Austro-Hungarians

[Elmar Lang]

üA very fine piece, with a beautiful patina!

Here, the series of Tapferkeitsmedaillen as awarded under emperor Karl I:

Goldene Tapferkeitsmedaille für Offiziere (a piece in gold; curiously, also the "K" is made of gold);

Goldene Tapferkeitsmedaille für Offiziere (gilt bronze, with a variation of the "K");

Silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille für Offiziere;

Silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille II Klasse;

Bronzene Tapferkeitsmedaille.

It is important to note, that the officially awarded "Goldene Tapferkeitsmedaille", both in the early gold and in the gilt version, should always have the "old-type" suspension.

[avensis2000]

Nice ones, Peter and Enzo. These ones I don't have any yet.

Was there other makers than Kautsch? (I think Petzl did at least?) Did Leisek do these too?

[Elmar Lang]

Hello,

the official, award pieces of the Karl I type, were signed by Kautsch, but -as private purchase pieces- there were also unsigned ones (especially made of Kriegsmetall) or with other signatures.

The non-Kautsch, signed medals, were those made in Vienna by the Petzl firm, thus the typical signature under the kaiser's bust. They were made from the late 1917, until the early '20s
In my notes, I've found that in 1966, the late Prof. G. Fattovich wrote to messrs. Petzl, asking if it would have been possible to strike a "PETZL"-signed medal in gold; the reply of Mrs. Margarethe Petzl, was that the tools were incomplete and damaged since before WW2; more, he knew that the production of Tapferkeitsmedaillen by Petzl, was not authorized by the Kriegsministerium, who -still during WW1- officially forbade Franz Petzl to continue his production.

Another variation, is that made in Hungary and signed "SCHUCK" on the obverse and "GAL" to the reverse: they were made in Budapest, after 1920, and not later than 1940 (after a note od Prof. Mericka to Prof. Fattovich).

Both the "Petzl" and "Schuck" types are considered as rare. The Goldene Tapferkeitsmedaillen, from these two unofficial makers, always have the "old type" suspension.

All the best,

Enzo (E.L.)

[peterm]

Enzo, I'm really glad that You always do the explanations because of my poor English-knowledge. Thanks a lot for doing that, I'm sure many here in WAF are not experts when it comes to imperial Austrian orders and decorations.

For those who are interested: there will be a great work coming soon (next April) dealing with Imperial Austrian Orders and decorations, published by Militaria-Verlag in Vienna. 2 volumes, like with the imperial EK-books for those who know them.

Best regards, Peter

p.s. If You ever get tired of this Karl-bravery-medal in Gold with gold devuce...

[Elmar Lang]

Hello,

it's a pleasure, if I can be of help, in the field where my collection is focused.

I've also heard about an in-progress, monumental work on Imperial Austrian Orders & Decorations; if I'm not wrong, published by Verlag Militaria (S. Rest), being a choral work, from the most credited experts living in Austria.

I hope that it will be published in an English translation too, so that it could be of help to many prospective new collectors in this fascinating field of phaleristics.

Regarding my Goldene Tapferkeitsmedaille, type Emperor Karl I, I don't think I will get tired of it very soon, because -until now- it is in quite a good company:

[Elmar Lang]

Hello again,

I know that this could be a little off-topic, but more or less remaining in the theme of "Austro-Hungarians", I would like to pay a tribute to my grandfather, from my mother's side; his name was Giorgio (Georg) Croce, born in 1896 in Rovereto, called on service in 1914; firstly sent to the Eastern Front, then, from mid-1915, he fought on the Italian Front, until the end of the hostilities, reaching the rank of Captain, in the last months of war. He fought in the Landesschützen/Kaiserschützen, receiving the Silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille 2.Klasse (Type FJ), the Bronzene Militärverdienstmedaille with war ribbon and swords (type FJ) and, later, the Karl-Truppenkreuz.

He married who became my grandmother in 1915 and, after the war, he settled in Landeck, then in Bozen and in Brixen. His two brothers and his sister, remained in Austria. The Italian Governement, in 1928, registered both his rank in the reserve of the Royal Italian Army, and appointed the validity of his awards, also in Italy.

My mother, jealously preserves the three decorations and now, I would like to post some pictures of him.

