Bayern Dienstauszeichnung Award

[John F.]

Hello -

Does anyone know what the difference is between these two Bavarian Long Service medals? Is one for officers and the other for enlisted or are they for two different lengths in service?

John

[Rick Research]

The M1913 Reserve-Landwehr Decoration 2nd Class ("LD2") on the left could be given to all ranks who qualified by achieving varying maneuvers time (usually took about 12 years of annual call-ups for summer maneuvers etc) or taking part in a war (such as one of the African colonial campaigns) BEFORE the First World War only, but NOT for WW1!!!. Basically, awards of this grade ceased in 1914, and the war years were just ignored-- or else every non-regular soldier would have been entitled to one--and busted the Weimar Republic's budget!

The M1913 IX years service medal on the right was given only to enlisted ranks. When found in an officer's or official's group, such an award indicates service up from the ranks. Typically, Feuerwerks, Veterinary etc officers spent long years as NCOs before being commissioned, and in such cases they continued to wear their enlisted long service awards, but these were not made TO officers.

Old veterans who held the pre-1913 ugly pinback brooch versions of these were allowed to buy the updated 1913 model, and most did so.

[John F.]

Rick:

Thank you for another great and detailed answer! Have you committed all this information to memory or do you look it up? Can you recommend a good reference, other then yourself or this website for information that pertains to Imperial German Awards in hardcopy?

Thanks,
John

[Rick Research]

There is no single reference. What there is is out of print.

Ayuh, it's all "up there" after 30+ years. Packed in solid. I anticipate forgetting my way home from the supermarket any day now, "memory capacity exceeded!"

[John F.]

Rick -

I know the feeling about memory capacity. This one time I took a wine making class and I forgot how to drive....oh wait a minute that's right, I was drunk!

Thanks again!

John

[Rick Research]

Here are a couple of medal bar examples with the two specific long service medals shown above.

First is a bar formerly from my collection, photo taken by me, now in my friend Ted's collection:

The MVK1X on normal combatant frontline ribbon tells us this fellow was a Feldwebelleutnant dR or more likely dL in a combat unit. His M1913 Bavarian "LD2" tells us that he had the usual 12 years or more of weekend and summer reservist call ups in BEFORE WW1 to qualify for that (and advancement to warrant officer "war's duration" rank), but had NOT been a career NCO, only a mandatory service soldier who stayed in the "active" reserves:

[Rick Research]

And another Formerly Ricky's, now in Ted's:

When is an NCO not an NCO?

When he's an officer, of course!

But there is no officer's award on here, say you? (This also has a matching minis chain without the 1920s Kyfhäuserbund medal on it)

That's because the Life Story here tells us:


Bavarian long service awards continued, unlike Prussian and navy ones, to be awarded right through the war. the only class that STOPPED being awarded in 1914 was the "LD2" as seen above. Since regulars were creditted "double" time for war service, 1914-1918 =d "10" years. An "IX" thus could only be held by

1) someone with less than "XII" years total-- and a 1914 volunteer who signed for brief Provisional Reichsheer duty and got out in April 1920 had a "XII."

See thread

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...threadid=26776

for a recalled FORMER career enlistment NCO with only the IX-- and the reason WHY that's all HE had.

Note that there is NO Luitpold Jubilee Medal on THIS bar, either the 1905 or 1911 type. So THIS up from the ranks NCO

1) was NOT a "Kapitulant" in either 1905 or 1911/12,

2) had 6 years service in to be the minimum Vizefeldwebel/ Vizewachtmeister rank eligible for the MVK2X (officer cadets reached that level after a year, spending a year there before being commisioned-- and so of course never got an NCO's long service award)

so

3) 6 years in, "career" after 1911... who could THAT be?


Answer: an ordnance officer (Feuerwerks- or Zeug- Leutnant) or a Zahlmeister. Most likely the latter, since Paymaster candidates during the war reached this NCO level after about 4 years, and were commissioned (earlier than peacetime advancement) in about 6.

Paymaster candidate signs up 1912, Unterzahlmeister at the front 1916, gets his "IC" 1917, and is commissioned 1918.

[John F.]

Where's the Pic??

And another Formerly Ricky's, now in Ted's

Rick: You forgot to attach the picture with this posting, I guess it's that "memory capacity" thing kicking-in.

John


There it is.....never mind!

[John F.]

What is this one?

Rick:

Is this another type of Bavarian long service award? You might recognize it... because it is yours. You posted this a few weeks ago on another thread.

John

[Rick Research]

Yup, that's the M1913 "XV" Years Service Cross.