page_title: Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
section_title: 1914 Grand Cross
hierarchical_section_title: Grand Cross of the Iron Cross / 1914 Grand Cross
caption_attribution_description: 1914 Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
context_page_description: The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was a decoration intended for victorious generals of the Prussian Army and its allies. It was the second highest class of the Iron Cross, following the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross which was given only twice. Along with the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class, the Grand Cross was founded on 10 March 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars. It was renewed in 1870 for the Franco-Prussian War and again in 1914 for World War I. In 1939, when Adolf Hitler renewed the Iron Cross as a German decoration, he also renewed the Grand Cross.
  The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was twice the size of the Iron Cross and was worn from a ribbon around the neck. The later Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, instituted in 1939, was also worn from the neck; it was smaller than the Grand Cross but larger than the Iron Cross.
context_section_description: The Iron Cross was renewed again on 5 August 1914.  There were five recipients of the 1914 Grand Cross in the First World War:
  Kaiser Wilhelm II
  Paul von Hindenburg, later also awarded the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
  Erich Ludendorff
  Prince Leopold of Bavaria
  August von Mackensen
caption: 1914 Grand Cross of the Iron Cross.
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