Dave Danner

No cool documents or ribbon/medal bars, just idle curiousity/historical interest: There appear to have been a bunch of von Wedels who served in World War I, many of whom have very similar names, served in similar places or were from or otherwise connected with the same places. Leaving aside General der Kavallerie z.D. Karl F?rst von Wedel, an older veteran serving as a Generaladjutant, four von Wedels reached general's rank during or upon the conclusion of the war: Generalleutnant Hasso Sebastian Georg von Wedel (26.5.1859-31.1.1935)Generalmajor Hans Otto von Wedel (1861-1929)Generalmajor Hasso Otto von Wedel (1863-1940)Generalmajor Hermann Heinrich Achaz von Wedel (1862-1928)Genlt. Hasso Sebastian Georg von Wedel was apparently the Oberst who in 1914 commanded Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 3 and who commanded 5. Infanterie-Division from September 1916 to either July or August 1918. Since Oberst Torsten Graf von Posadowsky-Wehner, who had previously been Chief of the General Staff of the I. Reserve-Korps at the Battle of Tannenberg, was KIA in command of Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 3 on 7 October 1914, Hasso Sebastian von Wedel must have handed over command of the regiment sometime before then. Hasso Sebastian von Wedel received the Pour le M?rite on 27 August 1917 and the Oakleaves on 24 November 1917 as commander of 5. Infanterie-Division. The three Generalmajore von Wedel are these guys, but I can only guess which is which: ____ von Wedel, in 1914 an Oberstleutnant (date of rank 1.10.13 Pp) and chief of staff of Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 150. On mobilization, he took command of Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 18. His last wartime command was 78. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade. ____ von Wedel, in 1914 an Oberstleutnant (date of rank 1.10.13 R4r) and commandant of the Kadettenhaus in K?slin. He took command of Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 209 on its formation in October 1914. His last wartime command was 82. Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade.____ von Wedel, in 1914 an Oberstleutnant (date of rank 22.3.14 Cc) and commandant of the Unteroffizierschule in Wei?enfels. His last wartime command was Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 59. He wore the uniform of Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 3 (not to be confused with regular Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 3).In addition to these, we also have Oberst z.D. ____ von Wedel, the commander of Landwehrbezirk Wetzlar, and from reactivated Obersten a.D., Oberst a.D. Eduard von Wedel, also with the Bezirkskommando Wetzlar and also formerly of Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 3, and Oberst a.D. Hasso von Wedel (yet another Hasso), formerly of the Hauptkadettenanstalt. Oberst a.D. Hasso von Wedel, according to the Ehren-Rangliste, commanded "LdstB Belgard". This was either 1. Landsturm-Infanterie-Bataillon Belgard (II/2), raised on mobilization with Etappe Armee-Abteilung C and assigned to the garrison in Metz, or 2. Landsturm-Infanterie-Bataillon Belgard (II/15), originally raised in September 1914 as a Landsturm-Infanterie-Ersatz-Bataillon and converted to an Ldst.I.B. in November. Somewhere in the middle of all of this is this: from 1 February 1915 to 11 January 1917, the regimental commander of Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 223 was an Oberst ____ von Wedel. It can't be Hasso Sebastian because he was already a Generalmajor and a division commander during part of that period. I suppose it could have been any of the three in the middle or even one of the older Weztlarer colonels (RIR 223 was a Kurhessisch-Nassauisch regiment, and Wetzlar was in Hessen-Nassau). OK, I've babbled on about as far as I can. If anyone has anything to add, please do.

Joseph L. Lockard, one of the radar operators at Opana site on Oahu who detected the approaching Japanese attack force on December 7, 1941 but were dismissed by their command center, received the DSM in March 1942. He was a private on December 7 and had been promoted to staff sergeant by the time of the award. He was later commissioned, as his Congressional testimony in the Pearl Harbor investigation is as a 1st Lt., Signal Corps. Four of the Soviet recipients of the DSM in 1944 were NCOs.

QUOTE(Bernd D) GM Johann Meister was awarded the Commander 2nd Class of the Military Order of St. Henry 20 March 1916 as commander 45. InfBrig. "Sachsen in Großer Zeit" says 7 April. Might one be the date the award was dated and the other the date it was conferred? QUOTE(Bernd D @ Feb 24 2007, 04:26 ) ← Have a look at Thies catalog, 28. auction, 10 Dec 2005. You will find a picture of Meister and his medal bar (No 40, page 40). Thanks! This appears to answer at least one question. Apparently no Kgl. Hohenzollernscher Hausorden, so no quartet. It does, however, raise a few questions. 1. Why is the RAO3x now on the regular two-white stripe ribbon rather than the three-white stripe version, as in the earlier photo and the rank list entry? Is this because he was not a Prussian, or because he is actually wearing the RAO4x, so the other ribbon wouldn't really signify anything? 2. Where are the swords on the Bavarian Militär-Verdienstorden? It's hard to tell, but they appear to be there in the photo. 3. Why is the Orden der Württembergischen Krone now on the Friedrichs-Orden ribbon? 4. Where are the swords on the Orden der Eisernen Krone? Was that a rank list error or a 1930s mounting error? As for WW1 awards besides the St. Henry and EK, other than the Hamburg Hanseatenkreuz, if any, they appear to be commander grade or otherwise not on a medal bar. We can at least surmise that Baden upgraded his Zähringen Löwen Ritterkreuz 1.Klasse off the pre-war medal bar, though.

