Ulsterman

Thanks Jeff! I have no clue. They aren't in the book.

Yeah-that's what jumped out at me too. That's almost certainly one of the last 100 medals awarded by the old Republic! It gives us a good 'medal count". :jumping:

here's one officer, Lt d L Oberhauser of the 2 komp., 2 Bayer Landsturm inf. Batt.in 1915 at age 66 , the medal at his chest is the 1870.71 KDM. He went on to get the EK2 and the Prussian KvK and was still around in 1935 to get his HKx.

Hmmm-the Moderator was too fast off the hairpin keyboard there. What sort of things got one an Obilich medal? Bayonet charge against a machine gun emplacement? Secondly, the Chetnik exile 2nd world war commemorative(in the link) -is it made in the UK? It looks quality. Has it been widely awarded? What's the criteria?

I think that was what Stogierick was driving at. However, such things did happen as the bar could be attached to an extant medal bar quickly and easily, whereas the award of a Prussian KVK would be worn in the button hole until the bar was remounted-sometimes never! However, absent the 1914 re-award bar, (and the "south German style" furled ribbons still don't match the era) but the bars' story says "rump-kicking NCO" who wore a schnalle. The dead giveaway is the bars. There's a BDOs magazine that details who got what and where and helps identify bar fakes. However, it is a fact that a few of these old vets served in WW1, which was what I was driving at. The vets magazine I possess seem to have dozens of articles on "old 1870s vets" who served either at home or sometimes- (yee gods!) on the front lines! I'll post a picture of one such chap later. A few got the Prussian war merit cross (1916) and/or their home states' medal during the war! I have a printed article somewhere of an old bearded Landwehr vet wearing the 1916 pot helmet and his 1870 bar-taken in 1918!

He has already been identified. I think Claudio has his medal bar! Robert Noss sold the picture? You are lucky. I wanted it. see here: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=19516

Nice website-but what is the "Royal war Commemorative" medal (1941-45)? Is it a government -in-exile award or a new one?

Nobody picked up my battle bars comment huh?

Personally, I wouldn't bother-Privetera's book is beautiful and well edited, but there isn't much hard information in it. His award numbers are best guesses and almost all the actual text is derived from other general sources. The BDOS journal ORDEN is a goldmine of technical information but it's difficult to find the right magazines. I would wait for Gordon Williamson's book to come out. It will be THE best book on the subject there is. Meanwhile, the Iron Cross section here and on the WAF should tell you everything you need to know-and more.

Nice bravery medals-the big gold one, is that the highest an enlisted man could receive?

really cool. The bullets that struck something are eery-rock or bone? When i was a kid my next door neighbor, who was trying to get his money out of Rhodesia (via South Africa) used to fly back about every 6 months. He said he'd met old men who had watched the battle and could remember the officers shaking hands with the last survivors before the final bayonet charge down the hill. Assagis used to be common on the Portabello Road too-real ones. Great stuff!

maybe-no LS, but it did happen (if that is a 1914 award bar). I have magazines of vets wearing similar bars @ 1936! ("Unsere alte Komraden" articles) who served 1870 and again in 1914-IN uniform. An older recalled Landwehr chap recalled in 1915 and given the EK might not have mounted his schnalle-or bothered to exchange it and remount it-but the award bar was easy to clip on. The battle bars are interesting too.

Borrowed Austrian, but who knows?

my poor contribution:

Apparently so-there are lists and lists of recipients in the state "statutory decrees".

...and of course, all awards have been listed in legal decrees from the state "congress"-and are easy to find...alas, these don't seem to be numbered! Maybe the award docs though...

Wasn't he (Millonig) an Austrian teacher? Married to the Tyrolean poet?

Yup, but Jeff Floyd can tell you more... see here also: http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghi...71stInfMain.htm Nice photo, @ 1900-10 (pre-Federal campaign medals). Bronze badge made by Tiffany of New York City.

Holy c !! You knew Gordon???? He is legendary. I was talking to someone about him last night!! What happened to his files?

Decadent! Decadent! That top medal looks like the OMSA award.

you know-it reads better in the german...I mean, "hand grenade fight" just doesn't sound as good. brilliant little piece.

too true- but the good news is that there are less than 100 people in the Western World who (try) to collect them.

Yeah-during the Kosovo thing. They ended up with about 6 awards each-I believe including purple hearts and POW medals. http://www.cnn.com/US/9905/08/pows.return.01/

Hmmm-you think? Now why is that exactly? Actually, may I point your eyes towards a JOMSA article written by one Rick Lundstrom many years ago regarding these awards. He seemed to feel, as I do, that they are legit-perhaps even more so than those handed out by the Stalinist thugs who replaced the monarchies. After all, there is a reason Mengistu today lives in "exile" (in Zimbabwe). Today the Crown Council has abandoned their efforts to return to the imperium and instead work for cultural, charitable and historical causes-and they are the only Ethiopian group actually doing anything noteworthy in those fields. i have been urging them to engrave the backs of the awards.

I would try OMSA first-it is slowly growing. next, there is a book by Greg Copley on imperial Ethiopian awards. i am attempting to gather information on Ethiopian Derg era awards. I believe Kenyas' awards are on the web-their army site used to have a listing similar to the El Salvadoran one. Also, try Dave Danners' site-you never know what he has turned up.