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About the Duchy
Awards of the Combined Saxon Duchies -
The Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order and Medal
The Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order and its associated medal was an award common to
all three Saxon duchies - Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Saxe-Meiningen -
in existence during the Imperial era. It was created on December 25, 1833 and
revised in 1864. Until 1864, a letter in the upper arm of the cross of the
order distinguished the duchies; after 1864 they were identical. The medals of the order, however
differed in having each state's own duke on the obverse.
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Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order
Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden
Military awards of the Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order were limited to officers,
and, as with most orders, the rank of the recipient usually determined the grade of the
order to be received. The Knights 1st and 2nd Class were intended for junior officers,
with the 1st Class typically going to captains (Hauptleute) and the 2nd Class
typically going to Leutnante and Oberleutnante. The numbers awarded is
unclear, as none of the three duchies had a complete roll for all of the war years of
World War One. Aviation historian Neal O'Connor arrived at an estimate based on
looking at the most complete rolls for particular years in the different duchies
(apparently, each duchy kept a consolidated list for the order) and extrapolating from
them. Based on the Meiningen rolls for 1914, 1915 and 1916 and the Coburg rolls for
1917 and 1918, he estimated 62 awards of the Grand Cross, 68 of the Commander's Cross
with Star (AKA Commander 1st Class), 410 of the Commander's Cross (AKA Commander 2nd
Class), 879 of the Knight's Cross 1st Class and 2,027 of the Knight's Cross 2nd Class.
These included awards with and without swords and with the date numeral on the arm.
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Grand Cross with Swords
Großkreuz mit Schwertern
Reverse
Photo credit: UBS
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Commander's Cross with Swords
Komturkreuz mit Schwertern
Reverse
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Knight's Cross 1st Class with Swords
Ritterkreuz 1. Klasse mit Schwertern
Reverse
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Knight's Cross 2nd Class with Swords
Ritterkreuz 2. Klasse mit Schwertern
Reverse
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Merit Cross of the Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order - Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Verdienstkreuz des Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischen Hausordens - Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha
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The Merit Cross of the Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order was a silver cross and
could be awarded with or without swords. It was intended for mid-level civilian and
military officials and certain senior non-commissioned officers and officer candidates.
Awards during World War One without swords for merit on the homefron carried the date
"1914" on the upper arm and, after 1914, the date of award - "1915", "1916", "1917" or
"1918" - on the lower arm.
Regarding awards of the merit cross during World War One, Neal
O'Connor indicated that the State Archives in Coburg (Staatsarchiv Coburg)
had the most complete roll, but did not state whether the roll was for Saxe-Coburg
alone or for all three duchies. On this roll, there were, between 1914 and 1918,
251 awards with swords and 22 awards with various dates.
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Photo credit: UBS
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Golden and Silver Merit Medals of the Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order - Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
goldene und silberne Verdienstmedaillen des Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischen Hausordens - Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha
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The merit medals of the Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order were intended for NCOs and
enlisted personnel. The Golden Merit Medal typically went to mid-level and senior
non-commissioned officers (e.g. Feldwebel, Vizefeldwebel). The
Silver Merit Medal was typically for corporals, lance corporals and privates.
During wartime, this medal was awarded with a clasp on the ribbon bar which
indicated the year of the award. For merit on the homefront, it was awarded with a plain
ribbon clasp ("mit Bandspange"), while for bravery and military merit, it was awarded with
a ribbon clasp with swords ("mit Schwerterspange"). These clasps first appeared during
the Franco-Prussian War, where Silver Merit Medals could be awarded with the "1870/71" clasp. A
"1901/02" clasp was authorized for both Golden and Silver Merit Medals (possibly only for the
Golden Merit Medal). During World War One, the following plain clasps existed: "1914/6",
"1914/7" and "1914/8". Swords clasps were: "1914","1914/5","1914/6","1914/7", "1914/8",
and "1918".
As with the Merit Cross, Neal O'Connor stated that there was
a complete roll in the State Archives in Coburg (Staatsarchiv Coburg) for
the merit medals, but did not state whether the roll was for Saxe-Coburg
alone or for all three duchies. For the Golden Merit Medal, the numbers were 828
mit Schwerterspange and 74 mit Bandspange. For the Silver Merit Medal,
it was 9,779 mit Schwerterspange and 144 mit Bandspange.
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Golden Merit Medal with Swords Clasp "1914/8", for War Merit
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Silver Merit Medal with Swords Clasp "1914", for War Merit
Photo credit: Claudio Ortelli
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Military Awards of the Duchy
Oval Silver Duke Carl Eduard Medal with Crown and Sword Clasp
Ovale silberne Herzog Carl Eduard-Medaille mit Krone und Schwerterspange
Since 1888, Duke Ernst II, Duke Alfred and Duke Carl Eduard each had medals carrying
their names which were awards for merit. The Duke Carl Eduard Medal was established on
August 6, 1905 in two classes. On March 10, 1811, the design of the Duke Carl Eduard
Medal Second Class was changed from round to oval and an intermediate class, with Crown,
was added.
During World War One, a system of clasps like the ones for the Golden and Silver Merit Medals of
the Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order was authorized. The clasps "mit Bandspange"
came with the dates "1914","1915","1916","1917" and "1918". Those "mit
Schwerterspange" came with the same year dates, but also featured, on a band behind
the swords, the numerical month and day of the action for which the medal was given. The day
appeared on the left and the month on the right.
As a military award, the Oval Silver Duke Carl Eduard Medal with Crown and Sword Clasp,
also known as the Duke Carl Eduard Medal Second Class with Swords and Date, may be
included in the same category as the Prussian Iron Cross, as it was awarded
without regard to rank. However, there were other limitations that made the award much
rarer. First, the recipient was to have been a subject of the duke or have served in the
Coburg regiment, 6. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr.95 (IR 95). And second, the recipient
was to have already received the Iron Cross 1st Class and whichever grade of the
Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Merit Cross or Merit Medals he would have been
eligible for based on his rank. These requirements were occasionally waived, however (the
medal's most famous recipient, the Red Baron, Manfred Freiherr von Richtofen, had no
special connection to Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and had not yet received the Ducal Saxe-Ernestine
House Order when he was decorated with it).
Again according to the invaluable research done by the late Neal O'Connor, there were 344
individual awards of the medal during World War One, of which 234 went to soldiers of IR 95.
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A six-medal bar with the 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class, Duke Carl Eduard Medal with
Crown and Sword Clasp, Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order Knight 2nd Class with Swords, Saxe-
Meiningen Honor Cross for Merit in War, Honor Cross for Combatants and Hungarian World War
I Commemorative Medal for for Combatants.
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A two-medal bar with the non-combatant analogs to the Duke Carl Eduard Medal with
Crown and Sword Clasp: the Duke Carl Eduard Medal with Crown and the Honor Cross
for Merit in the Homeland (Ehrenkreuz für Heimatverdienst). The latter medal
was identical to the Duke Carl Eduard Medal with Crown except for being made of bronze instead
of silver, and having a different ribbon.
Photo credit: Claudio Ortelli
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Carl Eduard War Cross
Carl Eduard-Kriegskreuz
The Carl Eduard War Cross was founded on July 19, 1916 as a single class pinback
decoration for bravery and military merit, awarded without regard to rank. Eligibility
requirements were similar to those for the Oval Silver Duke Carl Eduard Medal with
Crown and Sword Clasp - one must have already received the Iron Cross 1st Class and have
served in, or be serving in, IR95 (there were of course exceptions). There were 97
awards of the cross, making it one of the rarest of German military decorations.
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