Austria-Hungary Braunschweig Ausweis w/ K.u.K Tapferkeitsmedaille

[Humberto Corado]

hello,

I am not sure if this is the proper forum to ask this so if not please excuse me.

I just received this Braunschweig Ausweis w/ K.u.K Tapferkeitsmedaille legitimation and bronze medal and I would like to know please if anyone could help me with a few questions.

First I would like to know the translation of the text of the ausweis, this kind of document was issued instead a formal award document or just to authorize the use of the award? it is posible to identified the signature??

Any information about the unit would be very apreciated, if this were in any front with the Austro Hungarian army? was normal to attached the small piece of paper with the Tapferkeitsmedaille legitimation ??

Thanks in advance!

[Humberto Corado]

medal

[Guest Rick Research]

The document is for the Brunswick War Merit Cross 2nd Class (BrK2) to Kanonier (Fahrer on the Austrian slip) Karl M?ller of 2nd Battery Field Artillery Regiment 204, commanded to Bavarian (!) Artillery Commander 7 and is the very first POST-war one I have ever seen.

"Bavarian Artillery Commander 7" was an independent brigade level formation, commanded from 27.8.17 to war's end by Oberstleutnant Herold, but I do not know WHERE it was.

During the war, all these Brunswick award documents were hand signed by State Minister Wolff, who was raised to the nobility during the war, so "Wolff" and "v.Wolff" signatures are seen. Yours was signed by another civil servant, Geheime Kanzlei Kanzlei Direkteur "W Weissing."

The little tiny "fortune cookie fortune" size Austro-Hungarian bronze bravery medal authorization strip is simply attached to it so the little thing won't get lost.

That poor Austrian medal has been scrubbed to death. They were made with a lovely dark CHOCOLATE colored chemical patina.

Early war Brunswick KVK documents were a long format like this:

late war ones were this format:

[Humberto Corado]

The document is for the Brunswick War Merit Cross 2nd Class (BrK2) to Kanonier (Fahrer on the Austrian slip) Karl M?ller of 2nd Battery Field Artillery Regiment 204, commanded to Bavarian (!) Artillery Commander 7 and is the very first POST-war one I have ever seen.

"Bavarian Artillery Commander 7" was an independent brigade level formation, commanded from 27.8.17 to war's end by Oberstleutnant Herold, but I do not know WHERE it was.

During the war, all these Brunswick award documents were hand signed by State Minister Wolff, who was raised to the nobility during the war, so "Wolff" and "v.Wolff" signatures are seen. Yours was signed by another civil servant, Geheime Kanzlei Kanzlei Direkteur "W Weissing."

The little tiny "fortune cookie fortune" size Austro-Hungarian bronze bravery medal authorization strip is simply attached to it so the little thing won't get lost.

That poor Austrian medal has been scrubbed to death. They were made with a lovely dark CHOCOLATE colored chemical patina.

Thank you Rick for posting your documents!

about the medal, almost has lost the chocolate finish that you mention. they were all manufactured from bronze??? unfortunately the ribbon is a modern replacement.

Regarding the document could be possible to know more of whom signed it? or was an insignificant civil servant that got lost in hystory? Probably by that time the State Minister Wolff had more important thing's to do that sign the award documents!!! so this post war documents are not so common? I think in this phase after of the war this kind of document could replaced the wartime formal document??

[Guest Rick Research]

I'm amazed that they had a printed form at all, once it was all over. Notice the nifty rubber stamp? The crown was too big to carve off, but they have crossed out the royal abbreviation in the title!!

Weissing was head of Brunswick's Privy Council in 1917, so he was a top man in the state government. I just can't find anything else on him-- he is not in the 1908/09 Orders Almanac.

I haven't been able to find which division the 204th Field Artillery Regiment was in.

[Humberto Corado]

I'm amazed that they had a printed form at all, once it was all over. Notice the nifty rubber stamp? The crown was too big to carve off, but they have crossed out the royal abbreviation in the title!!

Weissing was head of Brunswick's Privy Council in 1917, so he was a top man in the state government. I just can't find anything else on him-- he is not in the 1908/09 Orders Almanac.

I haven't been able to find which division the 204th Field Artillery Regiment was in.

This is a very nice finding for me!!! after all the document was signed by a top man in the state government!!!

It is curious that they have crossed out the royal abbreviation in the seal but not in the document text.

until what year after the war they continued awarding this medal??

Edited September 20, 2007 by Humberto Corado

[Guest Rick Research]

Yours is the very first document I have ever seen for one after the war ended.

[Humberto Corado]

Many thank's Rick as always!!!!