need expert advice on wwi German (Prussia) and Austrio-hugary awards and orders

Paul.Saenger · 03-19-08, 01:14 PM

Further german orders were also awarded to naval personal.

IMO it would be a mistake to only focus on the prussian orders, since germany had a lot of semi-sovereign states and cities who gave out awards to german soldiers.

The Hanseatic cities of Bremen, Lübeck and Hamburg awarded a so called Hanseatic cross, similar to the iron cross, but it being a special distinction for german naval personal.

House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis of Oldenbourg: Of these, the Commander, officer and Knights classes were awarded to officers below the rank of general. The Commander was a neck badge, the Officer's and knights crosses a breast badge. I would suggest focusing on the Knight's cross, however we should disregard it since it was not one of the important ones.

Military Merit Cross of Mecklenburg Schwerin, similar to the Iron cross, had two classes. I think we can disregard this one.

Bavarian Military Merit Order (Militär-Verdienstorden), awarded to the following:

Officer's Cross with Swords (Offizierskreuz mit Schwertern) - Colonels, some lieutenant colonels
3rd Class with Crown and Swords (3. Klasse mit der Krone unde mit Schwertern) - Colonels, lieutenant colonels
3rd Class with Swords (3. Klasse mit Schwertern) - Lieutenant colonels, majors
4th Class with Crown and Swords (4. Klasse mit der Krone unde mit Schwertern) - Majors, captains (and a few lieutenants) who already had the 4th Class with Swords
4th Class with Swords (4. Klasse mit Schwertern) - Captains, lieutenants

This is actually one of the more important ones.

Military Order of Max Joseph of Bavaria: One of the highes orders of Germany, with the priviledge of being ennobled. Three classes, Grand Cross (Großkreuz), Commander's Cross (Kommandeurkreuz) and Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz). Only the Ritterkreuz must concern us.

Military Merit Order (Militärverdienstorden) of Württemberg. Awarded to Otto Weddigen. Came in three classes, Grand Cross (Großkreuz), Commander's Cross (Kommandeurkreuz) and Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz). Only the Ritterkreuz must concern us.

Military Order of St. Henry of Saxony. Four classes, Grand Cross (Großkreuz), Commander's Cross 1st Class (Kommandeurkreuz I. Klasse), Commander's Cross 2nd Class (Kommandeurkreuz II. Klasse), Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz). Only the Ritterkreuz must concern us, but we can disregard this one as well, since mostly people from saxony received those.

So, giving the order of precedence of those:

Hanseatic cross
Bavarian Military Merit Order
Bavarian Military Merit Order with swords
Bavarian Military Merit Order with crown and swords
Ritterkreuz of the Military Merit order of Württemberg
Ritterkreuz of the Military Order of Max Joseph

Attaching them with the order of precedende (additions shown in italic):

uboot-war badge
Iron cross 2nd class
Iron cross 1st class
Hanseatic cross
Autographed photograph of the Kaiser
Knights cross of the House of Hohenzollern = Bavarian Military Merit Order
Knights cross of the House of Hohenzollern with swords = Bavarian Military Merit Order with swords
Bavarian Military Merit Order with crown and swords
Ritterkreuz of the Military Merit order of Württemberg
Komtur's cross of the House of Hohenzollern
Komtur's cross of the House of Hohenzollern with swords
Großkomtur's cross of the House of Hoenzollern
Großkomtur's cross of the House of Hoenzollern with swords
Order of the crown
Order of the crown with swords
Order of the crown with swords and oak leaves
Order of the crown with star
Order of the crown with star and swords
Order of the crown with star, swords and oak leaves
Grand Cross of the Order of the crown with star
Grand Cross of the Order of the crown with star and swords
Grand Cross of the Order of the crown with star, swords and oak leaves
Ritterkreuz of the Military Order of Max Joseph
handwritten letter of commendation of the Kaiser
Order of the red eagle
Order of the red eagle with swords
Order of the red eagle with breast star
Order of the red eagle with breast star and swords
Grand cross of the order of the red eagle with brest star
Grand cross of the order of the red eagle with brest star and swords
Pour le mérite
Pour le mérite with oak leaves
Order of the black eagle (badge/cross with breast star)

