Civil Colors (Landesfarben), 1864-1918

Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Großherzogtum Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Grand Ducal Standard (Standarte des Grossherzogs), c.1897-1918

About the Grand Duchy Decorations Links

 

 

About the Grand Duchy


With a population according to the 1905 census of just over 100,000, Mecklenburg-Strelitz was one of the smaller states of the German Empire. It was significantly smaller than its neighbor, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which had a population six times greater and over four times the land area. For their size, however, neither was very populous, being the two least densely-populated states in the German Empire. Large numbers of Mecklenburgers had emigrated, especially to the United States, during the 19th Century.

Although separate duchies since 1701, the two states remained closely aligned under the terms of the Erbvergleich of 1755. Both states had entered Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine in 1808 and joined the Allies after the debacle in Russia. They were both elevated to Grand Duchies in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna, and as such entered the German Confederation. Both sided with Prussia in 1866 and became part of the North German Confederation in 1867 and the Empire in 1871.

 


The Armed Forces of the Grand Duchy

The Mecklenburg military contingents had been jointly administered since the 18th Century, and a fuller discussion of their military history will be found under Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which provided the bulk of the forces. In the Mecklenburg contingents of the Imperial German Army, the two units most directly associated with Mecklenburg-Strelitz were the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Grenadier Regiment Nr. 89 (II./1. Großherzoglich Mecklenburgisches Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 89) and the 3rd Battalion of the 24th Field Artillery Regiment (III (Großherzoglich Mecklenburgisches)./Holsteinisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 24 ) (FAR 24). Both units were part of the 17. Infanterie-Division, as were most Mecklenburg contingents. FAR 24 was later transferred to the Deutsche Jäger-Division.

Other units connected with Mecklenburg-Strelitz include Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 76, whose 2nd Battalion was raised in Neustrelitz, and Landsturm-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 37, whose 3rd Battalion was formed from 1. Landsturm-Infanterie-Bataillon IX/4 also from Neustrelitz.

 

Decorations of the Grand Duchy

House Order of the Wendish Crown

Hausorden der Wendischen Krone
The Order of the Wendish (or Wendian) Crown was the highest decoration of the Mecklenburg grand duchies, awarded by both Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. It was jointly established on May 12, 1864 by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The Wendish Crown served as the house order for both houses, and came in four classes - Grand Cross, Grand Commander, Commander and Knight. There were also Gold and Silver Merit Crosses affiliated with the order.

The designs for both houses were essentially the same. The only differences were the grand ducal ciphers for the founders on the reverse of the center medallion and the motto appearing around the crown on the obverse of the center medallion. For Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the cipher was "FF" and the inscription was "Per Aspera ad Astra" ("Through striving, to the stars"), while for Mecklenburg-Strelitz, it was "FW" and "Avito Viret Honore" ("He flourishes on the honor of his ancestors").

According to research by Eric Ludvigsen, there were 2,154 awards of all classes of the house order between its founding and the Grand Dukes' abdication in 1918, with about one quarter of these being from Mecklenburg-Strelitz. This number includes the two Merit Crosses, which together account for 40-45% of awards.

Other than several general officers, various princes and several adjutants to princes, the 1914 rank list shows very few German army officers as members of the house order on the eve of war, and few awards were made during the war (and then generally only to the same classes of people close to the courts in Strelitz and Schwerin). According to the 1914 rank lists, outside of royals, only two officers in the two Mecklenburg brigades held the order, both in the grade of Knight. These were Generalmajor Graf von Schimmelmann, commanding general of the 17th Cavalry Brigade, and Major von Warnstedt, on the staff of the 89th Grenadier Regiment (by way of comparison, some 14 officers in the 89th Grenadiers held various grades of the Order of the Griffin). To these may be added the division chaplain of the 17th Division, Floerke, and an adjutant to the commander of the IX Army Corps, Rittmeister von Behr, who also both held the Knight's grade. In addition, all four Oberzahlmeisters of the 89th Grenadiers and 90th Fusiliers held the Merit Cross (three Gold and one Silver).

