I thought this medal deserved a little respect: A Great example: Der rote Kampfflieger: Rttm. Manfred Von Richthofen wearing the Pour le Mérite History: 8 May 1667 - Order of Generosité established. 9 June 1740 - Renamed and established as the Pour le Mérite by Friedrich II. 18 January 1810 - Order Pour le Mérite reserved as a military order. 10 March 1813 - First stated in the foundation document of the Iron Cross that the Oakleaves would be awarded to the Pour le Mérite for extraordinary achievements. 17 December 1817 - Distinctive ribbon established for the Oakleaves Addenda. 1832 - Badge lettering style changed from Italics to Roman letters; blue enamel darkened. 31 May 1842 - Civil class for arts and science established. 18 July 1844 - Crown Addenda established for holding the military order for fifty years. 24 January 1846 - Statues of the civil class revised. 18 September 1866 - Grand Cross badge and star established. 9 November 1918 - All Imperial orders abolished with the Kaiser's abdication. 26 February 1922 - Civil class established as a free association of scientists, scholars, and artists. 4 March 1924 - Civil Order Pour le Mérite approved by the Prussian Ministry of State. 31 May 1952 - Civil class of the order reinstitued by President Theodor Heuss of the Federal Republic of Germany. 18 June 1956 - President of the Federal Republic of Germany became protector and master of the civil order. 27 January 1963 - Statutes of the civil order revised. 30 June 1969 - Amendment to the statutes of the civil order. -------------------------------------------------- Unusual Facts About: There were five recipients of both military and peace class (Arts & Science) Pour le Mérite Orders. They were Generalfeldmarschall Graf von Moltke, Minister of War von Verdy de Vernois, Generalfeldmarschall Freiherr von der Goltz-Pascha, General Freiherr von Freytag-Loringhoven, and General Dr. Hermann von Kuhl. The highest variation of the Pour le Mérite ever awarded were Oakleaves to the Grandcross. This variation was only awarded to Kronprinz Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia (Emperor Friedrich III) and to Prinz Friedrich Karl of Prussia. Imperial Russian Staff Captain, Count Gustaf Gustafovich Armfelt had his Pour le Mérite revoked after 43 years. It had been awarded for distinction in action on 19 March 1814. It was revoked and returned on 16 April 1857 and no reason for this revocation is known. Some recipients of the Orden Pour le Mérite received the award twice and some thrice. Count Franz Florentin Valory received his Pour le Mérite for outstanding leadership and distinction in action 21 years late. Karl August Ludwig von Wedell was the only Prussian who did not receive the Oakleaves during the "Liberation War." He was severely wounded in battle and required that both legs be amputated. As the field surgeon removed one leg, Leutnant von Wedell being still conscious said, "that is for my king." And when the second one was removed, he uttered, "and that one is for my fatherland." He did not survive his severe wounds. And that is why he did not receive the Oakleaves. There are two Manfred Freiherr von Richthofens. According to two resources on the Order Pour le Mérite there are two. One Manfred is the famously known pilot the "Red Baron" and the other Manfred is Lt. General Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen. http://www.pourlemerite.org/ The award's name was subsequently modified in June 1740 to Pour le Merite by Frederick the Great. Frederick planned to issue the new award to subjects performing with particular merit in the coming conflict with Silesia. Until January 1810 the award could (and was) awarded to civilians in additional to military personnel. Frederick William III however decreed that henceforth the award could only be presented to serving military personnel, although a civil class for arts and science was initiated in 1842. Following the death of his wife, Queen Louise, Frederick determined to create the 'Oakleaves' in her honour. The Oakleaves (which was formally documented in 1813) was available for presentation to Pour le Merite holders in the event of additional extraordinary achievements. The Pour le Merite, along with all other imperial orders, was similarly abolished along with Kaiser Wilhelm II's abdication on 9 November 1918. Once again however a civil class of the award was re-introduced in February 1922. Curiously, receipt of the Pour le Merite need not only be a once-only honour. Some recipients were awarded the medal on two and even three separate occasions - although on the other hand the unfortunate Count Franz Florentin Valory received his award some 21 years after the events actually cited. During the Great War of 1914-18 the award gained its greatest fame. It was awarded to commanders operating on all fronts and in all forms of warfare. In the aerial war a fighter pilot was initially entitled to the award upon downing eight enemy aircraft. Max Immelmann was thus the first airman to receive the award, after which it became known - on account of its colour and its recipient - as the Blue Max among his fellow pilots. The qualifying total was subsequently revised to 16. Although the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, readily qualified for the award he was not however - and to Erich Ludendorff's surprise - awarded the supplementary Oakleaves. The last surviving recipient of the military Pour le Merite - Ernst Junger - died in 1998. http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/pourlemerite.htm More grea info on Blue Max http://www.luftfahrtgeschichte.com/plmengl.htm
Kai. Did you beat me or what? I posted the very same sites and information in the thread "RK with Oak leaves, Swords and Diamonds"! We should copyright our posts...
