Emperor badge
The Kaiser Badge was donated by Kaiser Wilhelm II on January 27, 1895 as an annual shooting competition for officers and NCOs of the Corps of the Prussian Army in order to improve the shooting performance in the individual regiments of the infantry and artillery . This badge was awarded from 1895 to 1913.
All infantry regiments, hunters and riflemen as well as the entire field and foot artillery took part in the annual shooting competition. The infantry regiments were rated separately from the hunter and rifle battalions. There were also separate categories for foot and field artillery.
The Saxon Army , the Württemberg Army and the Bavarian Army called the award the royal badge .
Appearance
- infantry
The hollow embossed oval badge shows two crossed rifles framed by a wreath of oak leaves. This is tied to a bow in the lower part. Above is the year of the award. Either the imperial or the royal crown sits enthroned above the wreath of oak leaves. It was made of gold-plated brass. On the back there were six soldered split pins for fastening, which were pressed through a counter plate.
- Hunter
The badge of the hunters shows a capital deer antler over which an imperial crown stands. There is also a radiant cross above the stag's skull. This was also made of brass and gold-plated and was worn on the right upper arm.
- artillery
The artillery badge is similar to that of the infantry, except that here two cannons cross instead of two rifles.
- Machine gun departments
From 1903, the MG divisions were also invited to the Kaiserschießen and received their own badge.
- marine
The naval artillery took part in the Kaiserschießen in the squadron association from 1895, but the prize was awarded retrospectively for the years 1893/94. In 1900/01 no naval shooting was held because of the Boxer Rebellion .
Wearing style
The company with the best results received the emperor's badge. This badge was worn - exclusively by men and non-commissioned officers of the entire regiment / battalion - on the right upper arm of the uniform for one year. From 1902, when multiple awards increased, the award years were marked in the honor wreath. The company commander received a silver shield with an inscription.
The victorious company also received a bronze bust of the emperor with the year of honor engraved on it. This bust was called the Kaiserpreis .
literature
- War Ministry (Hrsg.): Royal Prussian Army Ordinance Sheet. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1895–1913.
- Paul Pietsch: The formation and uniform history of the Prussian army 1808-1914. Volume 1: Foot Troops. Verlag HG Schulz, 1963, pp. 255-257.
- Ulrich Schiers: The marksman's badge in the German Imperial Army during the imperial era. Part 3: Emperor's King Badge. in: Orden-Militaria-Magazin No. 7. Year 1982, official organ of the Bund Deutscher Ordenssammler e. V., pp. 149-175.
- Bernd Wedeking, Markus Bodeux: The award of the imperial badge in the imperial navy. Orders and Badges of Honor - Association magazine of the Association of German Order Collectors, Part 1 in Issue 5 (February) 2000 - page 25 ff. And Part 2 in Issue 6 (April) 2000 - page 27 ff.
- Brockhaus' Kleines Konversations-Lexikon. fifth edition, Volume 2, Leipzig 1911, pp. 660-661. Text in the public domain at zeno.org .
Web links
- List of winners for the individual units of the Kaiser & Königabzeichen (1895–1913) in the Gen-Wiki portal.
Individual evidence
- ^ Brockhaus' Kleines Konversations-Lexikon. fifth edition. Volume 2. Leipzig 1911. pp. 660f.
- ↑ Marine Ordinance Sheet No. 7 & 10 of March 22 and May 6, 1895, ES Mittler & Sohn , p. 65 u. 101.