Dave Danner

Wikipedia is as reliable (or unreliable) as its users make it. The German nobility article above, for example, is not all that well written or clear. It says "The nobility was divided in various subgroups" and then lists four in a row, but the first two and the second two are totally different concepts and overlap each other. Some Uradel were Hochadel, and the others Niedere Adel. Some (maybe all) Briefadel were Niedere Adel, since sovereigns, even in microstates of the Holy Roman and German Empires, had noble lineages going well back (even if that required creativity). The list in that article of examples of titles leaves out some less common ones, like Vogt, and variations of the ones there, like Kurf?rst, Markgraf and Reichsfreiherr. And there is no real precedence, as this varied heavily. Members of sovereign houses (Hochadel) generally ranked ahead of non-sovereigns (Niedere Adel), as their names indicate, but within the category of sovereigns, things were confusing. A prince normally outranks a duke, but a F?rst or Prinz of a sovereign house like Lippe or Liechtenstein did not outrank a duke. Also, within the lower nobility, I believe mediatized princes (members of former sovereign houses which had lost their sovereignty) outranked non-mediatized princes, no matter their actual titles. By the way, Junker, listed there as a category of lesser nobility, is considered a derogatory term by Junkers themselves.

Some statistics. As of 8 August 1917, there were the following in the Balley Brandenburg (which covered all of Germany and the Netherlands in 16 commanderies). 1 Herrenmeister18 Kommendatoren (one of whom served as Ordenshauptmann)6 Ehrenkommendatoren (including 1 Ordenskanzler, 1 Ordensschatzmeister, 1 Ordenswerkmeister, 1 Ordenssekret?r)8 Ehrenmitglieder (the Kaiserin, the Duke of Anhalt, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the Queen of the Netherlands, the King and Queen of Sweden, the Prince of Lippe, and the Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe)1,228 Rechtsritter2,975 EhrenritterAs noted above, the Highest Protector was the Kaiser. The Herrenmeister was Prince Eitel Friedrich. The Ordenshauptmann was Gen.d.Kav. z.D. Hermann Graf von Wartensleben.

It surprises me that many GSOs could not have arranged enough close-to-front time to qualify for the KTK. But maybe that is part of the prestige for the KTK among Austro-Hungarian veterans after the war, as proof they were Frontsoldaten, not enjoying the pampered luxury of an officer's mess well behind the front. My only Austro-Hungarian officer's group has an Iron Crown, Golden Bravery Medal with "K", MVK, bronze MVM, KTK and Austrian WW1 Commemorative. I would assume a platoon leader/company commander group, too junior for a 1908 Jubilee.

And in case you are wondering who is represented on the order: Daniel of Galicia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danylo_of_Halych

No Karl-Truppen-Kreuz in the list or on the ribbon bar. What did Materna do during WW1? Staff officer away from the front?

From Formationsgeschichte der deutschen Infanterie:

Speaking of lifesaving medals, does anyone know anything about Alois Egger? He was an Infanterist in the 17th Bavarian Infantry Regiment who received both the Bavarian and the W?rttemberg Lifesaving Medals on August 21, 1914, for saving a 16-year old girl from drowning. His medals were announced in the same Verordnung where Eduard Dostler (later Ritter von Dostler) received his Lifesaving Medal for saving Lt. Johann St?ckl and Pionier Moser from drowning. This is mentioned in Neal O'Connor's aviation histories. Interestingly, Lt. St?ckl also received the Lifesaving Medal for saving Pion. Moser. So apparently St?ckl jumped in after Moser, and Dostler pulled both of them out. For what it's worth, this was the same Verordnung which announced Lt. Karl Brunner's Bavarian Military Merit Order 4th Class with Swords, Bavaria's first award of a military decoration for World War I. A lot of history on one page.

This was the list - incomplete and with a few errors such as the names of the Bavarian MVOs - of Ritter von Epp's awards which appeared on Axis History Forum: - Plm: am 29.05.1918 als Oberst und Kommandeur der 1. bayer. J?ger-Brigade - RK des Kriegsverdienstkreuzes mit Schwertern: am 00.00.1943 als Reichsleiter und char. General der Infanterie und Reichsstatthalter in Bayern - RK des Kgl. Preuss. Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern: 05.05.1917 - RK des Kgl. Bayer. Milit?r-Max-Joseph-Ordens: am 23.06.1916 als Oberstleutnant und Kommandeur der bayer. Infanterie-Leib-Regiments - 1914 EK I - 1914 EK II - Chinadenkm?nze 1901, - S?dwest Afrika Denkm?nze, - Bayerische Prinz Regent Luitpold Jubil?ums Medaille mit d. Krone, - Bayerischer MVO 3. Klasse mit Schwertern, - Bayerische Dienstauszeichnung 1. Klasse - k.u.k. ?sterr. Orden der Eisernern Krone III. Klasse mit der Kriegsdekoration - k.u.k. ?sterr. Milit?r-Verdienstkreuz III. Klasse mit der Kriegsdekoration - Kgl. Bayer. Milit?r-Verdienstorden IV. Klasse mit Schwertern - Kgl. Bayer. Milit?r-Verdienstorden III. Klasse mit Schwertern und mit der Krone - Offizierkreuz des Kgl. Bayer. Milit?r-Verdienstordens mit Schwertern und mit der Krone - Ehrenkreuz f?r Frontk?mpfer - Goldenes Ehrenzeichen der NSDAP - Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13.03.1938 - Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 01.10.1938 - Kriegsverdienstkreuz II. und I. Klasse mit Schwerten - Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP in Silber

