The Spanish "Medalla Militar"

[Jacques]

Gentlemans discussion is open

[Panzerpionier]

Gentlemans discussion is open 

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I simply copied and pasted from an older post dating back to Aug 4th, 2005:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1315 Post #13

-First of all, the Medalla Militar (Military Medal) was the third Spanish award, not the second one according to 1938 Nationalist regulations. The highest award was the Ascenso por M?ritos de Guerra (promotion due to war merits), followed by the Cruz Laureada de San Fernando (Laureated Cross of Saint Ferdinand).

-The Military Medal was a very coveted and scarce award. They were awarded either for single acts of extraordinary bravery (usually posthumously) or for outstanding service in a specific campaign. In the former case the medal was usually awarded few weeks or months after the date of the action, but in the later case it took years or even decades to be awarded, because the merits of the potential recipient were checked thoroughly and the process took a lot of time (perhaps the astonishing slowness of Spanish bureaucracy is a better explanation!).

-Spanish recipients had their Military Medals custom made by renowned jewelers, usually in silver with studded diamonds. Sometimes the medals were presented to the recipients by their comrades or subordinates and usually engraved with the name of the recipient and/or the place and date of the action.

-Most of the medals awarded to German soldiers were mass-produced by renowned manufacturer Industrias Ega?a and conferred prior to the departure of the Legion. Commanders of the Legion (Sperrle, Volkmann, Richthoffen) received custom/deluxe medals with studded diamonds. On the other hand, Martin Harlinghausen's medal seems to be made of silver but without diamonds - it looks Spanish-made to me, so perhaps very distinguished officers received medals that were better than those mass-produced but cheaper than those of the "big bosses".

-As stated before, the Military Medal was a very coveted and scarce award, and it was intended to be worn always as a complete medal, not as a ribbon. It seems that Germans were not properly informed about the wearing and importance of the award. Otherwise they would had not worn them in a ribbon bar with the usual crossed swords (not included in Spanish regulations). Think about this: an non-German Axis soldier awarded with the Knight's Cross wearing a tiny Iron Cross ribbon with crossed swords instead of the complete KC. It does not make sense, right?... Well, German soldiers actually did exactly that with their Military Medals...

-There is a list of 60 German recipients of the Military Medal LC members in a Spanish book, but it seems that many more were awarded. In most cases they were awarded at the end of the war to unit commanders and distinguished officers and NCO's, but a few were awarded posthumously after single or repeated acts of bravery during the war (i.e. Hans-Detlef von Kessel, Hannibald von Moerner). It seems also that the proportion of German recipients of the Military Medal was much higher than that of the Spanish recipients, and of course German soldiers did not have to wait for years to receive their medals. In my opinion, those facts together with the wrong way of wear depreciated their medals somehow.

That is my humble knowledge about the subject.

Best regards

[Jacques]

The topic title sound better now

I think that I have somewhere in my files pictures of spanish officer with this kind of medal. I will post them next friday.

The following picture shows Speerle with the "Medalla Militar" he was awarded. But I can't see any diamonds on it. It seems that there is a large circle around the center design but no diamond. I'll try to find good pics of von Richthofen.

If the pics of these 3 commanders taken during the 6th June parade don't show the diamonds, we should have an illustrated opinion on this topic.

jacques

[Jacques]

I found this "Medalla Militar" in my files. This is not diamonds but seems to be a silver thread sticked to the medal.

Panzerpionnier, what's your opinion about this medal ? Can you identify a spanish manufacturer ?

[Jacques]

I checked the picture of von Richthofen, Speerle & Volkman. I found no picture showing them with a "Medalla Militar" with diamonds. Even the pics are a little bit blured, I can't see diamonds !

Here is von Richthofen on June the 6th of 1939 in Berlin.

[Jacques]

Here is a "medalla Militar" with diamonds.

[Jacques]

The pictures of the 3 LC commanders (except Volkmann, because I didn't find a closer pics of him) don't show that they are wearing a medal with diamonds. I would tend to think that which was writen about it is wrong or misunderstood.

Wait for more comments.

jacques