A little literary allusion in the thread title. Brownie points to the first person who can ID it. And to the actual thread. Flipping pages, I came across a rather interesting 1914 Saxon rank list entry. That's a lot of little crossed swords icons. For those unfamiliar with the Saxon abbreviation system, that translates to: Kgl. Sächs. Militär-St. Heinrichs-Orden, Ritterkreuz, or Royal Saxon Military Order of St. Henry, Knight's Cross Kgl. Sächs. Verdienstorden, Ritterkreuz 1.Klasse mit Schwertern, or Royal Saxon Merit Order, Knight 1st Class with Swords Kgl. Sächs. Albrechts-Orden, Offizierkreuz mit Schwertern am Ringe, or Royal Saxon Albert Order, Officer's Cross with Swords on Ring Kgl. Sächs. Albrechts-Orden, Ritterkreuz 1.Klasse mit Schwertern, or Royal Saxon Albert Order, Knight 1st Class with Swords Kgl. Sächs. Dienstauszeichnungskreuz, or Royal Saxon Long Service Cross Großherzogl. Badischer Orden vom Zähringen Löwen, Ritterkreuz 1.Klasse, or Grand Ducal Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion, Knight 1st Class Kgl. Bayerischer Militär-Verdienstorden, Offizierkreuz, or Royal Bavarian Military Merit Order, Officer's Cross Kgl. Bayerischer Militär-Verdienstorden, 3.Klasse mit Schwertern, or Royal Bavarian Military Merit Order, 3rd Class with Swords Herzogl. Braunschweigischer Heinrich des Löwen Orden, Offizierkreuz mit Schwertern, or Ducal Brunswick Order of Henry the Lion, Officer's Cross with Swords Fürstl. Lippischer Hausorden, Ehrenkreuz 2. Klasse, or Princely Lippe House Order, Honor Cross 2nd Class Großherzogl. Mecklenburgischer Greifen-Orden, Komturkreuz, or Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Order of the Griffon, Commander's Cross k.u.k. Österreichischer Orden der Eisernen Krone, 3. Klasse mit Schwertern, or Royal and Imperial Austrian Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd Class with Swords Kgl. Preußischer Roter-Adler-Orden, 3. Klasse mit Schwertern am 2.mal schwarz und 3.mal weißgestreiften Bande, or Royal Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, 3rd Class with Swords on the twice black and three-times white striped ribbon. Kgl. Preußischer Kronen-Orden, 2. Klasse mit Schwertern am Ringe, or Royal Prussian Crown Order, 2nd Class with Swords on Ring Kgl. Preußischer Kronen-Orden, 3. Klasse mit Schwertern, or Royal Prussian Crown Order, 3rd Class with Swords Kgl. Preußischer Orden "pour le Mérite", or Royal Prussian Order "pour le Mérite" Fürstl. Hohenzollernscher Hausorden, Ehrenkreuz 2. Klasse, or Princely Hohenzollern House Order, Honor Cross 2nd Class Fürstl. Reußisches Ehrenkreuz, Offizierkreuz, or Princely Reuss Honor Cross, Officer's Cross Herzogl. Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden, Komturkreuz, or Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Commander's Cross Kgl. Württemb. Orden der Württembergischen Krone, Ehrenkreuz, or Royal Württemberg Order of the Württemberg Crown, Honor Cross Kgl. Württemb. Orden der Württembergischen Krone, Ritterkreuz mit Löwen und mit Schwertern, or Royal Württemberg Order of the Württemberg Crown, Knight's Cross with Lions and with Swords Almost four years ago, we had a thread on WAF on "Prussian quartets". One occasionally sees medal bars for Saxon officers with the so-called "Saxon trio", Saxony's three military orders - the Military Order of St. Henry, the Merit Order with Swords and the Albert Order with Swords. In that thread, we asked about potential recipients of the "Prussian quartet" of military orders - the pour le Mérite (plM), the Red Eagle with Swords (RAOx), the Crown Order with Swords (KOx) and the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords (HHOx). If you add the Iron Cross, though not an order, you have a Prussian quintet. Among those identified as "Prussian quartets" were Ludwig von Estorff and Victor Franke. Von Estorff had a RAOx, KOx and HHOx from the colonial wars and a plM in 1917. Franke had all four in the colonial wars. Among those that missed the quartet was the Red Baron, who had no KOx. Other quartets were mainly generals and field marshals. With Herr Meister, you can see that even before World War I began, he had the Saxon trio. But this Saxon was also 3/4ths of the way to the Prussian quartet. So the big question, and one of the purposes of this thread, is: did he make it? This is what I know. Johann Meister was apparently born in 1862. As a major, he commanded a detachment (called "Abteilung Meister" in some accounts) in the Herero War, fighting in December 1904 in the battles of Naris and Rietmond and in Groß-Nabas in early '05. He commanded German troops at Stamprietfontein, January 2-4, 1905, which I think was part of the Groß-Nabas battles. The plM apparently came in November 1905 and was apparently awarded at the same time as Franke's. In 1914, he was, as noted in the rank list excerpt above, commander of 2. Kgl. Sächs. Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 101 Kaiser Wilhelm, König von Preußen, and at the same time Flügeladjutant to the King of Saxony. He received the Iron Cross 1st Class on October 22, 1914 (and presumably the EK2 sometime before then). On April 7, 1916, he received the Commander 2nd Class of the Military Order of St. Henry as commander of the 45. (kgl. Sächs.) Infanterie-Brigade. This, by the way, was the same award date as Max Immelmann's Commander 2nd Class. In September 1916, Meister took command of 40. (4. kgl. Sächs.) Infanterie-Division from Leo Götz von Olenhusen (Götz von Olenhusen received the Commander 2nd Class of the Military Order of St. Henry on September 13, 1916). Meister led the division to the end of the war. The Ehren-Rangliste has him as a Generalleutnant a.D. So, my open questions are: 1. Does anyone know anything else about Meister? 2. Does anyone have any pictures of Meister? 3. Did he receive the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, thus completing the quartet/quintet? 4. Any idea if he received the Commander 1st Class of the Military Order of St. Henry?

