The Military Merit Order (''Militärverdienstorden'') was a military order of the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which existe ...

, 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 Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austri ...

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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 A cross pattée, cross patty or cross paty, also known as a cross formy or cross formée (french: croix pattée, german: Tatzenkreuz), is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre, and often flared in a curve or straight ...

with curved arms and slightly

concave Concave or concavity may refer to: Science and technology * Concave lens * Concave mirror Mathematics * Concave function, the negative of a convex function * Concave polygon, a polygon which is not convex * Concave set * The concavity of a ...

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.O'Connor, p. 38.

Notable recipients

Grand Crosses

* Duke Adam of Württemberg *

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* Jérôme Bonaparte *

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* Frederick III, German Emperor *

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* Archduke John of Austria *

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* Jean Gabriel Marchand * Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia * Helmuth von Moltke the Elder *

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* Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891) *

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* Duke William Frederick Philip of Württemberg * Duke William of Württemberg *

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* Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg *

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* Otto von Marchtaler

Commanders

* Duke Alexander of Württemberg (1771–1833) * Paul Bronsart von Schellendorff *

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* Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck *

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Knights

* Alexander II of Russia *

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* Friedrich Ehmann *

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* Otto Esswein *

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* Philip, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg *

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* Karl August Nerger * Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich of Russia *

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* Erwin Rommel *

Reinhard Scheer Carl Friedrich Heinrich Reinhard Scheer (30 September 1863 – 26 November 1928) was an Admiral in the Imperial German Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine''). Scheer joined the navy in 1879 as an officer cadet and progressed through the ranks, commandin ...

* Hugo Sperrle * Jona von Ustinov * Otto Weddigen *

William II of Württemberg , spouse = , issue = Pauline, Princess of WiedPrince Ulrich , house = Württemberg , father = Prince Frederick of Württemberg , mother = Princess Catherine of Württemberg , birth_date = , birth_place = St ...

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Duke Eugen of Württemberg (1846–1877) , house =Württemberg , father = Duke Eugen of Württemberg , mother =Princess Mathilde of Schaumburg-Lippe , birth_date = , birth_place = Bückeburg, Schaumburg-Lippe , death_date = , death_place =Düsseldorf, Kingdom of ...

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 th
Decorations of the Kingdom of Württemberg

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Military Merit Order (Wurttemberg) 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