...medal bar identification

[medalnet]

I recently acquired this medal bar, but am not sure if it is possible to identify the bearer?!

[joe campbell]

it's MINE!!!

thank you for finding it. i lost it last week near

the post office...

seriously, it is magnificent!

could i ask you to identify the pieces in the fourth

and seventh positions.

you find wonderful pieces!

joe

[Paul C]

I also saw this out the same place you did. I was working with the seller to trace it. It is in the works and I will let others comment. Please PM me on this.

[Dave Danner]

could i ask you to identify the pieces in the fourth

and seventh positions.

1. Prussia; Iron Cross, 2nd Class

2. Prussia: Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight with Swords

3. Baden: Order of the Z?hringen Lion, Knight 2nd (?) Class with Oakleaves and Swords

4. Reuss: Princely Reuss Honor Cross, 2nd Class with Swords

5. Germany: Honor Cross for Combatants

6. Prussia: 25-year Long Service Cross

7. Prussia: Life Saving Medal

8. Prussia: Centenary Medal

9. Austria-Hungary: Military Merit Cross 3rd Class with War Decoration

The Reuss Honor Cross, 2nd Class indicates a major, likely on staff (majors with higher commands might get the Officer's Cross). The lack of many prewar medals seems to make a unique match hard, but there are likely candidates among pre-war captains with only a Life Saving Medal who made major during the war, such as Maj. Paetzold, late of IR.114 (a Baden regiment, by the way).

[Rendsburg]

What a beautiful bar!

Otto

[medalnet]

indeed:

3. Baden: Order of the Z?hringen Lion, Knight 2nd Class with Oakleaves and Swords

4. Reuss: Princely Reuss Honor Cross, 2nd Class with Swords in GOLD

[Guest Rick Research]

I do not find this officer in the 1924 Reichsheer Rangliste.

Neal O'Connor could not locate ANY WW1 award rolls from either Reuss archive. Just the HHOX and NZ3bXmE are not enough to make an identification, and there is always the possibility that the ? was awarded during the war and not pre-war.

[Dave Danner]

I do not find this officer in the 1924 Reichsheer Rangliste.

Neal O'Connor could not locate ANY WW1 award rolls from either Reuss archive. Just the HHOX and NZ3bXmE are not enough to make an identification, and there is always the possibility that the ? was awarded during the war and not pre-war.

So can we rule out Paetzold? It would be cool to get it on the semi-random first guess.

He was a Major a.D. in the Ehren-Rangliste, so he wouldn't be in the 1924 Reichsheer list.

Edited October 21, 2005 by Dave Danner

[Bob Hunter]

That is one knockout bar! Beautiful!

[Claudio]

Beautiful medal Bar, Andreas! I see so rarely medal bars with orders in Gold... That is really a treaure.

Can we see also a picture of the back?

Ciao,

Claudio

Edited October 21, 2005 by Claudio

[medalnet]

here is the back. Yes, I thought it is one of those bars that will just be nice without the name.

[Stogieman]

Nice bar... an understatement actually. I think any acquisition of a mounted Reuss HO is a commendable feat!

[Guest Rick Research]

Can't rule Paetzold out, since no clue what he got "in total" during the war. We don't know that for ANYBODY not in the Reichswehr.

[Deruelle]

What a beauty Andreas

Christophe

[webr55]

But I can't find Paetzold as a HHOX winner.

[JensF.]

Great!!!

[Daniel Krause]

Unfortunately no Reu? rolls around...I?m down to around 100 possible guys. HOH3X, RM, BZ3bXE - combo is the clue. I?m just not sure if it is enough for a hard ID.

Best regards

Daniel

[Guest Rick Research]

The problem, of course, with someone like this with no visible post-1918 career is that without ALL the German WW1 award rolls, we have NO WAY to EVER tell:

did THIS one get a Hamburg Hanseatic Cross? Did THAT one get a Hessian Bravery Medal? And so on.

[Bob Hunter]

That is unfortunate or to quote Snoopy, "ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH!" Still a gorgeous bar.