Sterbebild: Leutnant Albert Kerbl - 2. MGK, 40. Landwehr Infantry Regiment

[IrishGunner]

I primarily collect Sterbebilder (death cards) of artillery regiments; Sterbebilder are often over-looked, but I find them interesting and sometimes you get one that is very interesting. I grabbed this one because it's the first one I've seen with a Baden decoration.

Leutnant Albert Kerbl, Führer (Commander) of the 2. Maschinen-Gewehr-Kompanie of the 40. Landwehr Infantrie Regiment; EK2 and badische Silber Verdienst Medaille. Killed 31 May 1918.

His hometown of Pietsham is east of Munich. So, I wonder why a Bavarian received the Baden award, but no mention of a Bavarian award.

Given the name and unit, perhaps others can provide more info can be found on the Leutnant from their references.

KIA date might provide some additional interesting research. For Chris, I found a Wehrmann from the 40. Ldw. Inf. Regt., 8. Komp. killed on 5.3.18 "im Abschnitt Hartmannsweilerkopf" Was the 40. in the Vosgesen?

Edited October 23, 2013 by IrishGunner

[IrishGunner]

I've found mention on the internet that LIR 40 was part of the 12. Landwehr Division and then the 7. Kavallerie Schützen Division. The 12. LdwDiv fought on the Hartmannsweilerkopf and Oberelsass in 1915-17 and then reportedly went on an expedition to the Baltic and Finland in early 1918; so, it would seem the LIR 40 stayed on the Hartmannsweilerkopf with the 7. Kavallerie Schützen Division, but I haven't found confirmation of this...

[arb]

A very nice example from a wonderful field for Imperial collectors!

Vizefeldwebel Kerbl was promoted Leutn.d.Lw on 27.01.1915 while serving with Landw. Inf. R. 40. He was assigned to Landwehr Bezirk Mosbach. He was a Prussian officer, which would explain the absence of a Bavarian award.

Andy

[IrishGunner]

A very nice example from a wonderful field for Imperial collectors!

Vizefeldwebel Kerbl was promoted Leutn.d.Lw on 27.01.1915 while serving with Landw. Inf. R. 40. He was assigned to Landwehr Bezirk Mosbach. He was a Prussian officer, which would explain the absence of a Bavarian award.

Andy

Andy, the Sterbebild lists his home town as Pietsham, Rattenkirchen - definitely in Bavaria east of Munich. As you probably know, these cards are usually for Catholics; so, I'm not so sure he was a Prussian officer. Just a Bavarian in a Baden unit for some reason.

Landwehr Bezirk Mosbach I think was in Baden. LIR 40 also was established in Mannheim - Baden I think at the time also. So, that explains the Baden connection, I think...

But if he was a native Bavarian, wouldn't he also been eligible for a Bavarian award?

[arb]

He was clearly a Prussian officer, as his promotion and notice of death are included in the Prussian sections of the Militär Wochenblatt. Moreover, he is listed in Uebe's "Ehrenmal des preußischen Offizierkorps." There are many instances of individuals from one part of the Empire commissioned in another army. Nothing terribly unusual about a man born in Bavaria serving in Baden unit with a Prussian commission. Just not the norm.

All that said, you still have a nice card!

Andy

[IrishGunner]

He was clearly a Prussian officer, as his promotion and notice of death are included in the Prussian sections of the Militär Wochenblatt. Moreover, he is listed in Uebe's "Ehrenmal des preußischen Offizierkorps." There are many instances of individuals from one part of the Empire commissioned in another army. Nothing terribly unusual about a man born in Bavaria serving in Baden unit with a Prussian commission. Just not the norm.

All that said, you still have a nice card!

Andy

Thanks, Andy; I appreciate the references.

[Chris Boonzaier]

I like death cards as well, that is a nice one indeed!!

[Dave Danner]

I do not think it was customary for Bavaria to award decorations to its native sons who served in non-Bavarian contingents. Bavarian awards to Prussians and other non-Bavarians tended to be for other reasons; units with Bavarian chiefs or princes a la suite, such as IR 47, IR 52, KR 1 and FAR 29, non-Bavarians assigned or attached to Bavarian units, or non-Bavarians on commands and staffs with subordinate Bavarian units.

I suppose Saxony and maybe Württemberg were the same way, although I haven't looked into it in any detail. Prussia, of course, could not, since its awards doubled as general German awards. Prussia could hardly deny the EK to a Prussian serving in the Bavarian Army at the same time it was awarding EKs to Bavarians in the Bavarian Army.

The smaller states were different. They really didn't have much choice in where their Landeskinder were assigned. So they had no reason to penalize someone for not serving in the home contingent. Thus a Mecklenburg-Schweriner who ended up as a Bavarian officer, perhaps because he was a student in Munich, might get the MMV2, but a Bavarian who ended up in the Mecklenburg contingent, perhaps because he was a student in Rostock, would not likely get the BMV4X.

Still, some states were strict. Reuß ä.L., for example, routinely turned down awards to its native sons if they left home and had not spent the majority of their adult life in the principality. Braunschweig also turned down a lot of awards to native sons who had not maintained their citizenship in the duchy.

[Chris Boonzaier]

The stars just have to be aligned right.... Try not to be a Prussian officer in a Prussian Regiment.

Better to be a Prussian Officer, in a Bavarian Regiment, with a Würtemmberg connection, attached to a Saxon Division...

[Dave Danner]

I seem to recall one guy, born in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, owned a factory in Hamburg, and did his military time in a Bavarian regiment with a foreign Inhaber, either 4.IR or 8.IR. So he ended up with awards from Prussia, Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hamburg and either Baden or Württemberg.

And I remember Rick had a ribbon bar with the EK2, Bavarian MVK, Baden silver Merit Medal and Sachsen-Meiningen Medal for Merit in War. So likely a native of Meiningen serving in 8. Inf.-Regt. Großherzog Friedrich II von Baden. One of the few ways an enlisted man could rack up multiple state awards.

Another interesting awards note with this Sterbebild is that Kerbl spent almost his entire war as an officer in a Baden regiment and did not receive the Zähringer Lion. Baden was bad about not putting in officers for the order if they already received the Silver Merit Medal before commissioning. This was quite different from the practice in several other states with rank-based awards, like Bavaria and Saxony. You see a lot of Friedrich-August Medal/Albert Order combos, for example, but very few silver Merit Medal/Zähringer Lion combos.

[IrishGunner]

I knew once Dave saw the Baden connection he would add some great info! Thanks.