I'm bad with script, but could it be Buchholz ? Generalmajor Adolf Buchholz was a major commanding II./IR 69 in 1914. IR 69 was RIR 69's Stammformation, but Buchholz took command of a Westphalian reserve unit on mobilization, III./RIR 16 in Dortmund. By 1916, though...? In 1918, Buchholz commanded 23. Infanterie-Brigade of 11. Reserve-Division, a Silesian formation.

Commander of II./RIR 71 at mobilization was Major Kanter, from IR 167. Ehrenrangliste has his last assignment in the war as commander of LIR 16.

Wilhelm "Willi" Matthia? of IR 155 took command of RIR 46 on mobilization. He received the pour le M?rite on 22 November 1917, by then probably a brigade commander, but I don't have a unit. In June 1918, he took command of the 25. Reserve-Division. In October 1918, he took command of the 207. Infanterie-Division. He died 23 September 1919.

Generalmajor from 18.08.1917. Generalleutnant on 18.12.1920 retroactive to 01.10.1920 He retired in January 1926 and was promoted to char. General der Artillerie. If there's a 1925 Reichswehr rank list it should have his awards; he's out by the time of my 1926 rank list.

To add to Glenn's bio post in #32, on mobilization in 1914, Sch?nwasser left GR 11 and became commander of III./RIR 10. Obviously, he moved upstairs sometime before January 1917. He was still in command of RIR 10 at war's end.

Upgrades are not uncommon. The approval and award authority for lesser decorations is usually delegated downward during wartime. By message dated 27 March 2003, and later reconfirmed when the command structure was changed in theater, the Department of the Army delegated wartime approval authority of the Silver Star to the Commander, Coalition Forces Land Component Command (COMCFLCC), U.S. Central Command, i.e., the senior Army commander in theater, and authorized him to further delegate such authority to Lieutenant General commanders underneath him. By message dated 3 April 2003, he delegated Silver Star approval authority to the commander of V Corps. The current structure has a 4-star level command in place of COMCFLCC in Iraq, the Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I). By message dated 6 August 2004, General Casey, the MNF-I commander, was delegated Silver Star approval authority and authorized to further delegate it to Lt. Gen. Metz, commanding Multi-National Corps-Iraq (MNC-I). By message dated 12 September 2004, he did so. Gen. Casey also indicated that it was MNF-I command intent that "all soldiers deserving an award leave the theater with award in hand." Thus, when the award recommendations came up the chain for the Kentucky Guardsmen, Lt. Gen. Metz and Gen. Casey were in a position to approve Silver Stars, but anything higher - the Medal of Honor or the DSC - would have to work its way through the Pentagon bureaucracy. So, policy in this situation would be to award the Silver Star while allowing the bureaucracy to take its time. A similar thing has happened with another soldier who was posthumously awarded the Silver Star in December 2006 and for whom a Medal of Honor recommendation is working its way up the ladder. Similarly, Alvin York was awarded a DSC in 1918 after his actions in France, and a few months later the DSC was upgraded to a Medal of Honor. Sgt. York is often erroneously included in lists of DSC recipients, but technically, because of the upgrade, he no longer had the DSC. Photos of Sgt. York wearing the Medal of Honor don't show him wearing a DSC. More formally, as the Army reviews awards, decorations are often upgraded years after the fact. Eddie Rickenbacker had one of his DSCs upgraded to the Medal of Honor in 1930, twelve years after the war. Maj. Bruce Crandall, the helicopter pilot in the Battle of Ia Drang portrayed by Greg Kinnear in the movie "We Were Soldiers...", didn't receive his DSC until 2005 and in 2007 (i.e., next week), he will receive the Medal of Honor. The Army will then officially revoke his DSC. If you want to read an example of revocation of medals because of an upgrade, here is Department of the Army General Order No. 24 of 2001: http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/go0124.pdf. This revoked various awards, mainly to Japanese-American soldiers, which had been upgraded to Medals of Honor. The awards of the Medal of Honor were in separate general orders - DAGos 02 to 23 of 2001.

Commander of 185. ID from February 1918 was Rudolf Viktor Sigismund von Horn.

