Prussia Database with photos of officers showing their knight cross with X of Hohenzollern

[Mattyboy]

Rudolf von Borries 

 

Ludwig von Estorff 

[Mattyboy]

Oberst Günther von Schrauroth 

 

[Mattyboy]

Oberstleutnant von Reiche 

[Mattyboy]

An unknown officer, it might be possible to ID him? 

 

[Dave Danner]

Rudolf Schulze

 

[Mattyboy]

An unknown officer. Is he wearing the Albrecht des Bären order in third place? 

 

[Daniel Krause]

very nice!!!

No proper ID at the moment.

Is there a chance, that this is Rudolf von Busse, although he should have a pilots badge from WW1...

 

Best,

Daniel

[Mattyboy]

Hi Daniel, 

Thanks a lot for your reply. Perhaps he did not have enough front-line hours to warrant the pilot's badge? 

Here is another unknown officer, I think he is wearing the HOH3x on his ribbon bar. 

 

[Dave Danner]

On 05/05/2022 at 10:03, Daniel Krause said:

very nice!!!

No proper ID at the moment.

Is there a chance, that this is Rudolf von Busse, although he should have a pilots badge from WW1...

 

Best,

Daniel

 

Daniel,
I don't think it is Busse. As far as I know, he did not have the SMK or the AK. He also had both the RM and the ABsM, so there should be two non-wartime round medals but I only see the one.

 

My best guess is Theodor Kretzschmer.

Based on his rank in WW1, I think the BT3b in his Reichsheer rank list entry is wrong, and it should be a BT4b.

 

The Albrecht des Bären is the only problem. He does not have it in the 1914 Prussian Army rank list, nor in the Reichsheer rank lists. The Albrecht des Bären is a house order, however, and could have been awarded at any time in the 1920s or 1930s. It would not have had official status, but we have many examples of Wehrmacht officers wearing other 1920s/1930s-era house orders, from the former rulers of Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha and Lippe-Detmold, for example.

 

I'd also note that in the photograph it appears to be a non-swords award, which does not fit its placement after the HOH3X among his wartime awards. Below is the only picture of Kretzschmer I could find.

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by Dave Danner

[Kriegsmarine Admiral]

Here is a photo of Konteradmiral z.V. Wilhelm Rhein (close-up from my collection). I think the ribbon on his lapel is the ribbon of the HOH3x he was awarded on 2 November 1918. Can anyone confirm? The only other ribbon that was worn this way was the Spange zum EK2, but I don't think that's what Rhein is wearing because the device of the Spange was much larger and it would be clearly visible even on a photo of this quality.

Edited May 7, 2022 by Kriegsmarine Admiral

[Mattyboy]

Sorry the photo is too grainy, at least for me. 

[Mattyboy]

Wilhelm Ritter von Reitzenstein 

 

[Bayern]

On 10/05/2022 at 15:47, Mattyboy said:

Wilhelm Ritter von Reitzenstein 

 

By the Shouldercords he was in the Vorlaufige Reichswehr 

[Mattyboy]

Hi all, 

If I'm reading his bar correctly, it's EK2, HOH3x, BMV4x, MMV2, HH, OM3k. 

 

[Daniel Krause]

nice one!

That MIGHT be Leon von Müller, from IR 76, in WW1 General Staffer, retired as Major, recalled for WW2 and made Colonel.

 

Best,

Daniel

[Mattyboy]

Hi Daniel, 

Thanks for the possible ID. Ok here is another unknown man. 

 

[Mattyboy]

An unknown Konteradmiral 

[Glenn J]

Hi Matt,

 

Konteradmiral Theodor Eschenburg.

 

Regards

Glenn

[Mattyboy]

Thank you Glenn! 

[Dave Danner]

Hans-Joachim Gravenstein. 

 

A few things of note: there is a ribbon after the Hamburg Hanseatenkreuz and before the Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer. By the placement, it should be a WW1 Landesorden, but no other state award appears in his Personalakte other than the HOH3X, ÖM3K and HH. Also, the precedence is messed up since he put the Ostmedaille after the Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer. Finally, the last ribbon does not appear in his Personalakte. I believe it is the Deutsches Schutzwallehrenzeichen, which is often missing from Personalakten, since his command was in Koblenz in 1939 and moved to the Westwall on mobilization.

 

[Mattyboy]

I believe the name on this photo is Malbrandt (Oberstleutnant aD Wilhelm Malbrandt). If so, he is a new name to add to the list. 

 

[Dave Danner]

KO4X, not HOH3X, for Malbrandt.

 

Nice photo, though. Confirms his TH, which fits his service in the Ottoman Empire.

Edited August 7, 2022 by Dave Danner

[Mattyboy]

Hi Dave, sorry I thought it was the HOH3x in second place on his ribbon bar! 

[Mattyboy]

Hans von Knauer 

 

 

 

[Dave Danner]

Picture sucks in quality, but the original can be found in the archives in Freiburg, I suppose. Bender had more awards, but he appears to only be wearing his Prussian decorations. Three EK ribbons in a row for his EK2, HOH3X and KO4X.