The PLM is in my opinion, the most beautiful medal there is! I love it! I'll buy one some day! Here is another excellent site: http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/kaiserreich/innenpolitik/merite/
Thank you Kai, for the nice pic of the PLM, and the nice famous photo of Manfred. You made this Texans Sunday that much brighter.
Excellent pics... http://www.jetter.net/docs/Army/BlueMaxMedal/medal-picture.htm Maybe now we have more info so we understand better how at least the brilliants were included as the third grade to the Knight´s Cross ?? http://www.pourlemerite.org/medals/crown.html The Crown On 18 July 1844 the crown attachment was officially established even though 30 years earlier Friedrich Wilhelm III had planned on expanding the Orden into three grades. Friedrich Wilhelm IV authorized the suspended crown device to be presented to and worn by all Pour le Mérite holders that have been members of the Order for fifty years or more. "The crowns were fashioned in gold by the crown jeweler, Hossauer. The three dimensional Hohenzollern crowns has a wire loop attached between the front and back halves of the crown for the neck suspension ribbon. The crown itself is approximately 17mm wide by 14mm high. And in 1889, a crown was adorned with diamonds as a special award to Field Marshal von Moltke on his fiftieth Pour le Mérite anniversary. -------------- http://www.pourlemerite.org/medals/oakleaves.html The Oakleaves The oakleaves were orginally established for the Red Eagle Order as an addition level to the Order. The same was true of the Pour le Mérite on the 10 March 1813. This special higher level was to be awarded for extraordinary achievements: thusly, the criteria was closely controlled and the award was usually given to high ranking field commanders for significant military victories or major contributions to the war effort. The device was designed in accordance with the wishes of King Friedrich Wilhelm III in honor of his former wife, Queen Louise of Meckenlenberg-Strelitz. The actual details of the design of the leaves themselves were symbolic to the King and his wife. For example, the center leaf had nine points to represent their nine children with five points on the left for the five sons and four on the right for the four daughters. In the later years the design lost it's special symbolic meaning as the later generations simplified the design to suit their needs. On December 17, 1817 a distinctive ribbon was designed to be presented with the leaves. The ribbon had an additional silver stripe down the center, but this ribbon was only used if the the leaves were given as an additional presentation to a recipient. The first person to receive the oakleaves was General Johann David Ludwig von Yorck on 10 June 1813. And more pics of different type Blue Maxes.. http://www.medalnet.net/pourlemerite.htm [ 11. March 2003, 03:25 PM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]
Actually nothing to do with the Blue Max but looking at the Prussian awards the 2-3 grades are usually the Crown or the Swords in many cases. I guess Hitler wanted the Swords after the Oak Leaves for him ?! Like here: Royal Hohenzollern House Order When awarded for duty in a combat unit or for combat operations, the decoration had swords between the arms of the cross. http://www.ku.edu/~kansite/ww_one/medals/germmedl/-prussia.html
Another great wealth of information Kai--thanks--I now know who at least got the Crown and the Oaks with their PLM during the 1848 Austrian/Tirol Campaign.lotheim got the Crown to his PLM jsut befor ethe Austrian/Tirolean Campaign. Got it in during a time just before leading up to that expedition. PLM with the Oaks: Friedrich Heinrich von Wrangel on September 13/ 1848. This puts that mystery to the solved pile Now if I could beg of you for the name to the Duke or Arch Duke or Grand Duke of Mecklinberg/Schwerin during ww1 and slightly before. then I could name my 8 place ribbon bar to him. I have a lead that I think is Franz Friedrich or Franz-Michael von Grossherzog IV. but not sure. [ 11. March 2003, 05:02 PM: Message edited by: C.Evans ]
Well, not actually my cup of tea but let´s see: Großherzog Friedrich Franz IV. Michael (??) 1901 - 1918 Großherzöge von Mecklenburg Schwerin 1815 - 1918 http://www.deutsche-schutzgebiete.de/grossherzogtum_mecklenburg-schwerin.htm [ 13. March 2003, 03:34 AM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]
Kai! Awesome sites and information! Thanks! Where the hell did I read that some 7.000 PLM were awarded during WWI?! That's unsane! No more than 650 were awarded!
