Question on german ribbon

[The Prussian]

Hello!
I need help in identifying the ribbons of this german soldier of Res.Feldart.Rgt.43.

The wounded badge is clear, but what about the ribbon and the band in the buttonhole?

The unit was formed in Jüterbog (Brandenburg), so I assume, he was prussian.

Note the covered imperial cocarde

Thanx a lot!

Edited January 5, 2016 by The Prussian

[Dave Danner]

The 43. Reserve-Division and its subordinate units, including RFAR 43, was raised from the Prussian Guards.  So he could be from anywhere in Germany (outside of Bavaria, Saxony or Württemberg) where the Guards could raise troops.

Whatever the ribbon is, he ranked it higher than the Iron Cross, since he wore it both as a buttonhole and ahead of the EK2 on his ribbon bar.  I am at a loss, since there were few decorations ranking ahead of the EK.  The Prussian Military Merit Cross did, but it had the same ribbon as the EK.  A Bavarian, Saxon or Württemberger could place their own awards first, but as he's in a Prussian regiment, the only one that comes to mind is the Baden Karl Friedrich Military Merit Medal.  Or he could have been particularly proud of his own home state (Anhalt for example) and placed its award ahead of the EK.  Or he's an idiot and he placed a blue long-service ribbon ahed of the EK and on the buttonhole.  Or I am having a brain-fart and forgetting another appropriate decoration.

[The Prussian]

Hello Dave!

Thanks for you response!

Well, it seems to be difficult. No german forum could help. Probably it will be something vs. the official statutes.

According to Baden awards. Don´t they all have yellow-red colours?

[Dave Danner]

The Karl-Friedrich ribbon would be yellow-red-yellow, with thin white edge stripes.  But in black&white photos, some colors show up almost the same, making the stripes hard to distinguish.  Yellow often looks much darker.  The red edge stripes on the green ribbon of the Anhalt Friedrich Cross also end up looking the same.  The yellow stripes on the Braunschweig Kriegsverdienstkreuz may appear as dark as the dark blue of the rest of the ribbon, although that one shows up as really dark compared to your photo.  

[The Prussian]

Hello Dave!

Thanks a lot again!

The EKII ribbon looks like a two-parted ribbon isn´t it? (Excuse me, but in order to awards I don´t have any knowledges)

The Res.Feldrgt.43 was set-up from the following units:

The Lehr-Regiment of the Feldart. Schießschule built an Ersatz-Abteilung for the 5th and 6th Garde-Feldart.Rgt. Those Ers.Abt. built the Res.Feldart.Rgt.43 (and additionally the batteries 804 and 930)

Tne Ersatz for the regiment came from Ersatz-Feldart.Rgt. Jüterbog (since end of sept. 1917 Ers.Feldart.Brig. Jüterbog).

Because of the wounded badge, it is a late photo (probably post-war because of the covered cocarde)

The Ers.Feldart.Brig. Jüterbog had two regiments:

Ersatz-Feldart.Rgt. Jüterbog (1.Ers.Bttr. from Garde-Korps; 2.Ers.Bttr. from III.AK, 3.Ers.Bttr. from II.AK, 4.Ers.Bttr. from IX.AK, 5.Ers.Bttr. from VII.AK)

and

Ersatz-Feldart.Rgt. Altengrabow (1.Ers.Bttr. from XVII.AK; 2.Ers.Bttr. from IV.AK, 3.Ers.Bttr. from X.AK, 4.Ers.Bttr. from XI.AK, 5.Ers.Bttr. from VIII.AK