Unusual group....

[Chris Boonzaier]

Not that comman to find a Prussian group with a bavarian medal..... and a very early one.... probably because he was on the regt staff..... and he was 1.55m !

[Dave Danner]

Because IR 47's Chef was König Ludwig III., the regiment was the most likely Prussian one to receive Bavarian decorations. Some 60 officers of the regiment are known to have the Military Merit Order with Swords. 

Hartmann's award was among the following made on 7 December 1914 to officers and men of IR 47:

• BMV4XKr to 3 Majors
• BMV4X to 3 Hauptleute, 1 Rittmeister d.L., 4 Oberleutnants (2 d.R., 1 d.L.), and 14 Leutnants (5 d.R.)
• BMV5aX to 2 Feldwebelleutnants
• BMV5bXKr to 3 Offizier-Stellvertreter
• BMV5bX to 3 Feldwebels and 4 Vizefeldwebels
• BMV5cXKr to 5 Sergeants and 12 Unteroffiziere (8 d.R.)
• BMV5cX to 8 Gefreiters (4 d.R.), 10 Musketiers and 5 Reservists
• BMV5bKV to 1 Waffenmeister

These initial awards account for just under 1/3 of the regiment's officers and under 2% of the NCOs and enlisted men at that point (assuming 80 or so officers, medical officers and Beamten and 3300 NCOs and men on mobilization, minus casualties, plus replacements).

For an NCO, you're right that being on a staff, rather than some random grunt, cetrainly helped. Reminds me of some Legionnaire I know who missed out on an award by not being in the "right" place. 

Edited June 4, 2018 by Dave Danner

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi Dave,

 

thanks for the info! ... yup, of course the Bavarian connection was the main driver.

I find it fascinating that he was only 1.55cm.... I dont know if you can join any western army in the world today if you are 1.55...

[Dave Danner]

I assume you meant 1.55m, since 1.55cm would be a bit small for any Army, unless you are talking about an AA MG. 

According to a Daily Mail article, the average height of an Englishman went up about four inches between 1900 and 2000, from around 5'6" to 5'10".  

I have seen similar data for Americans, but I've also seen data that Americans are getting shorter in recent decades. Various reasons are given, but I think the main reason is the "average" American today includes more immigrants from ethnicities who are shorter on average - East Asians and Central Americans of heavily American Indian ancestry.

Assuming Germans were similar to Englishman, I think that would mean 155cm, which is 5'1", was about 5 inches or 2cm below average back then, so similar to being 5'5" or 165cm today. Shorter than the average infantryman, but probably perfect for being a T-72 crewman.