State Flag (Landesflagge) 1880-1918

Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe

Fürstentum Schaumburg-Lippe

Princely Standard (Fürstenstandarte), 1911-1918

About the Principality Orders and Medals Links

About the Principality

One of the smaller principalities of the German Empire, Schaumburg-Lippe in 1905 had less than 45,000 inhabitants in an area of 131 square miles. But it had a long military history.
Schaumburg-Lippe troops fought in the War of Austrian Succession on the side of Austria. Alongside the British, Hanoverians, and Hessians, the Schaumburgers helped defeat the French at Dettlingen in 1743. They also served at Fontenoy (1745), Raucoux (1746), and Laffeld (1747).
In the Seven Year's War (known in North America as the French and Indian War), Schaumburg allied with England (George II) and Prussia (Frederick the Great). Graf Wilhelm zu Schaumburg-Lippe placed his troops under the Duke of Cumberland and then Duke Ferdinand von Braunschweig, and fought at Minden (both the siege and the battle). They also served at the battle of Marburg Castle (1759), the siege of Münster (1760), the relief of Kassel (1761), and the battle of Hamm (1761). Graf Wilhelm and his troops joined the English in Portugal in 1762-63, where he commanded the combined Portuguese/ British/Schaumburg-Lippisch army.
Landgraf Wilhelm IX of Hessen-Kassel invaded and occupied Schaumburg-Lippe in 1787 in a dynastic dispute, but was forced to leave after two months by the Imperial Court of the Holy Roman Empire.
After joining the Confederation of the Rhine in 1807, the county (Grafschaft) was elevated to a principality (Fürstentum). The tiny principality provided 280 troops for Napoleon's Grande Armee, and accompanied him to Russia in 1812. After the Battle of the Nations and the dissolution of the Confederation of the Rhine, Schaumburg-Lippe joined the allies. Joining the German Confederation in 1815, it was required to field a batallion of 240 men and provide 120 reservists. These troops participated in military operations in Schleswig-Holstein in 1849 and occupied Luxembourg in 1859.
After an 1866 military pact, Schaumburg-Lippe's troops became part of the Prussian Army in 1867. Its troops then fought in the Franco-Prussian War.
At the start of World War One, Schaumburg-Lippe's regular troops were part of the Westfälisches Jäger-Bataillon Nr.7, which was garrisoned at Bückeburg. It was part of the 26th Brigade of Army Corps VII. Jäger-Bataillon Nr.7 was joined on mobilization by Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 7. Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 20 was then raised in Bückeburg by the Ersatz-Abteilung (replacement detachment) of Jäger-Bataillon Nr.7 from 2 overplanned Ersatz companies and from war volunteers. Schaumburgers also served in other Westphalian units, such as Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 15 (one of whose junior reserve officers was the Bürgermeister of Bückeburg).
After World War Two, Schaumburg-Lippe was joined by the British occupation forces with Hannover, Braunschweig, and Oldenburg to form the new state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen).

Orders and Medals

House Order of the Honor Cross

Hausorden des Ehrenkreuzes

From 1869 until 1890, the two Lippe principalities issued a common House Order, commonly known as the Honor Cross of the Princely Joint House. In 1890, the two princes agreed to separate the order, and the Princely Honor Cross of Schaumburg Lippe was born. The order came in five classes - the Honor Crosses 1st and 2nd Class, the Officer's Honor Cross, and the Honor Crosses 3rd and 4th Class. It was only sparingly awarded with swords - the rolls show only 9 or 10 awards with swords or "swords on ring" for all classes (although it is possible some swords awards were simply not indicated as such). There were 2,052 awards without swords in all classes.

Officer's Honor Cross / Offizier-Ehrenkreuz

Photo credit: UBS

Military Merit Medal

Militär-Verdienstmedaille

The Military Merit Medal was created in 1850 and was intended to be awarded without regard to rank. There is some discrepancy over how many of the first version were issued. Sources agree that 14 were initially awarded (7 to Schaumburgers, 6 to officers from Hesse-Kassel and 1 to a Saxon) plus two awards inscribed on the rim with the words "Düppeler Höhen den 17. April 1849" (the battle of the Düppeler Heights was one of the main engagements of the 1848-1851 conflict between Denmark and Germany; the fortifications on these same heights were also scene of the main engagement of the 1864 German-Danish War). After these 14, a number of other awards were made. One source says a total of 58 were awarded, while another says a further 58 were awarded after the initial 14, for a total of 72.

The second version of the Military Merit Medal was awarded for the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. Prince Adolf I awarded 583 such medals, each with crossed sabers on the ribbon ("mit gekreuztem Säbeln auf dem Band").

The third version was awarded in World War One. The design of the medal was the same, although the suspension was different, but instead of crossed sabers, these were awarded with crossed swords on the ribbon ("mit gekreuztem Schwertern auf dem Band"). It is unknown how many of these were awarded, but the number may not have been great. Unlike previous conflicts, the Military Merit Medal was not the principality's main military award - this role had been assumed by the Cross for Loyal Service discussed below.

1870/71

Photo credit: Stogieman

Photo credit: Uwe Bretzendorfer

1914/18 (without the crossed swords)

Photo credit: Tom Y.

Cross for Loyal Service

Kreuz für treue Dienste

The Cross for Loyal Service was the principal military award of Schaumburg-Lippe in World War One. It was awarded without regard for rank. Some 10,397 names appear on the awards rolls, of which 2,174 were in the category of "Members of Ruling Houses and Officers," 7,942 were to non-commissioned officers and enlisted men, and 281 were to non-combatants.

There were 36 "members of ruling house" recipients, of which 11 were Schaumburg princes. Almost all of these received a pinback (Steckkreuz) version of the Cross for Loyal Service. Although this is sometimes, by analogy to the Iron Cross and similar states' awards, called the 1st Class, it was not a higher grade of the Cross for Loyal Service, but a special version for these various princes, dukes, kings and emperors.