Dutchies

The Order of Albert the Bear, Anhalt's house order, was established in 1836, replacing an earlier "Order of the Bear," and was awarded for civil merit as well as military merit. The order was expanded over the years and by the eve of World War One, there were five classes - Grand Cross, Commander 1st Class, Commander 2nd Class, Knight 1st Class and Knight 2nd Class.

Affiliated with the order were Gold and Silver Merit Medals for non-commissioned officers and enlisted men (as well as junior civil servants for non-military awards).

All grades could be awarded with swords, but actual awards of the order with swords appear to have been relatively uncommon.

<<< Knight 2nd Class with Swords

The Friedrich Cross was established on December 12, 1914.

It was awarded in one class to "officers, military officials, non-commissioned officers, soldiers and other persons, without regard to rank or station, who especially distinguish themselves on the field of battle or who manifested exceptional service on the home front during the war."

Ribbon varied for combatants & non-combatants.

The Order of Heinrich (Henry) the Lion.

Knight 1st Class & Swords of the 1870-1909 type		Knight 2nd Class with & without swords
By World War One, the order came in the following classes: Grand Cross, Cross 1st Class, Commander 1st Class, Commander 2nd Class, Officer's Cross, Knight 1st Class, Knight 2nd Class and Cross 4th Class, plus the affiliated Merit Crosses 1st and 2nd Class and Honor Decorations 1st and 2nd Class. One interesting aspect of the order was the placement of swords on badges of the order. Swords were authorized in 1870 for awards for bravery or merit on the field of battle. They were placed below the cross. In 1909, the badges were modified so that swords were worn between the arms of the cross, as was customary with most other German orders. Illustrated are three versions of the order. First is a Knight 1st Class with Swords of the 1870-1909 type, showing the placement of the swords beneath the cross. (See above left). Second & third is a Knight 2nd Class of the 1909-1918 type with and without swords.

ORDER OF HEINRICH (HENRY) THE LION - OFFICERS CROSS - BRAUNSCHWEIG. This is another decoration from the Dutchy of Braunschweig. The Officer’s Cross of the Order of Heinrich the Lion was first established in 1908. A companion to this piece, the Officers Cross with Swords, was authorized for issue after the beginning of WW I and was issued until the end of the war. This cross is larger than an Iron Cross 1st Class. It measures 2 1/4" x 2 1/4". All four arms of the cross sport a light blue enamel. The center of the decoration is hand painted over a red enamel center. There is a GOLD center ring and a GOLD crown over the hand painted horse.

A Military Merit Cross was established by Duke Wilhelm in 1879 as a bravery decoration for junior non-commissioned officers and enlisted soldiers. It was patterned after the Prussian Military Merit Cross.

There is no evidence that the cross was ever actually awarded. In 1914, Duke Ernst August reestablished the Military Merit Cross, but with a new design.

Only a small number of crosses were ever made, and again there is no evidence as to whether any were ever awarded.

Iron Cross 2nd Class and
War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Frontline Service Clasp. This gives an indication of comparative size.

1914 WAR MERIT CROSS 2nd CLASS NON COMBATANT - BRAUNSCHWEIG. A very difficult to find War Service Cross 2nd Class with the Non Combatant ribbon from Braunschweig.

The Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order and its associated medal was an award common to all three Saxon duchies - Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Saxe-Meiningen - in existence during the Imperial era. It was created on December 25, 1833 and revised in 1864. Until 1864, a letter in the upper arm of the cross of the order distinguished the duchies; after 1864 they were identical. The medals of the order, however differed in having each state's own duke on the obverse.

Duke Ernst Medal, 1st Class with Swords. Although the names are similar and the design of the center medallion the same, there was no apparent connection between the Duke Ernst Medal (below right) and the Duke Ernst Medal, 1st Class with Swords. The latter was created on June 29, 1918 and only 86 were ever awarded - 44 on October 17, 1918 and 42 a few weeks later on November 7. It was a silver pinback cross similar to the Iron Cross in that it was awarded without regard to rank. However, its requirements were otherwise strict: the recipient must have been a native of the duchy or have served in the 8. Thüringisches Infanterie- Regiment Nr.153 and must have already received the Iron Cross 1st Class.


BRAVERY MEDAL - SAXE - ALTENBURG. This is the bravery medal from the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg. This is the 1st model, which was awarded during war time. It is made from bronze as opposed to the post war version, which is made from zinc. One side bears the coat of arms of Saxe-Altenburg with the date 1914. The other side bears the Royal Cypher of the Duke Ernst II.	ERNST II MEDAL IN SILVER - SAXE-ALTENBURG. This is the Ernst II Medal in Silver. The decoration is of the highest quality and is made of silver. This civil decoration shows Duke (Herzog) Ernst II in profile, along with his identification and that of Saxe-Altenburg. The reverse has the royal cypher of Ernst II.

DUKE ERNST II GOLDEN MEDAL - SAXE-ALTENBURG.

This circular medal is about the size of a U.S. half dollar. It has a golden finish, but is actually silver gilt. This really gorgeous medal was issued from 1908 to 1918.

Ernst II assumed the throne in 1908 upon the death of his father Duke Ernst I. The obverse has a fine profile of Ernst II in profile along with the legend "Ernst II Duke of Saxe-Altenburg."

The reverse has the coat-of-arms and the motto, in Latin, for the duchy. This decoration was a civil award and came in two grades, with and without crown.

The Carl Eduard War Cross was founded on July 19, 1916 as a single class pinback decoration for bravery and military merit, awarded without regard to rank.

Eligibility requirements were similar to those for the Oval Silver Duke Carl Eduard Medal with Crown and Sword Clasp - one must have already received the Iron Cross 1st Class and have served in, or be serving in, IR95 (there were of course exceptions).

Oval Silver Duke Carl Eduard Medal with Crown and Sword Clasp

WAR SERVICE DECORATION 1914/15 - SAXE-MEININGEN.

This is the War Service Decoration from Saxe-Meiningen. This would be the 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class equivalent from this state.

The date on this decoration is 1914/15. It is a large, circular, bronze-toned medal. The ribbon from Saxe-Meiningen was one of the most distinctive in the German Empire.

It consisted of a wide vertical black stripe, two narrower vertical yellow stripes, and many green squares on the edges on either side.