A few non-Bavarian recipients of the Merit Order of the Bavarian Crown: Grand Cross: Gen.d.Inf. Moritz Freiherr von Lyncker - Vortragender Generaladjutant Seiner Majest?t des Kaisers und K?nigs Gen.Oberst (m.d.R. als GFM) Hans von Plessen - Diensttuender Generaladjutant Seiner Majest?t des Kaisers und K?nigs und Kdt. des Hauptquartiers Gen.Oberst Helmuth von Moltke - Chef.d.Gen.St. der Armee char. Gen.d.Inf. August Ludwig Traugott Botho Graf zu Eulenburg - ? la suite der Armee char. Genlt. Ernst Otto Karl Ludwig Freiherr von Mirbach - ? la suite der Armee char. Genlt. Theobald Theodor Friedrich von Bethmann Hollweg - ? la suite der Armee; Reichskanzler 1909-17 char. Genmaj. Bernhard Heinrich Martin Karl F?rst von B?low - ? la suite der Armee; Reichskanzler 1900-09 char. Genmaj. Christian Kraft F?rst zu Hohenlohe-Oehringen, Herzog von Ujest - ? la suite der Armee char. Maj. Philipp Ernst F?rst zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsf?rst - ? la suite der Armee char. Maj. Ernst F?rst von L?wenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg - ? la suite der Armee Gen.d.Kav. Karl von Einem - Kriegsminister 1903-09; Kom.Gen., VII.A.K. 1909-1914; 2.Armee 1914-18; HGr Kronprinz, 1918 Gen.d.Inf. Leopold Ritter Hentschel von Gilgenheimb - ? la suite IR 13 GFM Gottlieb Ferdinand Albert Graf von Haeseler - Chef, Ulanen Regiment Graf Haeseler (2. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 11 K.W. Gen.d.Inf. Hermann Freiherr von Bilfinger - Generaladjutant Seiner Majest?t des K?nigs von W?rttemberg K.W. Gen.d.Inf. Otto von Marchtaler - Kriegsminister des K?nigreichs W?rttemberg K.W. Gen.d.Inf. Max Freiherr Schott von Schottenstein - ? la suite GR 119; Ministerpr?sident des Kgr. W?rttemberg 1900-01; d.1917 K.S. Gen.Oberst Max Clemens Lothar Freiherr von Hausen - Vorsitzende des Gesamtministeriums des K?nigreichs Sachsen 1912-14; Kriegsminister des K?nigreichs Sachsen 1902-14; Kom.Gen., XII.A.K.; Kom.Gen., 3.Armee 1914 Grand Commander: char. Gen.d.Inf. Heinrich Freiherr von und zu Egloffstein - ? la suite der Armee char. Gen.d.Inf. Max Freiherr von Lyncker - ? la suite der Armee Gen.Oberst Friedrich von Scholl - Kdr., Leibgendarmerie Maj.d.L. ____ Graf von P?ckler - Garde-Landwehr-Kavallerie Commander: Hptm. d.L. ____ Graf von Bernstorff - Garde-Landwehr des 1. Garde-FAR Maj.d.L. ____ Graf von Hutten-Czapski - Landwehrbezirk V Berlin char. K.W. Genlt. ____ Freiherr von Reischach - General ? la suite Seiner Majest?t des K?nigs von W?rttemberg Knight: Oberst z.D. ____ Blassmann - Kdr., Landwehrbezirk II Leipzig "K.W." is "K?niglich W?rttembergischer"; "K.S." is "K?niglich S?chsischer".

Guard Experience Online: Kentucky National Guard Soldier Receives Distinguished Service Cross Louisville Courier-Journal: Guardsman honored: Actions in Iraq earn Army's second-highest medal This was the same action as that of Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, who became the first female recipient of the Silver Star since World War II. The Distinguished Service Cross was an upgrade to the Silver Star he previously received. SSGT Nein is the fifth DSC recipient of the War on Terror. The prior recipients were: MAJ Mark E. Mitchell, 3/5th SFG(A); MSGT Donald R. Hollenbaugh, USASOC; Col. James H. Coffman, Jr., Sr. Advisor, 1st Iraqi Special Police Commando Brigade; and SSGT Daniel A. Briggs.

A few of these received the Milit?r-Max-Joseph-Orden in World War I: Grand Cross Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen Karl Ritter von Fasbender Commander Nikolaus Ritter von Endres Ludwig Freiherr von Gebsattel Paul Ritter von Kneu?l Hermann Freiherr von Stein Otto von Stetten Knight Maximilian Ritter von H?hn Albert Ritter von Schoch Karl Ritter von Wenninger Oskar Ritter von Xylander

