Researching Bavarian Chevauleger

[avadski]

Hello guys,

yesterday I was researching one of the award certificates in my collection issued to MVK 3rd class. I managed to find the guy on Ancestry, this is where he served:

Truppengattung:	Kavallerie
Formation:	Chevaulegers-Regimenter
Truppenteil:	6. Chevauleger-Regiment

The award certificate reads: Gefreiter der Kavallerie - Stabswache des Grossen Haupt Quartiers.

Question no. 1 - any idea what his 'job' could have been?  Sounds to me like just standing in front of the door all day long just like today's presidential guards?

During his WW1 service he was awarded two medals - apart of said MVK he received something like "Pr. Kr. Ord. M." which I presume is Prussian Order of the Crown Medal. 

Question no. 2 - what was that Prussian medal usually awarded for?

Thank you very much in advance for your help and sorry if I posted this in wrong category, please feel to move it where appropriate.

Cheers, Viliam.

 

[Gerd Becker]

Hi Viliam,

the general job of a Stabswache was to keep the staff, the commander and the headquarter safe, The soldiers of those Stabswachen came from every branch of the military. Thats pretty much all i know about this, sorry.

Regarding your second question, there is a wonderful article about the Crown Order Medal on Andreas Schulze Isings (who is also a member here) website:

http://www.medalnet.net/Kronenorden_Medaille.htm

If you need help with a translation, let me know.

all the best,

Gerd

[avadski]

Hello Gerd,

thanks very much for your reply, much appreciated!

In the meantime I found an article on Wikipedia saying:

Stabswache[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Als Ehren- und Schutzwache des Großen Hauptquartiers hatte die Stabswache drei Teile:

• Die Kavalleriestabswache war eine zusammengesetzte Schwadron mit ausnahmslos adeligen Offizieren. Sie diente rein repräsentativen Zwecken.

• Die Infanteriestabswache hatte den Wachtdienst in und um die „Kaiservilla“, vor Hindenburgs Wohnsitz, vor den Unterkünften der „Allerhöchsten“ Besucher und vor demGeneralstabsgebäude.
• Die Artilleriestabswache.......

I think you don't need translation  My original assumption of what the guy did during wartime was pretty accurate as it seems per the Wiki article that Kavallerie's role was mostly representative.

I'd say there's a pretty big chance he met some of the great names like Ludendorf or Hindenburg in person.

Thanks also for the link.

Regards, Viliam.

[Gerd Becker]

Viliam,

i agree, he has probably seen a lot of the big names.

That wiki article pretty much sums up, what i was expecting, thanks 

best,

Gerd

[HeikoGrusdat]

you can sometimes see photos of soldiers of the Stabswache with the crown order medal.....seems that they got a bunch of it

one more question.... when did he serve at the Große Hauptquartier...and where ? Do you know it?

[avadski]

Hello Heiko,

records show he was there since Sept. 1914 till at least June 1916 (that's when he got his MVK). Unfortunately the locations are not readable, I'm pretty sure one of them starts with "Kaisers...." which would point to Koblenz but as far as I know that HQ moved from there already in August...

Thanks.

[Bayern]

Perhaps the name is Kaiserslautern a rhenanian city not so far from Koblenz , Saarbrucken and Ludwigshafen an rhein . in kaiserslautern is today the USAF base Ramstein 

[HeikoGrusdat]

Maybe he has seen Kaiserslautern sometime, the Pfalz belonged to Bavaria in earlier times...but the Große Hauptquartier has never been in Kaiserslautern so I would guess Koblenz should fit for his time there