Ahhh-- THANK YOU VERY MUCH MY FRIEND that site about Grossherzog IV is what I needed. When I get all my ribbon bars back from Greg--ill make a pic of it and see about printing a few of Teh Duke too--to go with it. I OWE you a big favor for thie my friend
Thanx Friedrich, Thanx Carl! Some facts: After the Prussian army occupied Paris in 1814, a total of 1,662 Pour le Mérites were awarded. Of those, 1,470 Pour le Mérites were awarded to Russians. Following the armistice of 1918, the Orden Pour le Mérite was never again awarded for military service. (naturally ) Ernst Jünger: 29 März 1895--17 Feb 1998 In the documentary shown about Ernst Jünger , he recalled being asked what was his worst experience from WW1--"We lost the war" was his reply. Jünger served as a lieutenant in the First World War and was wounded 13 times. "The overpowering wish to kill winged my steps," he wrote; "fury squeezed bitter tears from me." That frank recognition of the excitement of war, expressed in books such as Storm of Steel brought him a big following in the inter-war years. The book remains a critically acclaimed work. George Steiner called it "the most arresting piece of writing to come out of the First World War." The Nazis tried to win him to their cause, but he refused to enter parliament on a Nazi ticket. Instead, he served, in a rather protected role, as an army officer in occupied France. Describing the Battle of the Somme, he depicts the dead "dissolved into a greenish fishmeat that glowed at night through their tan uniforms. When stepped upon, they left phosphorus tracks..." Having had a good war, however, Jünger was appalled by the German defeat. He carried on soldiering for the new Reichswehr until 1923, by which time he was, thanks to Storm of Steel (1920), a celebrity. Meanwhile Jünger also flirted with the Nazis, then at their lowest ebb and eager for fashionable converts. On two occasions he wrote for the Nazi Party organ Völkischer Beobachter, and he was cultivated by Goebbels, who like most Nazis admired his war books. But after turning down Hitler's offer of a Reichstag seat in 1927, Jünger gradually distanced himself from the party, which he never joined. Goebbels wrote him off as a dreamer and æsthete, but he continued to enjoy the status of a war hero even after 1933, when he withdrew from politics, refused to join Nazi literary organizations, and left Berlin for "inner emigration" to Goslar. His books enjoyed great success until he provoked the Nazi authorities with his bold and prescient allegory of dictatorship, Auf den Marmorklippen (On the Marble Cliffs), which was published in 1939 but banned in 1940. The novel depicts an idyllic country, the Marina, devastated by the cruel forces of the forest Ranger, a thinly-disguised portrait of Hermann Göring. His Der Friede (The Peace, 1941-43) reflected the views of those who were to participate in the July 1944 plot against Hitler, who circulated it in typescript. Jünger, under the protection of General Speidel, managed to remain uninvolved. Der Friede advocated a German dominated, anti-Soviet federation of European states, based on a Christian ethic. Fortunate not to have fallen victim to Hitler's purge, he was dishonorably discharged in October 1944. Jünger's literary achievement is voluminous: among German writers, perhaps only Goethe and Thomas Mann enjoyed such productive careers.His greatness lies in his attempt to transcend a time in which the very possibility of transcendence was denied to mankind. He was, indeed, the last Nietzschean. http://www.reenactor.net/units/fr73/juenger/obit/ej_obit1.html
Another great pi9ece Kai. When I was reading in The Iron Time/ book I borrowed from Greg. They had a nice story I had forgotten to post here about the story of so many Russians being awarded the PLM in 1913/1814. It was awarded in masse, to entire units of Russians for their great skills and supreme bravery during a certain battle one whos name escapes me at the moment. This also happened with the Iron Cross too--I forget which war though.
An addition to your reminder about The Blue Max. There is a 3 volume series published several years ago that has a listing of every person who was awarded that coveted piece. I think it was not only written by Detlev Niemann but was published by him as well. From what I understand, these are the best books about the award as well as those who were awarded it. I don't think there is a complete list of names on-line but, I do remember there was a site that had many listed.