Knight (Ritter):Dr. Gottlob Ritter von Weigel - Senats-Pr?sident des Bayerischer Senat beim Reichsmilit?rgerichtGen.d.Inf. Karl Ritter von Brug ? chief of the Ingenieur-KorpsGen.d.Inf. z.D. Hermann Ritter von Haag - General-Adjutant des K?nigsGeneralarzt Dr. Alfred Ritter von Halm ? Offizier ? la suite des Sanit?ts-KorpsGenlt. Albert Ritter von Schoch - commander, 1. (bay.) DivisionGenlt. Ludwig Ritter von Hetzel - commander, 2. (bay.) DivisionGenlt. Maximilian Graf von Monteglas - commander, 4. (bay.) DivisionGenlt. Gustav Ritter von Schoch - commander, 5. (bay.) DivisionGenlt. Robert Ritter von Fischer - commandant, Festung GermersheimGenlt. Ludwig Ritter von Seither ? FeldzeugmeisterGenmaj. Paul Ritter von Kneu?l - Abteilungs-Chef, Abteilung f?r Pers?nliche Angelegenheiten, Bavarian War MinistryGenmaj. Karl Ritter von Wenninger - Milit?r-Bevollm?chtigter in Berlin und stellv. Bevollm?chtigter zum Bundesrat des Deutschen ReichesGenmaj. Bernhard von Hartz ? on the Gro?er Generalstab in BerlinGenmaj. Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen ? Chef des Generalstabs der ArmeeGenmaj. Hans Freiherr von La?berg ? Offizier ? la suite der Armee; Kgl. Oberstk?mmererGenmaj. Nikolaus Ritter von Endres - commander, 2. Infanterie-BrigadeGenmaj. Hermann Freiherr von Stein - commander, 1. Feldartillerie-BrigadeGenmaj. Otto Ritter von Gy?ling - commander, 6. Feldartillerie-BrigadeOberst Hartmann Freiherr von Ow auf Wachendorf - Hofmarschall (Lord Chamberlain) and personal adjutant of Prinz Ludwig Ferdinand von BayernOberst Emanuel Freiherr von Perfall - Hofmarschall (Lord Chamberlain) and personal adjutant of Prinz Leopold von BayernOberst August Freiherr von M?ller ? Offizier ? la suite der Armee; Kgl. Pagenhofmeister a.D.Oberst Maximilian Graf von Moy - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; Kgl. Oberst-Zeremonienmeister Rittm. Joseph Graf von Monteglas - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; ReichsratWirkl.Geh. Oberbaurat Ludwig Ritter von Mellinger ? chairman, V.Sektion (Bauwesen), Milit?r-Verwaltungs-Abteilung, Bavarian War MinistryWirkl.Geh. Oberkriegsrat Maximilian Ritter von Hellmuth - chairman, II.Sektion (Naturalverpflegungs-Angelegenheiten, Remontedepot-Verwaltung, Milit?r-Fonds), Milit?r-Verwaltungs-Abteilung, Bavarian War MinistryWirkl.Geh. Oberkriegsrat Anton Ritter von Nischler - Abteilungs-Chef, Abteilung f?r Rechtsangelegenheiten, Bavarian War MinistryRittm. Lothar Freiherr von Ritter zu Gr?nsteinMajor Bertold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg ? Reichsrat; commanded 1. schweres Reiter-Regiment in 1917char. Gen.d.Inf. z.D. Wilhelm von Staudt ? Chef des Generalstabs der Armee, 1888-93, d. 1917 char. Gen.d.Kav. z.D. Karl Freiherr von Freyberg char. Gen.d.Inf. z.D. Ernst Freiherr von Barth zu Harmating char. Gen.d.Inf. z.D. Friedrich Ritter von Pflaum char. Gen.d.Art. z.D. Eugen von Malais? char. Gen.d.Art. z.D. Theodor von Bomhard char. Gen.d.Kav. z.D. Otto Ritter von Schmidt char. Gen.d.Kav. z.D. Rudolf Ritter von Frommelchar. Gen.d.Inf. z.D. Eugen Ritter von Benzino Genlt. z.D. Eugen Ritter von Keller Genlt. z.D. Karl Ritter von Landmann Genlt. z.D. Karl Ritter von K?ppel Genlt. z.D. Martin Ritter von Denkchar. Genlt. z.D. Ludwig Ritter von M?ller char. Genlt. z.D. Julius Graf von Zech auf Neuhofen - Governor of Togo 1905-10char. Genlt. z.D. Richard von H??lin Genmaj. z.D. Johann Ritter von B?ck Genmaj. z.D. Karl Ritter von Schumacher Genmaj. z.D. Friedrich Ritter von Wolff Genmaj. z.D. Eduard Ritter von Graf Genmaj. z.D. Maximilian Ritter von Reschreiter Genmaj. z.D. Anton Ritter von Bucher char. Genmaj. z.D. Ferdinand Ritter von Kurz char. Genmaj. z.D. Richard Ritter von Hoffmann char. Genmaj. z.D. Karl Ritter von Horadam char. Genmaj. z.D. Heinrich Ritter von Henigst char. Genmaj. z.D. Franz Ritter von Beckenbauer Oberst a.D. Johann Freiherr von Hertling Oberstlt. a.D. Ralf Freiherr von Kreu?er Major a.D. Rudolf Freiherr von Guttenberg Major d.L. Anton Freiherr von Aretin Major d.R. Hans Freiherr von Th?ngen ? Reichsrat; co-founder of the Deutsche LandwirtschaftsgesellschaftMajor d.L. Friedrich Ritter von Brettreich ? Staatsrat; Regierungspr?sident of Lower Franconia 1905-07; Staatsminister des Innern 1907-12Major d.R. Friedrich von Sigriz Major d.L. Hermann Ritter von Pfaff - Staatsrat; Staatsminister der Finanzen 1904-12Hptm. d.L. Karl Ritter von Braun Hptm. d.L. Karl Ritter von Welcker Rittm. d.L. Hugo Ritter von Forster Hptm. d.R. Maximilian Ritter von Hellmuth Hptm. d.L. Alfons Ritter von Bruckmann Hptm. d.L. Walter Ritter von Dyck Hptm. d.L. Gustav Ritter von Kahr - StaatsratHptm. d.L. Julius Ritter von Henle Hptm. d.L. Julius Freiherr von der Heydte Hptm. d.R. Wilhelm Ritter von Meinel Hptm. d.L. Otto Ritter von Str??enreuther ? Staatsrat; Regierungspr?sident of Lower Franconia 1916-33char. Hptm. d.L. Daniel Ritter von Conrad char. Hptm. d.L. Heinrich Ritter von Lenz - Wirkl.Geh. Kriegsratchar. Rittm. d.L. Georg Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg - diplomatOberlt. d.L. Heinrich Ritter von Endres - StaatsratOberlt. d.L. Ferdinand Ritter von Keller Oberlt. d.L. Wilhelm Ritter von Camerer Lt. d.R. Adolf Ritter von ZieglerLt. d.L. Karl Ritter von Rasp Rudolf Ritter von Richter - Senats-Pr?sident des Bayerischer Senat beim Reichsmilit?rgericht Friedrich Ritter von Habel - Senats-Pr?sident des Bayerischer Senat beim Reichsmilit?rgerichtWirkl.Geh. Oberkriegsrat Franz Ritter von SchultzeWirkl.Geh. Oberkriegsrat Ferdinand Ritter von Hei?Wirkl.Geh. Kriegsrat Joseph Ritter von Schropp Wirkl.Geh. Kriegsrat Ludwig Ritter von Braun Intendantur-Rat Maximilian Ritter von Schmid Intendantur-Rat Georg Ritter von Micheler