First, when he was sent to the officer's school in Wels:

[Elmar Lang]

...the second one, taken in Innsbruck with his wife in 1917 (she is wearing a black dress, because her father died a few days earlier):

[Elmar Lang]

...the third one, taken in the officers' shelter in Passo Paradiso (Italian Front).

the back, handwritten: "Natale a Passo Paradiso, 1917" (Christmas at Passo Paradiso, 1917).

He is the third from left, playing the guitar:

[Elmar Lang]

The last picture was personally taken by my grandfather, early in the spring of 1918, when the snow was melting.

He was a passionate photographer: I remember that he always had a camera with him; he also had one during the war and some of his pictures survived.

The title he gave to this tragical picture was simply: "Spring". It depicts an italian Corporal (a sleeve rank insignia is visible) and a soldier from his platoon, died in a combat and their body soon covered by a thick layer of snow:

[avensis2000]

I totally agree with Peter about this. Enzo's explanations and "stories" have been very clear, useful and interesting for me and I appreciate this a lot. For me this has been very welcome, because my german language is pretty restricted to "auktion-german" - getting better little by little though

I do have some books like "Österreichs Orden" by ÖGO, but reading that with dictionary is quite a task... (in a way that I would understand sentences)

From that, we come to this:

Peter - Thanks for a tip - that book for sure will find it's way to my bookshelf! - no matter if it will be in german or english (and with my typical luck, english version will come very soon available after I get the german version, just like with EK books...)

Enzo, I'm really glad that You always do the explanations because of my poor English-knowledge. Thanks a lot for doing that, I'm sure many here in WAF are not experts when it comes to imperial Austrian orders and decorations.

For those who are interested: there will be a great work coming soon (next April) dealing with Imperial Austrian Orders and decorations, published by Militaria-Verlag in Vienna. 2 volumes, like with the imperial EK-books for those who know them.

Best regards, Peter

p.s. If You ever get tired of this Karl-bravery-medal in Gold with gold devuce...

[Miro O]

...the third one, taken in the officers' shelter in Passo Paradiso (Italian Front).

the back, handwritten: "Natale a Passo Paradiso, 1917" (Christmas at Passo Paradiso, 1917).

He is the third from left, playing the guitar:

Very nice presentation, Enzo. The Christmas photo is very touching. Every face telling its own story. No heroic posing as we see on official photos. Just people and their better moment in hard times.

[Miro O]

Hello,

the mentioned badge, is made of silver, with gilt details; the eagle is made of toned silver; the whole, is struck with silver marks from the time of the Monarchy; the reverse, is engraved with a dedication (same as the cased badge at left).

Such badges, have to be considered as presentation pieces, made by jewellers, not as award ones. In any case, in my opinion they are quite interesting.

Thank you for the info, which is in accordance with my finds. Just out of curiosity, there was a entrance portal at Wiener-Neustadt airfield since 1916, which had the shape very similar to this badge type. Later it was moved to Szombathely (Hungary). Unfortunately, I didn´t win this photo, that appeared on ebay so sorry for the quality.

[Miro O]

Was there other makers than Kautsch? (I think Petzl did at least?) Did Leisek do these too?

From what I´ve learned, official Austrian bravery medals were not maker marked, just signed for sculptors. Leisek, Kautsch (and Tautenhayn) were not producers, just artists who made the emperor´s bust. From this trio, only Heinrich Kautsch lived during WW1 (died 1943). Josef Tautenhayn died in 1911 and Friedrich Leisek already in 1898, so he couldn´t make Emperor´s Karl bust.

[peterm]

Miro, You are right! These are the artists names! Official medals often made by "HMA" = Hauptmünzamt Wien.

Enzo, thanks forr posting these very interesting pictures!

Books will be published in German and English versions and - hope I don't promise too much - will become the "Holy Grale" for our special theme of interest.

Best, Peter

[Elmar Lang]

(...)will become the "Holy Grale" for our special theme of interest.

"(...)es heißt der Gral, und selig reinster Glaube
erteilt durch ihn sich seiner Ritterschaft.
Wer nun dem Gral zu dienen ist erkoren,
den rüstet er mit überirdischer Macht;
an dem ist jedes Bösen Trug verloren,
wenn ihn er sieht, weicht dem des Todes Nacht.".