Military Merit Order (Bavaria)
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The Order of Military Merit was founded on July 19, 1866 by the Bavarian King Ludwig II and could be awarded to all persons who had distinguished themselves in the war or who had made other services to the Bavarian Army and whose services were not, according to the statutes, for a military max -Joseph Order was enough.
The ruling monarch was the Grand Master of the Order and its Minister of War the Grand Chancellor.
Order classes
The order initially consisted of five classes:
- Grand Cross
- Grand Commander
- Commander
- Knights 1st and 2nd class
- Holder of the Military Merit Cross
From March 12, 1891, the medal could also be awarded with swords . Entrusted from the wars of 1866 and 1870/71 could apply for a permit to carry the swords they had procured themselves. In 1900 the officer's cross was established and in 1905 the classification of classes was revised, with the division of the knight's cross through the creation of the III. and 4th class was canceled:
- Grand Cross
- I. class
- II. Class with a star
- II class
- Officer's Cross
- III. class
- IV. Class with and without crown
- Military Merit Cross 1st Class
- Military Merit Cross II. Class
In 1913 the Military Merit Cross was awarded a III. Class expanded and the officer's cross could also be awarded with a crown from this point in time. During the First World War , from April 1918 the possibility of awarding the crown was extended to the Grand Cross as well as the 1st and 2nd class of the order.
Order decoration
The medal consists of a golden, dark blue enameled cross of St. John , with flames in the corners. The cross of the fourth class is made of silver, the connected merit crosses have no flames. A gold-framed black medallion with a gold L under the royal crown rests on the cross . A white, gold-adorned ring closes around the medallion, with the motto MERENTI (merit) in gold. The Bavarian lion in gold is on the lapel medallion and the year of foundation 1866 is on the medallion ring .
The Military Merit Cross resembles the order in appearance. The first class is made of silver , the second class of bronze and both are only enamelled in the medallion. The III. Class is made of a zinc alloy and is enameled. In addition, all three classes have no flames in the cross corners.
Carrying method
Both the Grand Cross and the first class were so-called sash classes with a star, while the second class could be awarded with a star but without a shoulder strap. The officer's cross is a plug- in decoration in which the lower cross arm is extended.
The ribbon differs according to civil merit (white with blue side stripes and white edges), military merit (white with black-white-blue side stripes and white edges) or merit in the state, so-called official ribbon (white with black side stripes and blue median stripes).
Award numbers
The following award numbers can be determined from the registration lists of the Bavarian War Archives :
| Order class | Awards |
|---|---|
| Grand Cross | 164 |
| Grand Cross with Swords | 42 |
| Grand Commander | 215 |
| Grand Commander with swords | 66 |
| Commander | 574 |
| Commander with swords | 173 |
| Officer's Cross | 98 |
| Officer's Cross with Swords | 5 |
| Knight 1st class | 1,140 |
| Knight 1st class with swords | 465 |
| Knight II class | can not be determined |
| Knight II class with swords | can not be determined |
| Order class | Awards |
|---|---|
| Grand Cross with the Crown and Swords | 2 |
| Grand Cross | 44 |
| Grand cross on ribbon for war merit | 3 |
| Grand Cross with Swords | 82 |
| Grand cross with swords on ribbon for war merit | 4th |
| 1st class with the crown and swords | 2 |
| I. class | 70 |
| First class on ribbon for war merit | 1 |
| 1st class with swords | 139 |
| First class with swords on ribbon for war merit | 4th |
| Second class with the star and the crown and swords | 5 |
| II. Class with the star | 150 |
| Second class with the star on the ribbon for war merit | 4th |
| II. Class with the star and swords | 268 |
| Second class with the star with swords on ribbon for war merit | 10 |
| II class | 220 |
| II. Class on ribbon for war merit | 7th |
| II. Class with swords | 355 |
| Second class with swords on ribbon for war merit | 23 |
| Officer's Cross | 186 |
| Officer's Cross with Swords | 243 |
| III. Class with the crown | 19th |
| III. Class with the crown on the ribbon for war merit | 10 |
| III. Class with the crown and swords | 517 |
| III. Class with the crown and swords on ribbon for war merit | 28 |
| III. class | 612 |
| III. Class on ribbon for war merit | 19th |
| III. Class with swords | 834 |
| III. Class with swords on ribbon for war merit | 44 |
| IV class with the crown | 601 |
| 4th class with the crown on the ribbon for war merit | 59 |
| IV class with the crown and swords | 3,042 |
| IV. Class with the crown and swords on ribbon for war merit | 112 |
| IV class | 1.108 |
| IV class on ribbon for war merit | 170 |
| IV class with swords | 24,141 |
| IV. Class with swords on ribbon for war merit | 544 |
Others
Despite the end of the monarchy on November 7, 1918 and the proclamation of the Free State of Bavaria , medals were awarded until 1921.
The medal had to be returned after the death of the borrower.
literature
- Georg Schreiber: The Bavarian orders and decorations. Prestel, Munich 1964.
- Arnhard Graf Klenau: Order in Germany and Austria. Volume II. Verlag Graf Klenau GmbH, Offenbach 2008, ISBN 978-3-937064-13-0 , pp. 128-137.