03-19-08, 01:14 PM	#8
Paul.Saenger Gunner Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 97 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Further german orders were also awarded to naval personal. IMO it would be a mistake to only focus on the prussian orders, since germany had a lot of semi-sovereign states and cities who gave out awards to german soldiers. The Hanseatic cities of Bremen, Lübeck and Hamburg awarded a so called Hanseatic cross, similar to the iron cross, but it being a special distinction for german naval personal. House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis of Oldenbourg: Of these, the Commander, officer and Knights classes were awarded to officers below the rank of general. The Commander was a neck badge, the Officer's and knights crosses a breast badge. I would suggest focusing on the Knight's cross, however we should disregard it since it was not one of the important ones. Military Merit Cross of Mecklenburg Schwerin, similar to the Iron cross, had two classes. I think we can disregard this one. Bavarian Military Merit Order (Militär-Verdienstorden), awarded to the following: Officer's Cross with Swords (Offizierskreuz mit Schwertern) - Colonels, some lieutenant colonels 3rd Class with Crown and Swords (3. Klasse mit der Krone unde mit Schwertern) - Colonels, lieutenant colonels 3rd Class with Swords (3. Klasse mit Schwertern) - Lieutenant colonels, majors 4th Class with Crown and Swords (4. Klasse mit der Krone unde mit Schwertern) - Majors, captains (and a few lieutenants) who already had the 4th Class with Swords 4th Class with Swords (4. Klasse mit Schwertern) - Captains, lieutenants This is actually one of the more important ones. Military Order of Max Joseph of Bavaria: One of the highes orders of Germany, with the priviledge of being ennobled. Three classes, Grand Cross (Großkreuz), Commander's Cross (Kommandeurkreuz) and Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz). Only the Ritterkreuz must concern us. Military Merit Order (Militärverdienstorden) of Württemberg. Awarded to Otto Weddigen. Came in three classes, Grand Cross (Großkreuz), Commander's Cross (Kommandeurkreuz) and Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz). Only the Ritterkreuz must concern us. Military Order of St. Henry of Saxony. Four classes, Grand Cross (Großkreuz), Commander's Cross 1st Class (Kommandeurkreuz I. Klasse), Commander's Cross 2nd Class (Kommandeurkreuz II. Klasse), Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz). Only the Ritterkreuz must concern us, but we can disregard this one as well, since mostly people from saxony received those. So, giving the order of precedence of those: Hanseatic cross Bavarian Military Merit Order Bavarian Military Merit Order with swords Bavarian Military Merit Order with crown and swords Ritterkreuz of the Military Merit order of Württemberg Ritterkreuz of the Military Order of Max Joseph Attaching them with the order of precedende (additions shown in italic): uboot-war badge Iron cross 2nd class Iron cross 1st class Hanseatic cross Autographed photograph of the Kaiser Knights cross of the House of Hohenzollern = Bavarian Military Merit Order Knights cross of the House of Hohenzollern with swords = Bavarian Military Merit Order with swords Bavarian Military Merit Order with crown and swords Ritterkreuz of the Military Merit order of Württemberg Komtur's cross of the House of Hohenzollern Komtur's cross of the House of Hohenzollern with swords Großkomtur's cross of the House of Hoenzollern Großkomtur's cross of the House of Hoenzollern with swords Order of the crown Order of the crown with swords Order of the crown with swords and oak leaves Order of the crown with star Order of the crown with star and swords Order of the crown with star, swords and oak leaves Grand Cross of the Order of the crown with star Grand Cross of the Order of the crown with star and swords Grand Cross of the Order of the crown with star, swords and oak leaves Ritterkreuz of the Military Order of Max Joseph handwritten letter of commendation of the Kaiser Order of the red eagle Order of the red eagle with swords Order of the red eagle with breast star Order of the red eagle with breast star and swords Grand cross of the order of the red eagle with brest star Grand cross of the order of the red eagle with brest star and swords Pour le mérite Pour le mérite with oak leaves Order of the black eagle (badge/cross with breast star)