A Very Junior Meiningen Hero In Bavaria?

[Guest Rick Research]

This 1920s handmade, tin-backed full-sized ribbons 5 ribbon bar from my late friend David S’s collection—

1) Prussian Iron Cross 2nd Class 1914 (EK2)

2) Bavarian Military Merit Cross (undoubtedly 3rd Class using gold 1920s “Hermannschwert” X device) (BMVK3X)

3) Saxe-Meiningen War Merit Medal (SMM)

4) Baden Silver Merit Medal on MKFVO “war” ribbon (BsV)

5) Silesian Eagle 2nd Class 1919-1921

defies all the “usual” standards by which the lower the rank the less likely ANY awards were, let alone from FOUR different Imperial federal States.

There are always several “usual” explanations

1) the bar is a Frankenstein fraud.

2) the wearer was an aviator with awards linked to his officer observer

3) there was some organizational link between the awards combined

At first glance, this is a wildly improbably combination. There was NO Order Of Battle linkage for Baden, Bavaria, and Meiningen. There is no long service award, indicating a junior non-career enlisted man.

BUT!

In my paws, there is consistent age on this, all the silk ribbons matching, backing dulled, tin toned. It was made with care, although the size is outlandish. So, what gives?

There WAS a Bavarian/Baden connection—Bavarian Infantry Regiment 8 “Grand Duke Friedrich II of Baden.”

Ohhhhhhhhkay. So how does Meiningen get in there?

Strays.

I am transcribing the SMM Rolls, and have just crossed 8,100 (August 1916) of the probably 23,000 or so of that Medal awarded. There have been a number of stray Meiningers, most surprisingly in Baden units. Quite a few were career NCOs in Bavarian, Saxon, and Württemberg units, decorated with an SMM as Meiningen natives.

SO FAR I have found TWO Meiningen natives, both non-career enlisted men, in K.B. Inf Rgt 8 =

Gefreiter Friedrich Dreßler of 6./ K.B. IR 8—SMM on 27.02.16

and

Gefreiter Artur Jakob of 9./ K.B. IR 8—SMM on 12.07.16

AS a native back home after the war, there’d have been no reason for the wearer to keep Bavarian precedence rules, just sentiment for positions 2 and 3, maybe. Anything went under Weimar.

Now that Ancestry dot com has Bavarian infantry records available online, would someone with access to that please check these two men to see if all the awards above can indeed be confirmed to either of them?

Meanwhile, I slog on through the Roll, and may perhaps turn up another stray or two.

[Chris Boonzaier]

dressler had ek2, wound, Sachs Mein ehrenmedailee kriegsv. 14-16 and AEv 27.2.16 from charlotte von sachs meiningen... no Baden

[Chris Boonzaier]

funnily he had no bavarian awards...!

[Chris Boonzaier]

Jakob has just one meiningen award, but no baden. Was wounded mid 16, then disapearsfr om the roll.

[Chris Boonzaier]

Dressler also wounded in mid 1916 and no further mention.

ancestory is not that well put together, sometimes the search function does not find the guy on the roll and you have to go through the roll indexes... not that easy...

[Guest Rick Research]

Thanks for looking!

"Disappeared" but not indicated as killed in action?...

This will all come together Some Day.

Up into September 1916... only six more months of typing ahead. :speechless1:

[saschaw]

Rick, not BsV but BVM3M... ;)

[Guest Rick Research]

Old guys like me use the Reichsheer's "BsV" (and MKFVO Band understood) not the Imperial Navy's abbreviation. Saves typing.

Sooo.... I'm typing out Sachsen-Meiningen-- you going to transcribe Baden's Silver Merit Medals on War Ribbon?

:cheeky:

[saschaw]

Sooo.... I'm typing out Sachsen-Meiningen-- you going to transcribe Baden's Silver Merit Medals on War Ribbon?

Must be about 100,000 to 200,000... there do exist rolls. No idea if complete. No idea wheather of use. Enough use to do those... 100,000 or 200,000 is pretty much.

Old guys like me use the Reichsheer's "BsV" (and MKFVO Band understood) not the Imperial Navy's abbreviation. Saves typing.

Ah, haven't noticed yet Reichswehr used other abreviations for that. By the way, the ones I cited are used in all(?) Imperial rank lists, not only navy. Took them from the usual 1914 rank list.