ek1 for opinion

[chahler]

Hi , it's any chance to find any more information about this cross and the first owner?
Thanks

[chahler]

Gj

[chahler]

Gjj

[gregM]

I like it.

[chahler]

I like it.

Thank you

[WaltherW]

Nice

[joelhall]

German 4th army, 3rd battle of Ypres. That would be the starting point to search for info.

[Brian R]

I like it.

I like it too.

[Dansson]

I found from the Verlustlisten a Lt.d.Res. from Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde 8, a Harold Freiherr von Oppenheim who was wounded lightly in mid 1915. Very possibly he was transferred to an other unit after that as officers tended to get transferred a lot, especially if he ended up being a Major by late 1917.

[Jelle M.]

Excellent cross! Engraving sure looks period

[chahler]

Thank you very much guys for your help and nice comments

[joelhall]

I found from the Verlustlisten a Lt.d.Res. from Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde 8, a Harold Freiherr von Oppenheim who was wounded lightly in mid 1915. Very possibly he was transferred to an other unit after that as officers tended to get transferred a lot, especially if he ended up being a Major by late 1917.

Not sure if that name is a match, but there's a Fritz Oppenheim listed as a casualty, but I can't view the record.

At any rate, the date is most likely for the action, and this particular one was during the 3rd Ypres.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_22_August_1917

[Dansson]

Not sure if that name is a match, but there's a Fritz Oppenheim listed as a casualty, but I can't view the record.

At any rate, the date is most likely for the action, and this particular one was during the 3rd Ypres.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_22_August_1917

I found 103 Oppenheim casualties, but only one "Freiherr Von..." as the recipient is clearly a Noble person he would have his "Frhr.v. listed in his name as those were important by that time. The same was on his EK1 you can see the "Frhr.v. Oppenheim" which is an abbreviation of "Freiherr von Oppenheim".

Just because something happened at the Third Battle of Ypres on 22. August 1917 isn't a reason enough to believe it was awarded during that action or that battle if we can't prove his unit was there around that time and foremost he himself.

An other question is, was the date the date he received the award or the day the action he was involved in which earned him the EK1?

Here's a link to the casualty list page where Frhr.v.Oppenheim is listed as lightly wounded.

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/2291722

[Brian R]

I found 103 Oppenheim casualties, but only one "Freiherr Von..." as the recipient is clearly a Noble person he would have his "Frhr.v. listed in his name as those were important by that time. The same was on his EK1 you can see the "Frhr.v. Oppenheim" which is an abbreviation of "Freiherr von Oppenheim".

Just because something happened at the Third Battle of Ypres on 22. August 1917 isn't a reason enough to believe it was awarded during that action or that battle if we can't prove his unit was there around that time and foremost he himself.

An other question is, was the date the date he received the award or the day the action he was involved in which earned him the EK1?

Here's a link to the casualty list page where Frhr.v.Oppenheim is listed as lightly wounded.

http://des.genealogy.net/search/show/2291722

I would agree that the cross could have been earned in August 1917, but it's difficult to determine what the August 22 date represents. It certainly could be the day of actions or the day of the award. The thing about EK awards is that the award date is often a clue, but really could be anything. In WWII, you'll see that many award dates are actually the date the Vorschlagsliste was prepared and not the date of the actions or the award. That said, I'd guess it was an August award, and agree that Ypres is a good guess. However, it's tough to definitively judge it at this point. The point is that, except for retroactive awards and the like, many EKs were awarded relatively close to the time they were earned. The turnaround time was limited when compared to other awards (like non bravery awards). A few days or weeks is common, but even a few months sometimes too.

[Brian R]

Here is a great example of an EK that shows the date it was earned and the date it was awarded. In this case it was more than two months, adding more confusion to the whole thing (there is a typo in the write-up where it says August instead of September).

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=737957

In the case of this doctor, it is quite likely that the delay was related to the times - just think about what was happening on the Western Front between July and September 1918! So, award dates can be the result of a variety of factors. Chris B. could give us some good feedback, but it is my experience that EK awards in WWII (apart from Wehrkreis awarded severe wound awards) were processed on a much quicker basis than WWI. But, even in WWI, the date of the award is often a clue to the actions.