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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
Verdienstkreuz des Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischen Hausordens
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.
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Photo credit: UBS
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Gold and Silver Merit Medals of the Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order - Saxe-Meiningen
goldene und silberne Verdienstmedaillen des Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischen Hausordens - Sachsen-Meiningen
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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.
As was the case with the other two Saxon duchies, combat awards and military awards
for merit on the homefront from the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen were indicated by swords
and date clasps. During the Franco-Prussian War, these were in the form of a
swords clasp and a date clasp each dated "1870/1". Two colonial swords clasps
were authorized - one for the 1900 Boxer Rebellion with "CHINA" in place of a date and
one for the colonial wars in Germany's Africa conflicts with "AFRIKA" in place of a
date. During World War One, all swords clasps and date clasps were dated "1914".
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Military Awards of the Duchy
The Cross for Merit in War and the Medal for Merit in War
Das Kreuz für Verdienste im Kriege und die Medaille für Verdienste im Kriege
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On March 7, 1915, Duke Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen established the
Honor Cross for Merit in War and the Honor Medal for Merit in War to serve as the duchy's
basic award for bravery and military merit. In this sense, the cross and medal
are comparable to the Prussian Iron Cross, but unlike the Iron Cross, rank determined
which award one received. The Honor Cross for Merit in War was a decoration for
officers while the Honor Medal for Merit in War was for non-commissioned officers
and enlisted men. A total of 4,653 Crosses were awarded, with at least 664
of these being on the ribbon for non-combatants (Neal O'Connor, who reviewed
the awards rolls, noted that one page was missing, so the names of the 14 on
that page are unknown, as is whether they were combatants or non-combatants).
There were 24,038 awards of the Honor Medal for Merit in War, with 326 of these
being on the ribbon for non-combatants.
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Honor Cross for Merit in War
Ehrenkreuz für Verdienste im Kriege
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Photo credit: JF
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Ehrenmedaille für Verdienste im Kriege
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Note: For some reason this example is improperly sewn to the ribbon of
the General Honor Decoration of Saxe-Weimar.
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Medal Bars and Documents
| A six-medal bar belonging to a Bavarian officer with the Iron Cross, 2nd Class,
the Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords, the Saxe-Meiningen Honor Cross for
Merit in War, the Jubilee Medal for the Bavarian Army, the Austrian Military Merit Cross,
3rd Class with War Decoration, and the Bulgarian Order of Military Merit, 4th Class,
on the ribbon of the Military Order for Bravery.
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Reverse of the medal bar above
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A six-medal bar of an NCO from Saxe-Meiningen who went on to serve as a police officer
after World War One. The medals are the Iron Cross, 2nd Class, the Saxe-Meiningen Honor Medal for
Merit in War, the Austrian Bronze Bravery Medal, the Honor Cross for Combatants,
the Prussian 15-Year Long Service Cross and the Third Reich-era Police 25-Year Long Service Cross. |
Reverse of the medal bar above
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A three-medal bar to an enlisted soldier, with the Iron Cross, 2nd Class, the
Saxe-Meiningen Honor Medal for Merit in War and the the Honor Cross for Combatants. This is an
early war example of the Medal for Merit in War, in bronze rather than zinc. |
Photo credit: David
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| A certificate for the Honor Cross for Merit in War, named to a
Saxon. |
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