Ok... Grand Cross (Gro?kreuz): Gen.d.Art. z.D. Peter Freiherr von Wiedenmann - General-Adjutant des K?nigs, Pr?sident des Geheimen Rates des PrinzregentenGen.d.Inf. z.D. Luitpold Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen - ? la suite to the 2nd and 11th Bavarian Infantry Regiments; recalled during the war as deputy commanding general, I. (bay.) Armee-KorpsGen.d.Kav. Otto Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein - Bavarian War MinisterGen.Oberst Karl Graf von Horn - General-Adjutant des K?nigs; Bavarian War Minister, 1905-12Genlt. Karl Graf Wolffsteel von Reichenberg - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; Kgl. Oberststallmeister a.D. (i.e., former Chief Royal Equerry)Genlt. Albrecht Graf von Seinsheim - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; Kgl. Obersthofmeister (Chief Royal Steward)Oberst Karl Graf von Giech - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; Reichsrat; died May 1914Oberst Bertram F?rst von Quadt zu Wykradt und Isny - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; ReichsratOberstlt. Hans Graf zu Toerring-Jettenbach - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; ReichsratOberstlt. Friedrich F?rst zu Castell-Castell - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; ReichsratOberstlt. Johannes F?rst zu Hohenlohe-Bartenstein und Jagstberg - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; ReichsratGrand Commander (Gro?komtur):Gen.d.Inf. Oskar Ritter von Xylander - commanding general, I. (bay.) Armee-KorpsGen.d.Kav. Ludwig Freiherr von Gebsattel - commanding general, III. (bay.) Armee-KorpsGeneralarzt Dr. Ottmar Ritter von Angerer - Offizier ? la suite des Sanit?ts-KorpsOberst Heinrich Freiherr Tucher von Simmelsdorf - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; Staatsrat; Diplomatchar. Gen.d.Inf. z.D. Friedrich Ritter von Windischchar. Gen.d.Art. z.D. Friedrich Ritter von Lobenhoffer - recalled during the war as stellv. Feldzeugmeister; d. 1918Genlt. z.D. Ludwig Ritter von Reinhardchar. Genlt. z.D. Ludwig Ritter von Winneberger - President of the Bayerischer Soldatenbund, 1904-1919Hptm. a.D. Ferdinand Freiherr von Miller - Director of the Akademie der Bildenden K?nste (Academy of Fine Arts) in Munich (1900-18)Major d.L. Heinrich Ritter von Thelemann - Staatsminister der Justiz, 1912-18Commander (Komtur):Gen.d.Inf. Karl Ritter von Martini - commanding general, II. (bay.) Armee-KorpsGeneralstabarzt Dr. Karl Ritter von Sendel - Abteilungs-Chef, Medizinal-Abteilung Genlt. Wilhelm Walther von Walderst?tten - Vortragender General-Adjutant des K?nigsGenlt. Otto Ritter von Breitkopf - commander, 3. (bay.) DivisionGenlt. Maximilian Ritter von H?hn - commander, 6. (bay.) DivisionGenlt. Otto von Stetten - Inspekteur der KavallerieOberst Ludwig Freiherr von W?rtzburg - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; ReichsratOberstlt. Wilhelm Freiherr von Leonrod - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; Kgl. Oberststallmeister (Chief Royal Equerry)Oberstlt. Ernst Graf von Moy - Offizier ? la suite der Armee; Reichsratchar. Gen.d.Art. z.D. Maximilian Ritter von Gerstnerchar. Gen.d.Inf. z.D. Karl Ritter von Clauschar. Gen.d.Inf. z.D. Oskar Ritter von Rittmannchar. Gen.d.Kav. z.D. Maximilian Freiherr von Speidel - recalled to command 6. bay. Reserve-Divisionchar. Gen.d.Inf. z.D. Karl Ritter von Fasbenderchar. Genlt. z.D. Gustav Scanzoni von Lichtenfels - took command of 6. bay. Reserve-Division at the end of 1914Oberstlt. a.D. Maximilian Freiherr von HofenfelsMajor a.D. August von Parseval - airship designerMajor d.R. Rudolf Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen - Staatsrat; diplomatHptm. d.L. Sigmund Ritter und Edler von L??l - Staatsratchar. Hptm. d.L. Otto Freiherr von Ritter zu Gr?nstein - diplomat; Bavarian envoy to the Vaticanchar. Oberlt. d.L. Anton Freiherr von Hirschberg - StaatsratLt. d.L. Karl Ritter von H?chstetter

Go here for nicer photos and information: http://www.medalnet.net/Bayerische_Krone.htm Some other pics and info here: http://home.att.net/~david.danner/militaria/bavaria3.htm Jacob and Oscar Leser's Die Ritter- und Verdienstorden, Ehren- und Verdienst-Zeichen, Denk- und Dienstalters-Zeichen in Bayern, published in 1910, gives a total for 1909 of 126 Commanders (Komtur) and Grand Commanders (Gro?komtur), of which 49 were non-Bavarians, and 380 Knights (Ordensritter), of which 51 were non-Bavarian. This is secondhand - I don't have the Lesers' book, but Michael Autengruber cited these numbers in the item descriptions for the two badges auctioned by UBS a few weeks ago. Thus I don't have any numbers for the Grand Cross or breakdown between Commanders and Grand Commanders, nor any idea how many members of the order from earlier periods weren't around in 1909, or how many were subsequently awarded. In the 1914 Milit?r-Handbuch des K?nigreichs Bayern, 133 members of the order are listed, broken down as follows: Grand Cross (Gro?kreuz) - 11 Grand Commander's Cross (Gro?komturkreuz) - 10 Commander's Cross (Komturkreuz) - 22 Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz) - 90 These are a mix. About a third of them are active senior officers and officials of the army, including officers ? la suite and the king's adjutants; a third or so are retired but recallable officers, and third are officers and officials removed from the Beurlaubtenstand. Many of those, in the latter group especially, were people whose primary accomplishments were in the civilian sphere, and who are listed only because they had held reserve or Landwehr commissions, such as Gustav Ritter von Kahr, a Staatsrat and after WW1 Ministerpr?sident of Bavaria. I can post the whole list, if anyone's interested.