A better picture of the first double medal bar. What is the cross between the last MVO and the HHO3X? It looks like Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Another picture, another ribbon bar:

A beautiful medal. I have avoided approaching lifesaving medals because they are not specifically military. But a number of them have gone to military personnel so I may rethink whether to put images of them up for reference, maybe on their own page. I have no idea how many Saxe-Weimar LS medals were awarded, but it can't be many. Reuss j.L. awarded less than one a year, based on my review of the Reuss Verordnungsblaetter. Saxe-Weimar was a bigger state, so maybe a handful - 2-5 - a year? BTW, totally off topic, but has anyone noticed that "Vigilando ascendimus" sounds like a spell out of Harry Potter?

I only see one Golden St. Henry Medal to a member of a Sturm-Bataillon: Vizefeldwebel Otto Krüger of Sturm-Btl. 11 on 2 June 1918. There is also one on 28 August 1917 to Vizefeldwebel Otto Kretzschmar of the Sturm-Kommando of the 24.Reserve-Division. Here is Krüger's story: [EDIT: I don't have the scans anymore, although I have the book somewhere]

Silberne Karl-Friedrich-Militär-Verdienstmedaille: Eckert, Josef, Vzfw., Sturm-Btl. 2: 1.8.17 Hofmann, Gustav, Vzfw.d.R., Sturm-Btl. 2: 4.7.18 Biehler, August, Gren., Sturm-Btl. 7: 28.5.18 Osiander, Wilhelm Hans, Gefr., Sturm-Btl. 7: 2.9.18 Bordne, Friedrich, Uffz., Sturm-Btl. 8: 22.6.18 F?ll, Franz, Uffz., Sturm-Btl. 8: 10.11.17 Haas, Eduard, Uffz., Sturm-Btl. 8: 10.11.17 Kern, August, Uffz., Sturm-Btl. 8: 25.7.18 Oettle, Adolf, Uffz., Sturm-Btl. 8: 25.3.18 Weber, Friedrich, Gefr., Sturm-Btl. 8: 25.3.18 Leist, Karl, Vzfw.d.L./Offz.Stellv., Sturm-Btl. 11: 18.5.18 By the way, 6 awards to Sturm-Btl. 8 and only 2 to Sturm-Btl. 7 seems odd, since Sturm-Btl. 7 was a Badisch battalion while Sturm-Btl. 8 was supposedly West Prussian and Pomeranian. Sturm-Btl. 11 was also drawn from West Prussian and Pomeranian units, while Sturm-Btl. 2 was mainly from the Rhineland.

Removed from a medal bar by someone before I got it:

They were originally formed in 1978, when it was still Yugoslavia. They are the elite of the police, numbering less than 200, I think. In Cyrillic: Специјална Антитерористичка Јединица There is also a ?andarmerija, a paramilitary police similar to the French Gendarmerie Nationale. The ?andarmerija is also under the police, and has its own CT unit known as PTJ, or Protivteroristička jedinica (Antiterrorist unit).

Assuming you mean Serbia, the Specijalna antiteroristička jedinica is police. They come under MUP, the Ministry of the Interior. http://www.mup.sr.gov.yu/domino%5Cmup.nsf/uni-saj

Wilhelm Edler von Graeve received the plM on 8 November 1918. He had also received Baden's highest military honor, the Military Karl Friedrich Merit Order, on March 3, 1916, when he was a battalion commander in GR 110. Recalled in 1938 z.D., in 1941, he was commanding IR 745. He also had a BB3bX, HHO3X, and SA3aX. Those who received the Military Karl Friedrich Merit Order while in the Sturmbataillone were Lt.d.R. Oskar Geiger and Hptm. Theodor Hartog, both of Sturm-Btl. 1. Also, Lt.d.L. Tobias Baeuerle of the "Sturmtrupp d. 8. Ldw.-Div.", but I don't know if that counts as "Sturmtruppen". Somewhere I have the list of recipients from the Sturmtruppen of the silver Military Karl Friedrich Merit Medal, Baden's highest enlisted decoration of the war. I'll see if I can dig it up. I know there were two to Sturm-Bataillon Nr. 2, two to Sturm-Bataillon Nr. 7, six to Sturm-Bataillon Nr. 8, and one to Sturm-Bataillon Nr. 11.

Deleted since the links pictures are long gone.

I stopped a couple times and almost got stuck. I got my car mired in mud on a farmer's trail trying to get to a monument in the middle of a field. It turned out to be for the advance on Sedan. I wandered around Gravelotte and went to the WW1 German cemetery near there. I also visited the battlefield sites of the 1792 Battle of Valmy. That is considered the first "modern" battle of mass armies which were levied from the entire population, moving from the small professional armies of earlier eras.

Saxon Cavalry 2:

Saxon Cavalry 1:

Saxon Infantry 5 and Saxon Artillery:

Saxon Infantry 4:

Saxon Infantry 3:

Saxon Infantry 2: