Iron Cross 1914

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When I started collecting Imperial German militaria one of the first items I acquired -in common with most WWI German collectors- was an example of the Iron Cross second class. Even today they are still fairly cheap and easy to find, although reproductions of varying quality are starting to make their way onto the market.

What I didn't appreciate initially was the wide variety that existed within the topic of the WWI Iron Cross, or that my collection would eventually expand to include documents, photos and packaging as well as the medals themselves.

This first scan shows a fairly typical WWI award document for the Iron Cross 2nd Class. There are literally hundreds of variations of these, ranging from the hand-written to really elaborate designs featuring stunning artwork (usually eagles, suitably war-like looking stormtroopers or unit emblems) This one was issued to an Ersatz Reservist serving with IR 174 in August 1917, and features a unit stamp on the bottom left hand corner:

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The medal itself, a fairly typical example of the 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class, featuring the makers mark on the ribbon ring, and still retaining a length of it's original ribbon:

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The interesting thing about the Iron Cross above was that it came together with it's original paper packet. These are fairly rare, most soldiers either threw them away or never recieved one, the medal being fastened directly to their button-hole at the award ceremony. Most Iron Crosses came in plain blue or brown envelopes bearing the makers' details or simply the designation of the medal. This example is slightly more elaborate, Wilhelm Froese wasn't actually a maker of Iron Crosses, rather he was a seller of them. Recipients of the medal could buy a second cross on production of the relevent award document, and this is the packet Froese would sell the 2nd Class Iron Cross in:

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This photo shows a decorated Garde Regt NCO wearing both grades of the Iron Cross, together with a marksman's lanyard:

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A slightly less common variation of the Iron Cross 2nd Class is the one found with the non-combatant ribbon. These were awarded to chaplains and medics (although many people in these catergories seem to have been awarded the medal with the standard ribbon) as well as to some rear echelon personel for "military merit" rather than bravery in the face of the enemy.

Around 3,790 000 standard Iron Cross 2nd Class were awarded, compared to just over 13,000 of the non-combatant variety. In this instance the ribbon is the valuable part of the medal, in so far as the medal itself is identical to the standard version. When buying a non-combatant Iron Cross check the weave and stiffness of the ribbon, and also subject it to the "black light" test, as many crosses have been fitted with reproduction non-combatant ribbon to enhance their value (currently, they go for about three times the price of a standard 2nd Class)

It was common in Imperial Germany to have combatant and non-combatant grades of the same medal, differentiated by different ribbon colours. In the case of the Iron Cross the ribbon colours were reversed:

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Finally, a photo showing how the Iron Cross 2nd Class was usually awarded during WWI. A group of German Marines recieving their awards from a very large senior officer in a fairly informal award ceremony in Flanders, 1917.

Yes, the Iron Cross 2nd Class was distributed very liberally during WWI -often to whole sub-units at a time- and it certainly doesn't rank anywhere near the British Military Medal, or even a Mention in Despatches, but it did still have to be earned, and at least in the initial stages of WWI was still a prestigeous decoration.

Hope this has all been of some interest, all the best

Paul.

[egbert]

Here is my Granddads original, earned September 9th, 1914; see also this earlier thread

[P.B.]

Hi Egbert

Fantastic display -very tastefully framed, and also very nice to see that the medals have remained with the soldier's family. Do you know any more about the regiment your grandfather served in, or the place and circumstances surrounding his award of the Iron Cross?

The display of your father's medals on the other thread is also very impressive, and with a great story to go with them.

Many thanks for sharing these, all the best

Paul.

[egbert]

Paul,

I have the full story of his whereabouts with IR 49, both regimental history and personal field letters sent home which match and overlay the official history. The Iron Cross was awarded in a desperate regimental situation -weard circumstances - at Le Loges

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Egbert

Fascinating stuff indeed....as I said before, it's generally agreed that it was much harder to be awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class earlier in the war than it was later on, even allowing for the fact that only the period August-December is represented, only 174,220 were awarded in 1914. Compare this with the awards for the next four years:

1915 758,640

1916 896,380

1917 907,144

1918 854,000 (plus about 200,000 post-war "catch-up" awards)

.....and you can see that your grandad's award was indeed hard-won, given at a time when the Iron Cross was still a prestigeous decoration. You certainly have a group of medals to be proud of.

All the best

Paul.

[N.S.Regt.]

Egbert

Nice stuff. Good to see people hanging on to their family history.

Is there any way to trace a Iron Cross? I have a M10 modified tunic, hat and photo to a Wilhelm Wagner. He was a member of 1st Foot Artillery Regt. and was also a senior Sgt the ribbon for the Iron Cross was in the button hole. I received this indirectly from the family who said he was awarded the Iron Cross for observing the enemy while on top a telegraph pole under fire. I was wondering if the date of the award could be traced and if there was a citation for it.