A Ritterkreuz 2.Klasse mit Schwertern am Ring was auctioned in the UBS auction this past January 23. As noted in the description (by Michael Autengruber), with only 13 awards, the originality of the swords on this piece couldn't be guaranteed. Nevertheless, the risk was enough that bidders drove the price up to 1,050 Swiss francs, plus auction commissions. That is a fair amount of money for a gamble where the odds are against you.

LIR 103 was also a "Tochterformation" of IR 103, as was the II.Bataillon of RIR 242. The III.Bataillon of IR 192 was also formed by IR 103, but there are no IR 192 names on your list. The III.Bataillon of IR 415 was formed by the Ersatz-Bataillon of RIR 103, but IR 415 was more formally attached to IR 177, and there aren't any IR 415 names on your list.

Roter-Adler-Orden

Not really limited to W?rttemberg. Prinz Leopold von Bayern, King Ludwig III's brother, was a Generalfeldmarschall and commander of the 9. Armee, Heeresgruppe Prinz Leopold von Bayern, Heeresfront Prinz Leopold von Bayern and was then Oberbefehlshaber Ost. Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern led the 6. Armee and then Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern. His oldest son Erbprinz Luitpold was only 13 and died shortly after the war began. A number of other Bavarian nobles served in various capacities. Prinz Heinrich von Bayern, son of King Ludwig III's late brother Arnulf, was killed in action in Romania in 1916. Kronprinz Wilhelm von Preu?en led the 5. Armee and then Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz. Other Prussian princes held various commands. Friedrich August Georg Kronprinz von Sachsen, born in 1893, was too young and only an Oberleutnant in 1914. He was eventually commander of the 245. Infanterie-Brigade, though. He became a Jesuit after the war. Maybe not a 180, but close. His younger brothers were junior officers in Saxon infantry regiments. Prinz Johann Georg, Herzog zu Sachsen, brother of King Friedrich August III, was nominally a soldier, but more of an explorer at heart, and does not appear to have taken an active military role in the war. He was only in his mid to late 40s, so age wasn't an issue. Herzog Ernst II von Sachsen-Altenburg commanded the 8. Infanterie-Division in 1915 and 1916. The Grand Dukes of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Hesse and Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and the Prince of Reuss served on corps and division staffs. F?rst G?nther of the two Schwarzburgs was in his 60s and didn't hold an active command. Others served in various capacities, and others did not.

Generally, they weren't reciprocal. Schaumburg-Lippe didn't have a regiment. Its contribution to the Army was a J?ger-Bataillon and its Reserve-J?ger-Bataillonen. Other than princes of Schaumburg-Lippe, no members of ruling houses served in the B?ckeburg J?gers. King Wilhelm II of W?rttemberg had no sons. His daughter's husband had staff jobs. King Wilhelm II had chosen as his successor Duke Albrecht of W?rttemberg, his cousin several times removed. Duke Wilhelm of Urach might have had a superior claim, but wasn't the king's choice. Duke Albrecht started the war as a Generaloberst and commander of the 6th Army. He became a Field Marshal and commander of Army Group Duke Albrecht (Heeresgruppe Herzog Albrecht). His three sons all started out in W?rttemberg regiments - Duke Philipp Albrecht in the 2nd W?rttemberg Dragoons (DR 26), Duke Albrecht Eugen in Grenadier-Regiment K?nigin Olga (GR 119), and Duke Carl Alexander in Infanterie-Regiment Alt-W?rttemberg (IR 121). Philipp Albrecht and Carl Alexander ended up on their father's staff and Albrecht Eugen on the staff of the 14th Army. Carl Alexander later became a Benedictine monk. Duke Albrecht's younger brother Duke Robert commanded W?rttemberg's 26. Kavallerie-Brigade in 1914 and also ended up on Duke Albrecht's staff. Duke Albrecht's youngest brother Duke Ulrich commanded the 2nd W?rttemberg Uhlans (Ulanen-Regiment K?nig Wilhelm I Nr. 20) in 1914 and later commanded the 16. Kavallerie-Brigade. Duke Wilhelm of Urach commanded the 26. (2. Kgl. W?rtt.) Infanterie-Division in 1914 and then Korps Urach. His last command was Generalkommando z.b.V. 64 (Erwin Rommel ended up on his staff in early 1918). Passed over for the W?rttemberg throne, he did get one, though, being made King Mindaugas II of Lithuania in July 1918. Unfortunately for him, that only lasted until November 1918 (fortunately for his children, though, since that meant they weren't there when the Soviets occupied Lithuania in 1940). Duke Wilhelm had two sons of military age. F?rst Wilhelm von Urach served with a W?rttemberg field artillery regiment, Feld-Artillerie Regiment K?nig Karl (1. W?rttembergisches) Nr. 13. F?rst Carl Gero von Urach served with GR 119. Duke Wilhelm's younger brother F?rst Carl von Urach was a retired Colonel ? la suite to the 1st W?rttemberg Uhlans (Ulanen-Regiment K?nig Karl Nr. 19).

