A 1 anda 2! Iron Cross Document Pairs

[Rick Research]

Here are a pair to a Landwehr officer whose long service documents have graced these pahes before.

Wilhelm Hüne was commissioned a Secondlieutenant der Reserve in Infantry Regiment 25 27 January 1895, and promoted Oberleutnant dR 27.1.1905. Promoted again to Hauptmann dL I of Infantry 22 April 1912 (this warranting the Imperial Autograph).

The signature on his EK2 continues to baffle me. It was bestowed 6 June 1915 per order of 6 October 1914 while Hüne was presumably a company commander in Landwehr Infantry Regiment 7 of the "Landwehrkorps."

[Rick Research]

Typical "hectograph" or whatever the early mimeograph type would be called. Here's his EK 1st Class, which came with a cover letter enclosing this and the EK1 itself sent back to his wife, because he was either sick or wounded at the time.

New (legible!) regimental commander Major von Cranach (later a Jäger regiment commander and Pour le Merite winner) issued this EK1 (vigorously overwritten on the "II" in the pre-printed form) on 5 September 1915, per authorizaton of 31 August.

The cover letter, however (lost between when I got a xerox of the documents from the previous owner in 1977 and when I finally pried the lot out of him in 2001 ) stated that this Iron Cross 1st Class was awarded for Mrs. Hauptmann dL Hüne's husband's bravery at the battle of Podoblin on 1 August 1915, with best wishes for his speedy recovery--and implying sickness rather than wounds.

Hüne also received the Austro-Hungarian Military Merit Cross 3rd Class with War Decoration in March 1915, and in addition to his pre-war LD2 and LD1, he received a Hamburg Hanseatic Cross in 1917 as commander of an Army level telephone section.

[Rick Research]

Oddly enough, Mecklenburg cavalry reserve Leutnant Behncke served all of WW1 with the NAVY.

EK 2s like this, dated 1916 for awards back in 1914, are fairly common. No idea why the delay.

[Rick Research]

How have the mighty fallen! His post-war EK1 document is of a size to simply fold and place in military ID booklet.

Behncke also received a (probably) Lübeck "Hanseatic Cross," which some @#%& German imbecile "collector" persuaded the %#$@**& German dealer to split from this group (may both ), the Mecklenburg-Schwerin Friedrich Franz Cross 2nd Class, and a mysterious Turkish War Medal star, presented to him as the Orderly Officer of either the 2nd or 1st naval Divisions in Flanders. He joined the Wehrmacht as a regular "retread" (E) officer, and eventually reached Oberstleutnant (S) 1 February 1942.

He was alive in that rank on 1 May 1944.

[Rick Research]

Bavarian civil servant and reserve officer Friedrich Lautenschlager's awards have appeared in the "Pretty Blue Enamel" thread.

Here is his 1914 EK2 document. The IIIrd Bavarian Army Corps form for the EK2 was used for all officers, and each was hand signed by the commanding General, Ludwig Freiherr von Gebsattel (15.1.1857-20.9.1930), holder of the Commander and Knight grade Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order and the Prussian Pour le Merite.

This EK2 was for Belgium or Lorraine, August-September 1914.

[Rick Research]

Sometimes Art Nouveau dared raise its vivid hand against the see of dog license format award documents.

Here is Lautenschlager's October 1918 EK1, in reality with 11 distinct colors and so big (240 mm x 380 mm) it had to be scanned in two pieces, shrunk, and re-assembled by our own Mark Schroeder.

This is my closest "Almost Boonzaier."

Signed by regimental commander Ferdinand Edler "v(on) Ruef" auf Hauzendorf (b. 1870, alive 1926) who according to "Das Bayernbuch" only took over command on 18th October, though this is dated on the 3rd.

Lautenschlager also received the "Pretty Blue Enamel" Military Merit Order 4th Class with Swords in 1914, the Luitpold Jubilee Medal 1911, Wound Badge in Black 1918, Honor Cross for Frontfighters 1935, and War Merit Cross 2X 1943.

He had been a Rentamtsassessor in Neunberg vorm Wald before WW1, and rose to Regierungsrat before being dismissed from the Bavarian civil service 1933/35 on political or racial grounds. Recalled for WW2 service, nonetheless, as Major R zV.

[Chris Boonzaier]

At the risk of boring those who have already seen this group.

I bought the EK1 doc on an auction, and when I went into my files I saw I had an EK2 doc to the 303 pioneers. As the EK1 was to an officer I dug out the EK2 doc to see if the officer was maybe the one who signed the EK2 doc.... and saw they were both to the same guy.

The EK1 doc is in a form I love... but have only ever found 2 of (the other one being to later KC winner Luczny). It is awarded from divisional staff level and has what seems to be a typical style as you will see from the WW2 doc pictured for comparison.

There is a full description, congratulating him on his fighting spirit on patrols etc.
Most of it around Ypres and including Hill 60 (Here the Brits had for a couple of years dug tunnels under the German trenches to plant tons of explosives to detonate before an attack, in the Hill 60 area there was underground warefare as german Pioneers dug tunnels to intercept the brits.
Either way, our guy saw plenty of action as a pioneer in this time.

You can see from the WW2 doc, where GKiG winner Schmelzer got a special congratulary certificate from Fieldmarshall Von B. for being awarded the lifesaving medal, it is in the same form as the WW1 EK doc.

[Chris Boonzaier]

ek1

[Chris Boonzaier]

and here the WW2 doc to compare the style...

[Rick Research]

And another pair, this to Julius Bielke whose other documents can be found on a name search.

I seem to have run to this Army Corps for EK2s purely by coincidence! Lost some image quality on the filled in ink part because of reducing scan size. These puppies are BIG!

[Rick Research]

And Hauptmann Bielke's 1916 EK1 document, the circumstances for which can be found in his "Not Just Pretty Blue Enamel" MMOX documents thread.

Foot Artillery were normally employed as composite sector troops and rarely rotated out of their "home" area of the front, remaining as divisions came and went in order to have the best continuity for counter battery fire.