Best regards

N.S.Regt.

[AOK4]

Hello,

Some regimental histories have lists with all awards, but most have not. Rarer medals have published lists of all soldiers that got the particular medal.

There is no such database for the Iron Cross.

Jan

[P.B.]

Many thanks to everyone who has replied to this thread....N.S. Regt, as a uniform collector myself I'd be very interested in seeing any photos you might have of the modified M1910 tunic and cap, as I'm sure you appreciate, to have an identified WWI German uniform is a real rarity. You're a lucky guy and I'm very envious!

No examination of the 1914 Iron Cross would be complete without one example of the First Class variety. 145,024 of these were awarded, and this is a fairly standard issue piece, being flat rather than the slightly convex private purchase types sometimes found, and maker-marked "KO":

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The cross above came complete in it's original presentation case, a typical late-war production with a white inner lid and a purple interior base, complete with the silver outline of the Iron Cross on the outer lid:

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If that were not enough, the whole lot was contained in the fairly rare carboard outer carton which the crosses were despatched from the factory inside. The printed label states that it is "only to be opened by the recipient":

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....and to top it all off, folded up inside the carton was the original owner's preliminary award certificate, made out to Vizefeldwebel Becker of 3/Komp, Fusilier Regt Nr 40 who was awarded his cross in August 1918. At this time this regiment were resting out of the line having been heavily engaged around Soissons, so it's probable that Becker recieved his Iron Cross for the combat in that area. (Many thanks to fellow forum member Alastair Fraser, who generously provided details of Fusilier Regt Nr 40 and their movements during this period.):

[N.S.Regt.]

Paul

I do not have a digital camera but I will see if I could get a loaner if I can I will post it. I do not pick up much Imperial German any more but I have managed to gather up a few more peices of equiptment this spring. I have a m-15 great coat I am looking for a pair of m-15 shoulder straps for it. It is XIV clothing dept. stamped which is Baden so I am still on the hunt for them. I have a pair od 166 regt.Hesse-Homburg on it now.

Best regards

N.S. Regt.

[P.B.]

N.S. Regt,

You're probably already aware of this dealer, but try Helmut Weitze in Hamburg on www.weitze.net. He has a good selection of shoulder boards at reasonable prices, and his stock tends to turn over quite a bit, so there's every chance that he might acquire a good pair of shoulder boards to a Baden regiment. To be honest almost every M1915 greatcoat I've ever seen has had the shoulder boards missing.

Good luck in your collecting, all the best

Paul.

[Chris Boonzaier]

A pet hobby of mine, I have close to 300 iron cross award documents, and am working on a book about them at the moment.

The award document pictured at the beginning of the thread is what I consider to be an Eastern front document. i.e. all the awards made on this variation were made to units on the eastern front, or units who had transfered from the eastern front and probably still had stocks of this at company headquarters.

The non combattant cross on the white ribbon (pictured below in a post war print variation) could be for many kinds of service, here is one to a navy official in Danzig...

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Hi Chris

Absolutely amazing.....one of only three award documents for the non-combatant Iron Cross I've ever seen (only one of these was for sale, and we're talking BIG money....)

Good luck with your book. WWI Iron Cross award documents are a science in their own right , and apart from Hammelman's "German Iron Cross documents of WWI" there's not a great deal currently available on them, so the collecting world is in dire need of a comprehensive reference work.

Thanks for sharing a really rare item, all the best

Paul.

[N.S.Regt.]

Paul

Thanks for the info. I last seen his site about a year ago Checking out for a cap tally to the SMS Seydlitz. I wll give it another try.

Best regards

N.S.Regt.

[P.B.]

Hi Chris

Absolutely amazing.....one of only three award documents for the non-combatant Iron Cross I've ever seen (only one of these was for sale, and we're talking BIG money....)

Good luck with your book. WWI Iron Cross award documents are a science in their own right , and apart from Hammelman's "German Iron Cross documents of WWI" there's not a great deal currently available on them, so the collecting world is in dire need of a comprehensive reference work.

Thanks for sharing a really rare item, all the best

Paul.

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi,

the one posted is the typical post war doc. here is one specifically for a doctor in Münster, notice the doc leaves it open as to whetehr it is a "black ribbon" or "whitw ribbon" cross. In this case another white Ribbon..

[Chris Boonzaier]

here is to a medic who got one on a Black ribbon...

[P.B.]

Hi Chris

Have just caught up with this thread and seen these two excellent award documents....the variety of 1914 EK citations never ceases to amaze me. Once again, thanks for sharing,

All the best

Paul.