Finland Finnish Awards To Germans In WW1

[Pete A]

Here it is....... can someone please post what the three Finnish Awards are on the end of this bar? Thanks!

Medal of Liberty 1st class, Medal of Liberty 2nd class, commemorative medal for the liberation war of 1918.

[Stogieman]

Thanks Pete!! I appreciate the help!!

[JensF.]

My finnish awards to Germans. #1:

[JensF.]

#2:

Edited November 30, 2005 by JensF.

[JensF.]

#3:

Edited November 30, 2005 by JensF.

[JensF.]

And a cross of Liberty; 1918 model:

[JensF.]

Back:

[webr55]

Here's my Finnish contribution:

1st to an NCO, I suppose with Medal of Liberty 1st and 2nd class?

[webr55]

Back:

[webr55]

2nd bar - I think - to a Navy officer. I suppose #4 is the Cross of Liberty 2nd class, on peacetime ribbon?

And what strange fad is this: Swords tilted??

[webr55]

Has a tag from Grabow & Matthes, Kiel, on the back:

[webr55]

I hope it is correct to assume that the Cross of Liberty 2nd cl was only awarded from Kapit?nleutnant upwards. If so, I think I have - based on the list compiled by Pete and Rick - two suspects for my officer bar (the second one):

Hermann M?ller-Schmalfeldt, born 10.6.1887, entered Navy 1.4.1906, KaptL 26.4.1917L, a.D. 24.11.1919. Chief of 9th Mine-sweeping Half-flotilla. Listed in RL 1918 as Hermann M?ller with EK1 and HH (apparently changed his name later). BUT: He died 30.4.1929, so no Hindenburg!

Siegfried Tschirch, born 22.4.1888, entered Navy 1.4.1906, KaptL 26.4.1917Mm, a.D. 6.3.1920. Chief of 8th Mine-sweeping Half-flotilla. Listed in RL 1918 with EK1 only (so no proof of HH). Kapt zS (E) 1.10.1939.

Edited December 11, 2005 by webr55

[Guest Rick Research]

Unfortunately there is no way (outside of his naval personnel records, locked up for all eternity by the third generation of lifetime public payroll/pension Mindless Barriers To Research) to determine what other unlisted WW1s he had, or any Finnish awards.

He WAS living in Kiel as a Korvettenkapit?n (E) in 1935 and continued to live there after the war as well. His father, a Professor born in 1858, had a "Wer Ist's?" 1935 entry also showing him there then. If this WAS Tschirch's, it would date between say October 1934 (about the earliest for Hindenburg Cross awards) and September 1936 (October 1936 the Wehrmacht long services began being awarded).

Just impossible to say without photos of him.

Oddly enough, he received the German Cross in Gold20 May 1944-- his command kept the Gulf of Finland completely blocked with anti-submarine nets from the spring of 1943 to September of 1944. Even with that, he was never promoted to Konteradmiral-- which suggests a political block on his advancement.

[webr55]

Hm... Kiel sounds very interesting! But it would indeed be a small time slot for him to have had such a bar. Still, maybe. He needed a new bar when recalled 1935.

Looking through the RL1918 and the Pete-Rick Finnish list, I have found one other possibility:

Gustav-Wilhelm Hugo, born 8.8.1887, entered Navy 1.4.1905, KaptL 24.4.1916 Uu, a.D. 27.12.1919. Last post Cdr of Torpedoboat "V155". Listed in RL 1918 with EK2 only (no EK1, no HH). Apparently not recalled, can't find any trace after 1919.

[Stogieman]

A popular maker and not shy about ID'ing his work....... we see him almost as much as Godet tagged pieces.

[Guest Rick Research]

Hugo lived in various places always in Baden between 1928-37 as the south German area representative for Kerb-Konus of Dresden. He vanishes from my sources between the MOV directories of 1937 and 1939, so very likely he died in that period.

[Pete A]

Nice looking bars. One correction, though. In 1918 CoLs there wasn't any difference with the ribbons of civilian and military divisions. A device would help, but those seem to be quite rare in German WW1 groups.

Pete

[Chris Taylor]

Here's my lone Finnish bar, to a man (NCO?) who went on to fight with the Freikorps in Silesia.

Salty little bar with both the Crosses of Liberty & War of Independence Medal.

[Guest Rick Research]

Oh no-- he was a junior officer, probably a Leutnant or Leutnant der Reserve with that Cross of Liberty. Nice combination, and possibly Gebirgsmaschinengewehrabteilung 229:

the only UNIT that went on from Finland to Silesia-- an NCO from GMGA 229 was the designer of the Silesian Eagle.

Of course lone officers could have strayed from anyplace.

A nifty bar and an usual combination!

[Chris Taylor]

Thank you Rick.

I now seem to recall that you may have commented on this bar before somewhere along the line, as this sounds awefully familiar. (or is mymind playing tricks on me again?? )

Don't suppose there's anyway to trace who the actual owner was is there? (not enough noteable awards though)

[Pete A]

Oh no-- he was a junior officer, probably a Leutnant or Leutnant der Reserve with that Cross of Liberty. Nice combination, and possibly Gebirgsmaschinengewehrabteilung 229:

the only UNIT that went on from Finland to Silesia-- an NCO from GMGA 229 was the designer of the Silesian Eagle.

Of course lone officers could have strayed from anyplace.

A nifty bar and an usual combination!

229. Gebirgs-MG-Abteilung was part of 'Freikorps Paulssen', which was part of 'Detachement Lierau'. But also the Stab of Ostsee-Division was sent to Silesia on 22. december 1918 as Gruppe West. On 5. may 1919 it became 'Gruppe Briese'. (von der Goltz in his memoirs: ".. I arrived with my staff and unfortunately only few of my former troops in Silesia")

Also, some sources say that Frw. Radfahrer Abt. 8, which was part of ' Schlesisches Kavallerie Brigade', came from the Ostsee-Division? Is this true? And what Bicycle-unit that might have been?

By the way, one of the most notable of former 'Finnlandk?mpfers' in Silesia was GM Otto von Brandenstein, who commanded 'Brigade z.B.V. 6' which was also called (d?j? vu) Brigade von Brandenstein. (Again, von der Goltz: "When general v. Brandenstein came from a memorial Mass held for the fallen, was his own brigade clerk in front of the church, handing out flyers that encouraged men against their officers. When general called the man, he sent a word that the general could come to him instead. For his unheard-of-behaviour the rebel got warm support in the soldier's council of Breaslau, so that it was not possible to have him resigned. Thus, the very distinguised general, who was fed up with such circumstances, saw it better to resign himself.")

Pete

[Jani Tiainen]

Here are some of mine:

This is typical for NCO of the Baltic Division in Finland 1918.

Finnish awards are the medal of Liberty 1st class and Liberation war medal.

//Jani

[attachmentid=29266]

[Jani Tiainen]

Here is my one my favourite groups;

This is not traceable, but most propably for one of the instructors of courses to Finnish pilots at the end of 1918 in Island of Rugen.

Obverse:

//Jani

[Jani Tiainen]

reverse

[Guest Rick Research]

Welllll, you know what? The Prussia-Hamburg-Mecklenburg combination suggests a NAVAL recipient to me.

I know, anybody could have bought the Flandernkreuz, and not been in the navy.

But I wonder... if you can ever find a naval aviation officer in any Cross of Liberty rolls it MIGHT be possible to identify that one from this "trio."