turtle

How much help did Bulgaria give Germany?

Bulgaria entered WWI in october 1915 and mobilised around 1.2Mio soldiers altogether. 

That´s an interesting one, I´ve only seen one other Militärpaß with this entry before!!

Or maybe he did not care (at least for the picture), "I earned, so I wear it."

Impressive! Do you know the award criteria?

The Bundesverdienstkreuz is usually not awarded for military deeds. These are Germanys only military decorations:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badge_of_Honour_of_the_Bundeswehr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundeswehr_Cross_of_Honour_for_Valour

Concerning the Bundesverdienstkreuz:

Usually high ranking officers (Generals) get the Verdienstkreuz am Bande or Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse as a service decoration, but it´s not normally awarded to the armed forces.

Something I´ve totally forgotten to show : An Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer for Lorenz Kordus, he was a Fahrstuhlführer (lift operator) and a Kriegerinnerungsmedaille Bulgarien for the same man.

Maybe he worked a one of the bigger hotels in Berlin!?

The Schneider grouping is absolutely amazing! Never seen a Gefreiter with the Militärverdienstkreuz!! Do you have some additional information about his life etc?

Eiserne Kreuze were only awarded to Germans, during the war Lettow-Vorbeck recruited more than 3000 German reservists (some other sources give the number 2500), so the number of Iron Crosses would fit the number of Germans.

The Kolonialdenkmünze was awarded for an array of different colonial operations before WWI. The China Denkmünze was awarded for the Boxer Rebellion 1900/1901, the Südwestafrika Denkmünze was for the uprising in DSWA in 1904/1907 and the Kolonialdenkmünze was for all the other operations. Here´s a list which bar for the medal fits which operation:

http://www.traditionsverband.de/download/pdf/gefechtsspangen.pdf

This article cites a telegram to Lettow-Vorbeck (from early 1918), which empowers him to award up to 100 Eiserne Kreuze 1. Klasse, 1000 Eiserne Kreuze 2. Klasse, 25 Kriegerverdienstmedaille 1. Klasse in Gold, 100 1. Klasse in Silber, 300 2. Klasse in Gold, 2000 2. Klasse in Silber.

http://www.deutsche-gesellschaft-fuer-ordenskunde.de/DGOWP/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ausgabe58.pdf

The second award should be a Kriegsverdienstkreuz 2. Klasse ohne Schwerter. Ley had both classes.

http://reocities.com/~orion47/DAF.html

Matt,

Thanks for posting this non portable award. Interesting that there is a ribbon to wearing indicating the recipient has this award. I don't know that I've ever seen that done before. Do you know what the requirements are for giving the award?

Regards,

Gordon

I´m not absolutely sure, but I think Hamburg citizens serving in a foreign mission are eligible.

Thanks for showing the medal, I´ve read about it, but never seen good pictures! Typical Hamburg tradition to not award a full size medal for wear.

But it´s nice to see, that at least one german state does recognize the deeds of the different services! In my humble opinion it´s a shame, that there´s no service medal equivalent to the Einsatzmedaille der Bundeswehr for police etc. serving abroad!

This is an impressive set, thanks for showing!

Interesting Militärpaß, could you maybe Show more of it?

Here´s a good example for a soldier with only a few weeks of combat, who was seriously wounded and got the Silver Wound Badge and the EK2:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/60755-wehrpass-infantry-wia-eastern-front-2-awards/?hl=fischer

Nice & sharp portrait, wears his coat open to show his EK2.

Hi traveling due to work commitments will post some more pictures shortly, thanks Paul.

Are there any awards documents left?

Have a look here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20040615052646/http://www.geocities.com/~orion47/SS-POLIZEI/SS-Gruf_H-N.html

Some of the awards do indeed match!

Interesting entry, thanks for showing. This is the first MP I see with an unofficial Weimar era Award entered (Freikorps awards aside)!

Very interesting documents, they give you a real insight into the deeds behind a medal!

THIS is a really really rare combination, thanks for showing!! Could you maybe post bigger pictures, also of the reverse of the bar?

He was awarded the Kolonialdenkmünze (colonial service medal), very interesting!!

Interesting pictures!

This is an absolutely outstanding set, thanks for showing! Did he never apply for his Kolonialabzeichen?

Absolutely astonishing medalbar and with this historical background even more impressive!