A Triple Crown Winner: My Newest WW1 Ribbon Bar

[Rick Research]

yes folks, happiness is a warm outdoor show ribbon bar. This combination suggests the "reduced" "war awards only" wear of a Prussian Major, since that rank typically received the Bavarian Military Merit Order 4th with Xs and Crown and Saxon Albert Order- Knight 1st with the same. I'm rather surprised he didn't mount a bronze crown for his Msaxe-meiningen War Honor Cross ribbon, but maybe he was going for symmetry!

[Rick Research]

And closeup of the three separate crowns over swords devices. Typically, the Bavarian ones are real silver. Notice the WW1 period M1915 ribbon bar has no holes in the nickled tin backing, so the prongs for the devices lie on top of the backing under the ribbons-- NOT a good design, and something that began being improved upon even during the war.

[Daniel Krause]

Hi Rick,

niiice one! May it be that I´ve seen it somewhere before?

Best regards

Daniel

[Rick Research]

Oooooo nooooooooooo!!!! Have you got another bar to the same officer???

I am working my way through the award rolls, since those Saxon Albert-Knights 1st with CROWN and Swords didn't grow on trees. Compared with the HHOX and Bav MMO4XwC rolls, I'm probably half done and have only come up with FOUR so far I can't EXCLUDE:

all Majors, and all with pre-war awards that IF this was worn by one of them, they were not wearing as "wartime only" fashion.

The "SA3aXmKr" could be awarded as a single initial award; as a second award of the Knight 1st with Swords, and with combinations added to a peacetime Knight 1st: Crown AND Swords, or Swords to peacetime with Crown. The numbers of Saxons who received this NOT as one initial award are very very small.

[stogieman]

searched my....

.... archive fotos and I can't find a photo of another bar with the "Triple Crown" (or even close) configuration. Sorry, thought I had a prior one that was very close... Hey Dave Simmons, do you have abrother to this bar of Rick's?

[Daniel Krause]

Dont worry Rick, I have no other one like this and this was also never in my collection. But I remember a big bar with that triple a time ago at a German dealer.

Best regards

Daniel

[David S]

In my dreams

I have all the requisite ribbons and crown & swords . . . but alas not on a single bar

That is one magnificent bar!!!!!

[Rick Research]

It Oughto Be Otto

Hasse, that is.

I think I have him! Here's my Prime Suspect-- will be back later with copied and pasted what I've got on him...


This baaad photo © "German National Archives," in T. N. Dupuy's "A Genius for War: The German Army and General Staff, 1807-1945" (1977)-- which gives him the wrong first name. Very confusing, what with THREE of the Reichsheer's top generals sharing the same last name if not actual kinship.

[Daniel Krause]

Oskar? Born 1864?

Ernst, born 67 and Paul born 52 had no fitting awards.

Best regards

Daniel

[Rick Research]

Nuh uh--

Otto Hasse

born 21 June 1871 in Schlawe, died 1942
army 1890 to 30 September 1932:

Sekondeleutnant 17.12.1891 in Inf Rgt 46
Oberleutnant 22.7.1900 U2u from Inf Rgt 46 to War Academy and General Staff thereafter
Hauptmann iG 16.3.1905 O6o
Major iG 13.9.1911 T2t GSO of Military Vehicle Branch Inspectorate in 1914
Oberstleutnant iG 18.8.1916 Rr
Oberst 18.5.1920
Generalmajor 1.2.1923 #3
Generalleutnant 1.2.26
General der Infanterie 1.4.29
and retired “with the Uniform of Infantry Regiment 7”

Pour le Merite-Oakleaves 12.5.18; Pour le Merite 23.12.17
Prussian Hohenzollern House Order 3X 18.7.16 as “Major iG of a Reserve Corps”
Bavarian Military Merit Order 4th Class with Crown and Swords (single award) 22.3.15 “Major iG”
Saxon Albert Order-Knight 1st Class with Crown and Swords (single award) 18.11.15 “Major iG Vth Reserve Corps”

note that 1920s Reichsheer Ranglisten INCORRECTLY list his Bavarian award as 3rd Class when it WAS 4th Class, confirmed from the rolls.

other awards:

Prussian Red Eagle Order 4th Class with Crown
Prussian XXV Years Service Cross
Kaiser Wilhelm I Centenary Medal 1897

Saxe-Meiningen War Merit Cross and

Hamburg Hanseatic Cross***

Chief of General Staff 9th Army 4 August 1918
Chief of General Staff 1st Army 22 August 1918
Chief of Operations Section, with Chief of General staff if the Field Army 19 December 1918
Chief of the “Troop Office” (General Staff), Reichswehr Ministry 1 April 1922
Commander 3rd Division 1 February 1926
Commander, Group Command 1 1 April 1929


*** These awards fit, "in order recived" for a Prussian officer. There were no recipients of this "trio" who weren't General Staff Majors, who did not have pre-1897 seniority, and who did not have at least 1 peacetime Order. Therefore, as suspected, this is a "fashion statement" bar of War Awards Only. One often finds similar Home State Only bars-- all part of making bar researchers deranged cranky persons.

The "test" will be-- did Hasse get his Meiningen award BEFORE or AFTER his Hamburg Hanseatic? A 1914-16 Meiningen would "fit" perfectly with this as a "1917" bar... if he got his Hanseatic award later, 1917-18. If not...

I wonder who ELSE has WRONG awards entries that are clouding my mind!!

[Glenn2438]

Hi Rick,

General der Infanterie Otto Hasse pictured in 1929. Unfortunately still not a very clear shot of his ribbons.

He joined Infanterie-Regiment 46 "Graf Kirchbach" (1.Niederschlesisches) at Posen on the 27 Sep 1890 as a Fahnenjunker.

Wartime appointments:

01 Aug 1914: Ia, V. Reservekorps
24 Nov 1915: Chief of Staff, V. Reservekorps
04 Feb 1917: Chief of Staff, X. Reservekorps
04 Aug 1918: Chief of Staff, 9. Army
22 Aug 1918: Chief of Staff, 1. Army

Died in Berlin-Grunewald on the 28 Sep 1942

Regards
Glenn

[Daniel Krause]

ach sh***t ! Its Otto! He made Gen in Reichswehr tinme, thats why he is not in my Prussian Generals list!
Greeeeaat find and ID work! May You post also the other possible recipients?

Best regards

Daniel

[Rick Research]

Thanks Glenn! He's got a nine ribbon bar, which matches his nine ribboned awards...*

Daniel: I couldn't FIND anyone else! I had Hasse on my "reject" list until I found the Ranglisten error! 1 AM and I'm up doing this stuff, listening to Right Wing Middle Of The Night Talk Radio!...

* I'm baaaaack... do NOT try this at home, boils and germs!! By squinting, straining, magical incantations and blood sacrifices (evidence destroyed) I can see that the ribbon bar is

EK2, HHOX, REO4wCrown, XXV, 1897, Bav MMO4XwC, Sax AO-K1XwC, Meiningen and.... very much last, the Hamburg Hanseatic Cross. That's "pure Prussian" precedence, and "in order awards were received" following the Home State awards.

<marquee behavior=alternate> </marquee>