page_title: Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
section_title: Decorations and awards
hierarchical_section_title: Helmuth von Moltke the Elder / Decorations and awards
caption_attribution_description: Wappen der Grafen von Moltke
context_page_description: Graf Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke was a Prussian field marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field. He commanded troops in Europe and the Middle East, commanding during the Second Schleswig War, Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War. He is described as embodying "Prussian military organization and tactical genius." He was fascinated with railways and pioneered their military usage. He is often referred to as Moltke the Elder to distinguish him from his nephew Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke, who commanded the German Army at the outbreak of World War I.
context_section_description: German awards and decorations
   Prussia:
  Knight of the Black Eagle, with Collar and in Diamonds
  Grand Cross of the Red Eagle, with Oak Leaves and Swords
  Knight of the Prussian Crown, 1st Class, with Swords, Enamel Band of the Red Eagle, and Oak Leaves
  Grand Commander of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, with Swords and in Diamonds, and Star in Diamonds
  Pour le Mérite, 29 November 1839; with Oak Leaves, 17 February 1871; Grand Cross, 8 March 1879; with Crown and in Diamonds, 29 November 1889 (military); 24 May 1874 (civil)
  Grand Cross of the Iron Cross of 1870
  Commander of Honour of the Johanniter Order
  Service Award Cross
  Lifesaving Medal on ribbon
   Anhalt: Grand Cross of Albert the Bear, with Swords, 1871
   Baden:
  Grand Cross of the Military Karl-Friedrich Merit Order, 1868
  Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, 1871
   Bavaria: Grand Cross of the Military Order of Max Joseph
   Brunswick: Grand Cross of Henry the Lion, with Swords
     Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order, 1861
   Hesse and by Rhine:
  Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, 9 March 1871
  Military Merit Cross, 16 March 1871
   Schaumburg-Lippe: Military Merit Medal, with Swords
   Mecklenburg:
  Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Golden Crown and Swords
  Military Merit Cross, 1st Class (Schwerin)
  War Cross for Distinction (Strelitz)
   Oldenburg: Grand Cross of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Golden Crown and Swords, 31 December 1870
   Kingdom of Saxony:
  Grand Cross of the Military Order of St. Henry, 1870
  Knight of the Rue Crown
   Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon, with Swords, 1870
   Württemberg:
  Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown, 1869
  Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order, 30 December 1870
  Foreign awards and decorations
   Austrian Empire:
  Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, 1864
  Grand Cross of St. Stephen, 1872
   Belgium: Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Leopold
   French Empire: Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, June 1867
   Kingdom of Italy:
  Knight of the Annunciation
  Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy
   Kingdom of Portugal: Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword, with Collar
   Ottoman Empire:
  Imtiyaz Medal, in Diamonds
  Order of the Medjidie, 1st Class
  Sword of Honour
   Russian Empire:
  Knight of St. Andrew
  Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky, in Diamonds
  Knight of the White Eagle
  Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class
  Knight of St. George, 2nd Class
    Sweden-Norway: Knight of the Seraphim, 10 August 1881
   Siam: Grand Cross of the White Elephant
caption: Comital arms awarded in 1870
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