Brunswick Frontline Service Clasp

[Ed Maroli]

Would any one happen to know how many of these were awarded?

Thanks, Ed Maroli

[Ed Maroli]

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[Ed Maroli]

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[Guest Rick Research]

The only clues we've got are running Roll numbers on the lower left of the award documents.

Anybody have any to report?

[David Gregory]

The only clues we've got are running Roll numbers on the lower left of the award documents.

Anybody have any to report?

I have a document group to a gunner and later Unteroffizier of 1./FAR 4 including the Bew?hrungsabzeichen. In this case, his Braunschweig documents are numbered as follows:

• KVK (later to become the 2nd class) dated 25 October 1917, roll number K4363
• Bew?hrungsabzeichen zum KVK2 dated 25 July 1918, roll number K4228
• KVK1 dated 25 July 1918, roll number K4228 (i.e. same date and roll number as the Bew?hrungsabzeichen above, but featuring a lower roll number than his previously issued KVK)

Here are some other KVK (i.e. later 2nd class) document details in their order of issue where the numbers have not been trimmed off. However, the roll numbers in the lower left corner might be a bit misleading, as I cannot see any system in the suffixes that some numbers seem to have. Can anyone make any sense out of these?

• KVK dated 2 September 1916, roll number D2234 (possibly P2234)
• KVK dated 22 September 1916, roll number K6
• KVK dated 14 November 1916, roll number K456
• KVK dated 3 May 1917, roll number K1155²
• KVK am gelb-blauen Bande dated 24 January 1918, roll number K4563²
• KVK dated 7 February 1918, roll number K532
• KVK dated 27 June 1918, roll number D11¹268¹/15 (this might be a strangely transcribed D11,268¹/15)
• KVK2 dated 31 July 1918, roll number K4353
• KVK am gelb-blauen Bande dated 28 October 1918, roll number K5845

I also have a couple more that haven't been filed in my Braunschweig folder yet. One of them was awarded some time in 1915, if I recall correctly. I'll add their award dates and roll numbers later.

[Guest Rick Research]

My surmise--since the Rolls themselves do not appear to have survived (or at least have not been FOUND) is that each YEAR (which may NOT have been a CALENDAR year) started over again at 1. There does not seem to be any distinction between the combatant and non combatant ribboned versions-- probably all jumbled together so of not much use on the "yellow-blues."

As an example for this hypothesis-- here is a retroactive document from 18.8.18 that was numbered "D2927/15" for a 28.12.15 award:

Now from the Bew?hrungsabzeichen number you've cited, THEY may have just been lumped in as if each device-only-additional award was just another BrK2.

From the numerous examples you've posted-- a bigger sample than I've ever seen before it MAY be that the original "D" Roll was CHANGED in September 1916, whereupon the "K" Roll started. There is a consistent numerical progression for the 1918 awards, anyway, by dates.

I've got

BrK2 28.8.16 # D 2188

BrK2 "yellow blue" 17.8.18 # K3667 (this MIGHT indicate a separate Roll for noncombatants-- I'd expect most of those to have been issued in 1918)

[David Gregory]

Whoops, in my haste yesterday I posted the document dates and omitted the bestowal dates.

Since that doesn't show the real picture, I'll dig out any others I have and add the bestowal dates this evening. I am sure we will then have a better idea of roll number sequences and how they correlate to the actual award dates.

[Stogieman]

Awarded after the fact.... and here's how they picked them up:

[Bernhard H.Holst]

Hello:

I.- Kriegsverdienstkreuz zweiter Klasse Uffz. Otto Thomas of 8.Jun.1918 shows the number in lower left corner as K 2815;

II.- Kriegsverdienstkreuz ( w/out further class distinction) to Kanonier August Effe , K. Flak Batterie 7, shows no number on the document , dated 19.Feb.1918which is not trimmed. BTW: these Kraftfahr Flak Kompanien were also effective in fighting allied tank attacks (mentioned in the German Reichsarchiv volume about the "Tankschlacht von Cambrai".

I have somewhere in my "archives" a document of the "Bewaehrungsabzeichen" which I must retrieve and mention in this thread.

Bernhard H. Holst

[David Gregory]

In my first post above I omitted one date as follows:

• KVK bestowed on 9 February 1915, document dated 27 June 1918, roll number D11¹268¹/15 (this might be a strangely transcribed D11,268¹/15)

The 15 suffix must refer to the year of the award. All of the other documents feature just the one date.

[Bernhard H.Holst]

Hello:

additional docs:

-Kriegsverdienstkreuz ( no class distinction). to Fw. Eduard Beddies, Fussart.Rgt. General Feldzeugmeister ( Brandenburgisches) Nr.3 ,8..Batterie on 1.Feb.1917. L.lower corner shows K 1224.

same recipient : Bewaehrungsabzeichen zum KVK II.Kl. on 31.Jul.1918, now Fw. and Off.Stellvertreter, same unit. L.lower corner shows K 4355.

BTW: if memory does not trick the Ist class as well as the Bewaehrungsabzeichen were instituted as late as 1918.

Bernhard H. Holst

[Guest Rick Research]

Yes, both only existed from 1918, so that is the only year we can track consistently.

And so far the 1918 "K" roll dates seem to follow a logical date-to-number sequence.

[Ed Maroli]

Were there number prefixes for other Braunschweig awards?

Thanks, Ed

[Ed Maroli]

It also seems then that the KVK2 was awarded about 600 times per month during 1918 and around 250 times a month during 1916?

~Ed.

[christerd]

Thought I would bring up this old thread again with a couple of new documents

Maybe we can find more docs and finally get some numbers and dates together

BrK2 Document dated 10 June 1918 to Otto Bonhagen Erstaz Batl 40, 10 Ersatz Div ? doc numbered D1488/15 awarded 12 July 1915

BrK2 Document dated and awarded 20 June 1917 to Gefreiter Wilhelm Hulke Doc nr K 2652

BrK2 an Gelb Blauen Bande awarded 8 March 1917 to Otto Sievers Doc nr K 1184

any more out there ?

Christer