Confusion R Me!

[W McSwiggan]

Combined Saxon Duchies Question ? Oh let?s throw in Weimar too

OK ? OK ? generalizations are bad and especially scary in this area of interest involving

Aristocratic foibles and all.

That said ? I?m trying to gain an appreciation for the Saxon duchies including Saxe-Weimar.

What, in the opinion of this august group is the ?Basic? award for each of these sovereigns?

Officers ? the house order?

Enlisted ? the attached merit medals?

Weimar choices are (I hope) ? White Falcon Order for officers & General Honor Decoration

for the ranks ? seems pretty straight forward.

Here?s where I?m really unsure ? for all the duchies ? officers and the Saxe-Eenestine House

Order and the "grade appropriate" Merit Cross or Medal across the board or did it vary by duchy?

Altenburg ? Saxe-Ernestine House Order for officers & perhaps the Bravery Medal for the troops?

Coburg & Gotha - I?m guessing the SEHO and affiliated medals

Meiningen ? really confused here ? are the cross and medal for merit in war the basic decorations?

Any opinions or better yet definitive statements on basic awards would be appreciated!

[Guest Rick Research]

You're right on.

The only exception to House Orders/Medals with swords for the common Ernestine would be Meiningen, which did indeed seem to use their War Merit Cross/Medal as initial awards and save the Order/Medals for 2nd awards--opposite to the other two Hyphenateds which added on their new wartime awards as the years dragged on.

[W McSwiggan]

Again the master to the rescue.

Please to accept this humble grasshopper's appreciation!

Thanks Rick!

PS - Altenburg's Bravery Medal was kind of a "floater" then? An actual bravery medal as opposed to "merit"?