The American losses were small but serious enough that they were losing bombers faster than they could replace them and temporarily cut back on operation over the German bight. German fighter units were not achieving the desired results either. To encourage the desired performance and boost their morale, a points system was introduced for decorations. The pilots in the west resented their colleagues on the Eastern Front who seemed to gain decorations and aerial victory much easier. The recognition of the difficulty in combating US heavy bombers gave rise to a point-table. The destruction of a fighter was awarded one point; a twin-engine bomber two, and a four-engine bomber three. A "Herausschuss" (separation from formation) of a twin-engine bomber was awarded one point, and the same for a four-engine bomber, two points. The final destruction of a straggler was 0.5 and one point for twin and four-engine types respectively. One point would earn a pilot the Iron Cross 2nd class, three the Iron Cross first class, ten points the Luftwaffe honour goblet, 20 the German Cross in Gold, and 40, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross was worn around a pilots neck, even in battle. Glory-hungry pilots were said to have "neck rash." In the Western theatre, where surviving combat with the massed-guns of US bombers and then large numbers of fighter escorts, was a matter of luck, two historians remarked "their necks, in all likelihood continued to itch until their deaths."