Military Merit Cross (Austria)
The Military Merit Cross was donated on October 22, 1849 by the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I for officers who had proven themselves in the war with extraordinary circumspection, courage and determination in front of the enemy or who had shown outstanding professional zeal in times of peace.
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Order classes
Originally only donated to one class, the Military Merit Cross was given the so-called war decoration in 1860. This is a green laurel wreath running between the arms of the cross . At the beginning of World War I , on September 23, 1914, two classes were added. The original class was now the III., The II. A neck decoration and the first class a pectoral cross . From December 13, 1916, all classes with the war decoration could also be awarded with swords.
In exceptional cases, the Military Merit Cross has also been awarded in diamonds since 1856 . The First Class Cross of the Prussian Field Marshal August von Mackensen was made of around 120 medium-sized diamonds, 90 rubies and 36 emeralds . By the end of the monarchy, a total of 23 awards in diamonds are documented, 13 of them with war decorations. The first owner was Archduke Albrecht .
Order decoration
The medal is a silver paw cross , the edge of which is enamelled in red. The medallion reads VER / DIENST in two lines . In the lapel the cross is smooth and covered with white enamel .
Ribbon
The ponceau red and white striped ribbon of the medal of bravery was used as a ribbon . It corresponds to those ribbons as they were used for some other awards of the monarchy (e.g. the military merit medal “Signum Laudis” , the Franz Joseph Order and the civil merit cross ), provided that they were used for merit in the war were awarded.
Carrying method
The first class was shown as a star on the left side of the chest, the second class on the neck and the third class. Class worn on a triangular ribbon on the left side of the chest.
Others
The first class cross ranked in the kuk - order hierarchy between the Grand Cross of the St. Stephen's Order and the Grand Cross of the Leopold Order and was accordingly a rare award.
The military merit mark donated by the Republic of Austria in 1989 is based in its appearance on the Military Merit Cross 1st Class.
Known owner
I. class in diamonds
- Albrecht von Österreich-Teschen (1817–1895), Austrian field marshal
- August von Mackensen (1849–1945), Prussian field marshal on December 6, 1915
- Johann Nepomuk von Appel (1826–1906), Austrian general of the cavalry
I. class
- see: 1st class carrier
II class
- see: 2nd class carrier
III. class
See also
- List of Austrian orders and decorations (ranking of awards)
literature
- Johann Stolzer, Christian Steeb: Austria's Order. From the Middle Ages to the present. Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1996, ISBN 3-201-01649-7 , p. 231ff.
- Roman von Procházka : Austrian Order Handbook. Graf Klenau oHG, Munich 1974, p. 47f.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Theo Schwarzmüller: Between Emperor and Leader. Field Marshal General August von Mackensen. Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 1995, p. 124.
- ↑ BMLVS - Communication Department - Section 3: Armed Forces - TRUPPENDIENST - Edition 6/2003 - The Austrian Military Merit Sign. Retrieved February 14, 2018 .