The "three smallest of the German States" were Mecklenburg-Strelitz (103,451), Waldeck (59,135) and Schaumburg-Lippe (44,992). Reu?-Greiz, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen were each smaller than Mecklenburg-Strelitz, but Reu?-Greiz is combined with Reu?-Gera and the two Schwarzburgs with each other, making them bigger. As for "smallest...in amount of awards given", that is hard to say. Award numbers don't compare well for a number of reasons. Both Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Schaumburg-Lippe had single awards, the Cross for Distinction in War for Mecklenburg-Strelitz and the Cross for Loyal Service for Schaumburg-Lippe, which like the Iron Cross were awarded without regard to rank. Waldeck, however, did not. You might have to add up all the grades of Waldeck's Merit Cross and its medals to have a number comparable to Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Schaumburg-Lippe. Basically, in WW1 there were somewhere over 8,131 awards of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz Cross for Distinction in War. There were 10,397 awards of the Schaumburg-Lippe Cross for Loyal Service. There were about 4,750-5,500 awards of all grades of the Waldeck Merit Cross. As you can see, Schaumburg-Lippe seems to have awarded more than its proportionate share. Indeed, although L?beck had three times the population of Schaumburg-Lippe, it awarded fewer Hanseatic Crosses - 8,000-10,000. This shows that population is not the only measure. There are several reasons why Schaumburg-Lippe might have been more liberal with its awards. States often gave awards not only to the men of their own units, but to men in regiments where the states' princes also served or had honorary attachments. Besides Schamburg-Lippe's own J?ger-Bataillon Nr. 7, the various Schaumburg princes were to be found in many regiments - Husaren-Regiment Nr. 7, 2. Garde-Ulanen-Regiment, the Leib-K?rassier-Regiment, Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 3, and Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 53. Schaumburgers also served in other Westphalian units, such as Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 15. Neither the house of Mecklenburg-Strelitz nor the house of Waldeck were as widely spread out, and L?beck had no princes. But there was an even bigger factor for Schaumburg-Lippe. The Queen of W?rttemberg, the empire's fourth largest state, was a princess of Schaumburg-Lippe. Two Schaumburg princes would serve in W?rttemberg regiments during World War I, spreading the principality's reach even further.

The Lifesaving Medals, were, IIRC, awards of the Treasury Department, under which the Coast Guard fell in peacetime until the formation of the Department of Homeland Security a few years ago.

Marine-Infanterie-Regimenter were based on reservists of the See-Bataillonen. Matrosen-Regimenter were based on the Seewehr. Summarizing from various sources: Marine-Infanterie-Regimenter: At the time of the mobilization in August 1914 there were the following active naval infantry units: I. See-Bataillon with 4 companies based in KielII. See-Bataillon with 4 companies based in WilhelmshavenIII. Stamm-See-Bataillon with 2 companies based in CuxhavenIII. See-Bataillon with 5 companies based in Tsingtau, ChinaOstasiatisches Marine-Detachment in Tientsin (Tianjin) and Peking (Beijing)Marine-Infanterie-Detachment in Skutari (Shkod?r).The III. See-Bataillon and the Ostasiatisches Marine-Detachment were basically stranded. They fell to the Japanese in November 1914. The Skutari-Detachment made its way back to Germany through Austria-Hungary in August 1914. When the reservists were called up, but couldn't be deployed overseas to their units, I. and II. See-Bataillon and III. Stamm-See-Bataillon were overstrength, and were reorganized into eight battalions. 1. Marine-Infanterie-Regiment was formed in Kiel from the original I. See-Bataillon and the V. and VIII. See-Bataillonen. 2. Marine-Infanterie-Regiment was formed in Wilhelmshavenfrom the original II. See-Bataillon and the IV. and VI. See-Bataillonen. VII. See-Bataillonen, formed by the III. Stamm-See-Bataillon in Cuxhaven, was originally also part of 2. Marine-Infanterie-Regiment, but its companies were soon divided up between the 1. and 2. Matrosen-Artillerie-Regimenter. 3. Marine-Infanterie-Regiment was formed in Flanders at the end of 1914 from VII. See-Battalion (formed again by the III. Stamm-See-Bataillon), the X. See-Bataillon, based on the Skutari-Detachment and complemented with additional reservists, and the IX. See-Bataillon (formed from more reservists). The XI. See-Bataillon was formed in Wilhelmshaven for local security duties, and the XII. See-Bataillon was formed in Wilhelmshaven but divided up among the 1. and 2. Marine-Infanterie-Regimenter Matrosen-Regimenter: The Seewehr, the naval equivalent of the Landwehr, was also called up on mobilization. The I. and II. Seewehr-Abteilungen were formed for coastal defense and port security. They were soon tasked for occupation duty in Flanders, but given their age, lack of sufficient infantry training and lack of qualified NCOs, they weren't highly valued. Their officers were mostly reserve and Landwehr officers of the IX. and X. Armeekorps. The Seewehr-Abteilungen were expanded, forming the 1. Matrosen-Regiment in October 1914, and the 2. through 5. Matrosen-Regimenter in November. From the regimental history of the 4. Matrosen-Regiment: Probably the most famous member of the Matrosen-Infanterie was the later General der Fallschirmtruppe and Brilliantentr?ger Bernhard Ramcke. After shipboard service at the beginning of the war, he went to the II. Seewehr-Abteilung and then 2. Matrosen-Regiment in 1915. He soon became part of its Sturmtrupp and in 1918 as an Offizier-Stellvetreter received the Prussian Milit?r-Verdienstkreuz (the so-called "Pour le M?rite f?r Unteroffiziere und Mannschaften").