Dec. 12, 1944 for the 'Sardar -e-Jang". (I'm sure everybody knows this already.) Later, Littlejohn updated his research in the Military Advisor. (Notibly, Souvals' letter about the Azad Hind Dies being confiscated by British MPs is also in that magazine, but my understanding was that they only got the back of the die, ("die Stempel") not the front.
2. I have an issue of the Shotgun News from 1960 which has for sale, Azad Hind awards-quite cheap-direct from Austria. I have seen these for sale since I started collecting-in 1972.
3. Lastly, I have been told that Spinks @ early 1970s sold a group to an INA chap who later went back into the army post independence. It purportedly came with docs. and included a KVK and a 39-45 star. etc. Probably an apocrphyl story, but my source never did me wrong-and it was 27 years ago. It's also easy to check as all 3 auction houses keep records.
4. Ever read Fays' The Forgotten Army? It has a very interesting bibliography and literature overview.
5. Lastly, it's my understanding that the Congress handed out these awards until the early 1960s-and that these awards were noted in "party" publications. Surely there is a "medal roll" somewhere out there?
Cheers,
JeMc