New Ribbon Bars

[Paul R]

I have just received these ribbon bars from the guru of bars himself!

Also, I wish to thank Rick Research for helping me to identify some of these bars!!

The first one consists of the 1914 EK2, Saxon War Effort Cross(with unauthorized attachment), Lippe Detmold War Merit Cross, and the Hamburg Hanseatic Cross. My question is who, why, and when was the laural clasp applied to this Saxon Ribbon?

[Paul R]

Here is the reverse, with a nice white backing material!

[Paul R]

And the second bar consists of:

1914 EK2, Hessian Long Service Ribbon, and the Hessian General Decoration War Ribbon.

[Paul R]

Here is the back

[Paul R]

Thanks to both of the Ricks for the help on obtaining and IDing these bars!

[Guest Rick Research]

That is sooooo weird! Of course, there is nothing I can think of offhand that is a weirder German decoration than the Saxon War Effort Cross, anyway.

Perhaps this guy wanted to self-create a "frontline" version with the Austrian-style war decoration wreath. It WAS given (inexplicably-- as enigmatically as the award itself) for frontline "whatever" just as readily (and randomly) as anything else--there being NO requirements for what it WAS given for beyond literally having no other Saxon wartime award already.

I would say wild and crazee Weimar "anything goes" wear.

Though perhaps what confused your non-Saxon is that the design HAD a wreath... and was misinterpreted as a "war" version on the erroneous assumption that there was a SWEC that did NOT have a wreath-- just as the W?rttemberg Wiulhelmskreuz here came with and without swords:

[attachmentid=40101]

there was certainly nothing in the 2 line "statutes" to explain... anything!

[Paul R]

Thanks for the input Rick. What that particular medal issued for the same criteia as the Prussian War Aid Cross?

[Brian R]

Rick-

In regards to the W?rttemberg Wilhelmskreuz, was it awarded with and without swords on an inconsistent basis? Please take a look at the bar below - could this have been a "with swords" award with a noncom EK2 or were these swords erroneously added to this bar?

Edited May 20, 2006 by Brian R

[Guest Rick Research]

Ooooooo bar, Brian!!!

No, nothing inconsistent about the Wilhelmskreuz-- Xs for military personnel, no Xs for civilians. If only the Beamten were in Reichswehr Rank Lists with awards, your guy would leap off the page with that pre-war Princely Hohenzollern ?medal. He wasn'y in the Intendance corps-- that's all I can tell.