| About the Duchy | Baden's Army | Orders | Decorations | Campaign, Commemorative and Sevice Medals | Links |
| The Grand Duchy of Baden (Grossherzogtum Baden) was a member state of the German Empire.
Baden's capital was Karlsruhe, and other important cities included Baden-Baden, Rastatt, and
Freiburg. Baden is located in southwestern Germany and its territory includes the storied Black
Forest. Today it is part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg (Bundesland Baden-Württemberg).
Baden's dynasty goes back to the Counts of Breisgau whose title traces to the 10th century. The Margraviate of Baden (Markgrafschaft Baden) was established on April 27, 1112. Over the centuries, more territories were added. On August 24, 1535, the margraviate was split into the Upper Margraviate of Baden, usually called Baden-Baden, and the Lower Margraviate of Baden, usually called Baden-Durlach. The Baden-Baden line became extinct on October 21, 1771, and Margrave Karl Friedrich of Baden-Durlach reunited the Baden possessions and took the title Margrave of Baden. On July 25, 1803, Karl Friedrich was made a prince-elector with the title Markgraf von Baden, Kurfürst des Heiligen Römischen Reiches, Pfalzgraf bei Rhein, etc. On July 25, 1806, in the wake of Napoleon's victories, the Holy Roman Empire was abolished and Napoleon formed the Confederation of the Rhine. Baden was elevated to a Grand Duchy. Baden grew by 1810 to 15,000 square kilometers with a population of almost one million. By 1815, Baden had joined the allies and became a member of the German Confederation. Baden was especially hard hit by the liberal revolutions of 1848-49. The army mutinied in May 1849, and the Republic of Baden was declared on June 1. Prussian and other Confederation troops crushed the rebellion, forcing its leaders into exile and returning the Grand Duke to his throne. A number of the revolutionary leaders would flee to the United States, and several served in the U.S. Civil War. Baden was relatively quiet after these upheavals, and enjoyed a degree of stability under one of the longest serving monarches of the 19th century. Grand Duke Friedrich I had been regent from 1852 to 1856, and reigned as Grand Duke from 1856 until 1907. Baden had sided with Austria in the Austro-Prussian War, but lost relatively little territory. In 1871, the Grand Duchy became part of the German Empire, which it remained part of until the abdication of the Kaiser and the Grand Duke in November 1918. A republic was declared on November 22, 1918, and Baden became a state of the Weimar Republic. After World War Two, Baden was occupied by French and U.S. troops. In 1952 it merged with Württemberg to form Baden-Württemberg.
|
Grand Dukes and years ruled
|
|
Baden's Army |
| The "modern" military history of Baden begins in the Napoleonic Wars. Having been elevated to Grand Duke and his territory made a
part of the Confederation of the Rhine, Karl Friedrich was obligated to provide a contingent of Badeners for Napoleon's
invasion of Russia in 1812. Most of the 7,100 Badeners in the Grande Armee would die in Russia.
By 1815, having joined the allies, Baden provided 8,000 line troops and 8,000 Landwehr, and formed a Landsturm.
Distrustful of citizen soldiers, the Grand Duke abolished the Landwehr and Landsturm shortly after the end of the
war in 1815. The army was part of the German Confederation's Bundesheer in the early to mid-19th century, and underwent a series of reforms. As noted above, the army mutinied in 1849, joining the liberal revolutionaries. Defeated by Prussian troops, the army was again reformed in the 1850s. During the political crisis after the German-Danish War of 1864, Baden had sided with Austria, and in 1866, the Baden Army, comprising the 2nd Division of the Bundesheer's VIII Corps, went to war against Prussia. Since the bulk of combat in the short war took place on the Bohemian front, the VIII Corps saw little fighting and the Badeners suffered only light casualties. After the war, the army was reformed along Prussian lines. In 1870, the Baden Field Division (13 infantry battalions, 12 cavalry squadrons, and 9 artillery batteries) began the Franco-Prussian War as part of the 3rd Army. In July 1870, it was combined with the Württemberg Division in Corps Werder and fought at Weissenburg, Wörth and Hagenau. Corps Werder was then dissolved, and the Badeners participated in the siege of Strasbourg from August to September. After the fall of Strasbourg, the Badeners were involved in the clearing of the Vosges Mountains region. They spent the winter in the sometimes heavy fighting in south-central France. After the armistice, the Badeners returned home to the Grand Duchy, now a member state of the German Empire. Baden's Army became a component of the German Army. The table below shows the composition of the Baden forces in 1914, on the eve of the war that would lead to the death of thousands of Badeners and the end of the dynasty.
|
Baden Regiments of the Imperial German Army on the Eve of World War One |
Infantry
|
Baden's decorations are particularly attractive. The main orders awarded to military officers were the Military Merit Order of Charles Frederick (MKFVO), the Order of the Zähringen Lion, and the Order of Berthold the First. Non-commissioned officers and enlisted men were eligible for the Bravery Medal of the Military Merit Order of Charles Frederick and the Merit Cross of the Order of the Zähringen Lion. Both officers and enlisted soldiers could also receive the gold and silver merit medals, which when worn on the ribbon of the MKFVO indicated a combat award. There were also various campaign, commemorative, and long service medals.
Orders
House Order of Loyalty
Hausorden der Treue
Military Merit Order of Charles Frederick
Militärischer Karl-Friedrich-Verdienstorden
 |
Order of Berthold the First
Orden Berthold des Erstens
Order of the Zähringen Lion
Orden vom Zähringer Löwens
Knight First Class with Oakleaves and Swords
Knight Second Class with Swords
  |
Merit Medal of the Military Merit Order of Charles Frederick
Verdienstmedaille des Militärischen Karl-Friedrich-Verdienstordens
Merit Cross of the Order of the Zähringen Lion
Verdienstkreuz des Orden vom Zähringer Löwens
Merit Medals
Verdienstmedaillen
Golden Merit Medal
goldene Verdienstmedaille
Silver Merit Medals
silberne Verdienstmedaillen
Campaign, Commemorative and Long Service Medals
 |
Commemorative Medal for 1849 Gedächtnismedaille für 1849
This medal commemorated the crushing of the liberal revolution of 1849. Because much of the Baden Army had mutinied and fought on the rebel side, this medal has been called the Brudermordmedaille. The somewhat antiseptic translation as " Fratricide Medal" doesn't quite capture the sense of killing one's brother. |
 |
|||||
 |
Field Service Decoration Felddienst-Auszeichnung
This was a general service or campaign medal, instituted in 1839 and awarded retroactively back to the Napoleonic Wars. Date bars could be worn on the ribbon to indicate campaign service. There were 18 bars:
|
 |
|||||
 |
War Merit Cross Kriegsverdienstkreuz
The War Merit Cross was issued primarily for activities on the homefront and is comparable to the Prussian Merit Cross for War Aid (Verdienstkreuz für Kriegshilfe) |
 |
|||||
 |
Bronze Jubilee Medal, 1902 Bronze Regierungsjubiläumsmedaille, 1902
This medal was issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the rule of Grand Duke Friedrich I, who had been regent after 1852 and grand duke since 1856. Another, rarer, medal was also issued for the 50th anniversary of the grand duke's reign in 1906. |
 |