Military Merit Order (Württemberg)

Military Merit Order (Württemberg)
The Military Merit Order (Militärverdienstorden) was a military order of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which joined the German Empire in 1871. The order was one of the older military orders of the states of the German Empire. It was founded on 11 February 1759 by Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg as the Militär-Carls-Orden, and was renamed the Militärverdienstorden on 11 November 1806 by King Friedrich I. The order underwent several more revisions over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It became obsolete with the fall of the Württemberg monarchy in the wake of Germany's defeat in World War I.
Classes
The order came in three classes:
Grand Cross (Großkreuz)
Commander's Cross (Kommandeurkreuz) and
Knight's Cross (Ritterkreuz).
Generally, the rank of the recipient determined which grade he would receive. Between 1799 and 1919, there were an estimated 95 awards of the Grand Cross, 214 of the Commander's Cross, and 3,128 of the Knight's Cross, with the bulk of these awards made in World War I; the numbers may only cover native Württembergers.
Description
The badge of the order was a white-enameled gold cross pattée with curved arms and slightly concave edges. Around the white-enameled center medallion was a blue-enameled gold ring bearing on both sides the motto "Furchtlos und trew" ("Fearless and loyal"). On the obverse, the medallion bore a green-enameled gold laurel wreath. On the reverse, the medallion bore the monogram of the king of Württemberg at the time of award. The cross was the same size for the Grand Cross and the Commander's Cross, and slightly smaller for the Knight's Cross. The Grand Cross and Commander's Cross, and from 1870 the Knight's Cross, were topped with a crown. On 25 September 1914, the crown was removed from all grades.
The star of the order, awarded with the Grand Cross only, was a gold-rimmed silver eight-pointed star featuring the ringed medallion of the obverse of the cross.
The ribbon of the order was, until 1818 and after 1914, yellow with broad black stripes near each edge. After November 1917, when the ribbon was worn without the medal, the ribbon bore a green-enameled wreath to distinguish it from other Württemberg decorations on the same ribbon. The ribbon from 1818 to 1914 was blue.
Notable recipients
Grand Crosses
Duke Adam of Württemberg
Albert of Saxony
Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg
Prince August of Württemberg
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal
Jérôme Bonaparte
Julius von Bose
Carl, Duke of Württemberg
Prince Charles of Prussia
Archduke Eugen of Austria
Duke Eugen of Württemberg (1758–1822)
Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
Frederic von Franquemont
Eduard von Fransecky
Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Frederick III, German Emperor
Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828–1885)
Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia
Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen
George, King of Saxony
Paul von Hindenburg
Archduke John of Austria
Georg von Kameke
Hugo von Kirchbach
Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia
Duke Louis of Württemberg
Ludwig III of Bavaria
Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel
Jean Gabriel Marchand
Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
Nicholas I of Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891)
Ivan Paskevich
Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg
Joseph Radetzky von Radetz
Albrecht von Roon
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Alfred von Schlieffen
Albrecht von Stosch
Wilhelm von Tümpling
Nikita Volkonsky
Alfred von Waldersee
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
August von Werder
Wilhelm II, German Emperor
William I of Württemberg
William I, German Emperor
William II of the Netherlands
Duke William Frederick Philip of Württemberg
Duke William of Württemberg
Duke Eugen of Württemberg (1788–1857)
Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg
Ferdinand von Zeppelin
Otto von Marchtaler
Commanders
Duke Alexander of Württemberg (1771–1833)
Paul Bronsart von Schellendorff
Max von Fabeck
Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck
Franz von Hipper
Julius von Verdy du Vernois
Wilhelm Karl, Duke of Urach
Knights
Alexander II of Russia
Gottlob Berger
Oswald Boelcke
Walter Braemer
Wladyslaw Grzegorz Branicki
Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien
Ernst I, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Friedrich Ehmann
Gottfried Ehmann
Otto Esswein
Wilhelm Groener
Philip, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
Erich Ludendorff
Max Ritter von Müller
Karl August Nerger
Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich of Russia
Prince Paul of Württemberg
Manfred von Richthofen
Erwin Rommel
Reinhard Scheer
Hugo Sperrle
Jona von Ustinov
Otto Weddigen
William II of Württemberg
Franz Graf von Wimpffen
Duke Eugen of Württemberg (1846–1877)
References
Königlich Statistischer Landesamt,Hof und Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Württemberg, 1908.
Neal O'Connor, Aviation Awards of Imperial Germany in World War I and the Men Who Earned Them: Volume IV - The Aviation Awards of the Kingdom of Württemberg, Flying Machines Press 1995
Dr. Kurt-Gerhard Klietmann, Pour le Mérite und Tapferkeitsmedaille, 1966.
Website on the Decorations of the Kingdom of Württemberg
Notes
Orders, decorations, and medals of Württemberg
Military awards and decorations of Imperial Germany
1759 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1919 disestablishments in Germany
Awards established in 1759
Awards disestablished in 1919