Another officer, Hauptmann Erich von Langenn-Steinkeller of the Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Ostafrika, was a Knight of both the Wendian Crown and the Griffin Orders, and held Military Merit Cross 2nd Class from Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He was the German resident in Bujumbura in what is now Burundi three times, in 1909 and from 1911 to 1913 and 1915 to 1916.

Given its rarity as a military award and the fact that I don't even have a picture of the Strelitz version, having read this far, you may be wondering why this order is even included here. For that I have no answer. However, you can see an example of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin version here

 

Order of the Griffin

Greifen-Orden
The Order of the Griffin was primarily an award of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The Strelitz equivalent was rarely awarded. However, in 1904 the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was made a co-Grand Master and joint statutes were enacted. Approximately 20-25% of awards were from Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

As noted above, the order was relatively commonly awarded pre-war, seeming to fill the same niche for the two Mecklenburgs that the Crown Order did for Prussia. It was rarely awarded for bravery (in various campaigns, Mecklenburg-Schwerin had its Military Merit Cross to fill that role while for the Franco-Prussian War, Mecklenburg-Strelitz had its Cross for Distinction in War).

Examples may be seen here. These are a Mecklenburg-Schwerin examples, but the versions were identical for both states.

 

Cross for Distinction in War, "Brave and Loyal"

Kreuz für Auszeichnung im Kriege, "Tapfer und Treu"
The Cross for Distinction in War was established by Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm on March 10, 1871. It was awarded without regard to rank for bravery and military merit and as such may be considered the grand duchy's equivalent of the Iron Cross 2nd Class. Also like the Iron Cross, it was established as a specific wartime award rather than a general military decoration. Thus, awards of this version were only for the Franco-Prussian War. A total of 269 were awarded with the inscription "Tapfer und Treu" ("Brave and Loyal") and 14 with the inscription "Für Tapferkeit" ("For Bravery"). Along with one to the Grand Duke himself, all of the latter went to officers, and none below the rank of Major.

The decoration was renewed by Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich VI on August 11, 1914. The date "1914" was added to the lower cross arm. During World War One and through May 31, 1924, when retroactive awards ceased, a reported 8,131 crosses were awarded with the inscription "Tapfer und Treu" ("Brave and Loyal") and 25 with the inscription "Für Tapferkeit" ("For Bravery") (based on a study by Peter Ohm-Hieronymussen). All of the latter were to royals or very senior officers (the lowest ranking recipient was then-Generalleutnant Erich Ludendorff). The cross could be awarded on the non-combatant's ribbon, usually referred to as the "red ribbon" (as the colors of the combatant's ribbon were reversed, with red predominating). Research by Neal O'Connor indicated that there were 470 awards "on the red ribbon," but it is unclear whether they were included with or in addition to the 8,131 that Ohm-Hieronymussen cites. There was also, according to O'Connor, a list of 127 women (with one name crossed out) who received the award, presumably for homefront merit in support of the war effort, but again it is unclear whether these are part of the 8,131.

On January 1, 1915, Grand Duke Adolf Friedrich VI established a 1st Class version of the cross, about which see below.

On the ribbon for combatants
Am Kämpferband
On the ribbon for noncombatants
Am Nichtkämpferband

Photo credit: Claudio Ortelli

 

Cross 1st Class for Distinction in War, "For Bravery"

Kreuz 1. Klasse für Auszeichnung im Kriege, "Für Tapferkeit"
The Cross 1st Class for Distinction in War was established on January 1, 1915 as a higher class of the Cross for Distinction in War (there had been no 1st Class of the Franco-Prussian War version). Like the Iron Cross 1st Class, it was a pinback cross awarded without regard to rank. It was awarded for "repeated acts of outstanding bravery before the enemy" ("wiederholte hervorragende Tapferkeit vor dem Feinde"). According to O'Connor's research, 419 appear to have been awarded (the role shows five names crossed out, leaving 414, but whether the awards were revoked or improperly recorded, or whether, as in some German states, awards to Jews were removed during the Nazi era, is unknown).

Photo credit: the Bob Scott Collection
Photo credit: Uwe Bretzendorfer

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