Item number: M545

Year: AD 1890-1934 persumed

Material: Iron, Fabric

Size: 29.1 x 18 x 9.8 mm

Weight: 158.6 g

Provenance: Teutoburger Münzauktion GmBH 2025

This is the ribbon bar (Feldspange) belonging to the “German Empire WWI Medal Set”, with the ribbons mounted onto a horizontal bar. Arranged from dexter to sinister (left to right), the ribbons represent the Iron Cross, the War Merit Cross (Lippe), the Military Long Service Cross, the Honour Cross of the World War, the China Commemorative Medal, and the Breast Badge of the Order of the Double Dragon.

Iron Cross, III model

Regarding the Iron Cross, Third Type (Iron Cross, III Model), the ribbon bar conforms to the original ribbon colour scheme of a black field flanked on either side by a white stripe, identical to that of the paramount Order of Merit (Pour le Mérite). For non-combatant personnel, the ribbon colours were inverted.

War Merit Cross (Principality of Lippe)

For the War Merit Cross of the Principality of Lippe, the ribbon bar adopts the original ribbon colouring of white-red-yellow-red-white, with a broader central yellow stripe. The cross was instituted on 8 December AD 1914 by Prince Leopold IV. By AD 1922, a total of 18,375 crosses on the combatant ribbon and 1,117 crosses on the non-combatant ribbon had been conferred.

The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918

The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords (Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918), commonly designated the Hindenburg Cross (Hindenburgkreuz), was instituted on 13 July AD 1934 by the Reich President of the Weimar Republic, Paul von Hindenburg. It constituted the first and only officially recognised, nationwide commemorative service decoration established in Germany following the First World War. Prior to its creation, various commemorative badges for veterans were issued independently by former constituent states or private veterans’ associations; the decoration was instituted to confer unified national recognition upon all First World War participants and honour their sacrifices. The ribbon bar displays the original ribbon colours of alternating black, white, and red Imperial stripes, with miniature crossed swords affixed to the ribbon bar corresponding to the device on the medal itself. The colour arrangement was inverted for the Next-of-Kin version. Applications for the Hindenburg Cross were subject to rigorous official vetting, being granted primarily to surviving personnel or surviving relatives who had served in the Imperial German Armed Forces and affiliated wartime institutions. By the time processing ceased in the AD 1940s, over eight million crosses had been conferred, the vast majority being the frontline combatant version with swords.

Military Long Service Cross Decoration for 15 Years, Officer, Type II

For the Military Long Service Cross Decoration for 15 Years, the ribbon bar retains the original ribbon colour—namely, cornflower blue, resembling that of the Order of the Crown.

The China Campaign Commemorative Medal

For the China Campaign Commemorative Medal, instituted on 10 May AD 1901 by Emperor Wilhelm II to honour the valour and endurance displayed by participants in military operations in East Asia, qualifying service was strictly defined between 30 May AD 1900 and 29 June AD 1901. The decoration was divided according to recipient status into a bronze version for combatants and a steel version for non-combatants. Eligible recipients encompassed all officers, enlisted ranks, medical officers, naval engineers, and ordnance and quartermaster personnel who had directly participated in military operations or had been garrisoned in the region prior to hostilities. Eligibility likewise extended to volunteer nursing personnel serving in the field, in field hospitals, and on hospital ships, alongside guard detachments stationed in Peking and Tientsin, as well as non-Chinese individuals sheltering within the German Legation, with total awards exceeding forty thousand. The ribbon bar conforms to the original ribbon colouring, bordered on either side by a narrow white stripe, followed inwards by 3 mm stripes of black, white, and red representing the German Imperial colours, flanking a broader central yellow stripe with narrow white piping.

The Badge of the Order of the Double Dragon, Second Class Third Grade

For the Badge of the Order of the Double Dragon (Second Class, Third Grade, Second Type), the ribbon bar reflects the ribbon colour of the actual badge—namely, light blue—though this diverges from the purple prescribed by official Qing regulations. As early as the 2nd year of the Tongzhi reign (AD 1863), officials including Li Hongzhang, whilst formulating pensions and honours for foreign commanders assisting imperial campaigns, recognised the necessity of introducing a Western honours system to appropriately reward deserving foreign personnel without altering the existing administrative hierarchy. Consequently, several high-ranking officials successively proposed commendation systems based on Gongpai (Merit Plaques) and Baoxing (Precious Stars). These initiatives were subsequently harmonised, with Gongpai corresponding to Western medals and decorations, and Baoxing corresponding to Western chivalric orders and breast stars, culminating in AD 1908 in a unified system designated as the Order of the Double Dragon.

Assuming that this medal group belonged to a single recipient, the individual was evidently already serving as a junior officer at the outbreak of the Boxer Movement in AD 1900, deploying to China with the East Asian Expeditionary Corps or naval marine detachments and thereby earning the China Commemorative Medal. Subsequently, he witnessed the transition of the Prussian military long service awards system, receiving decorations under both the pre-AD 1913 regulations (AD 1825–1913) and the revised Officer Long Service Cross introduced in AD 1913. This indicates that on the eve of the First World War, he had accumulated at least fifteen to twenty-five years of active service, establishing him as a seasoned officer within the Imperial Army.

Upon the outbreak of the First World War, he led troops at the front and was awarded the Iron Cross (1914 pattern). The concurrent award of the War Merit Cross of the Principality of Lippe narrowly identifies his regimental affiliation. Because the defence of the Principality of Lippe was administered entirely by the Prussian VII Army Corps, this decoration points with high probability to the 6th Westphalian Infantry Regiment ‘Count Bülow von Dennewitz’ No. 55 (Infanterie-Regiment „Graf Bülow von Dennewitz“ (6. Westfälisches) Nr. 55), whose 3rd Battalion was permanently garrisoned in Detmold, the capital of Lippe, indicating that he served as an officer within this regiment or the broader VII Army Corps structure. Following the conclusion of the war, he retired upon the demobilisation and dissolution of the Imperial Army, successfully navigating the Weimar Republic era. When President von Hindenburg instituted the Honour Cross of the World War (with Swords for combatants) on 13 July AD 1934, he was still living and duly submitted his application to receive the decoration.

物件編號: M545

年代: 推測約公元 1890-1934 年

材質: 鐵、布料

尺寸: 29.1 x 18 x 9.8 mm

重量: 12.70 g

來源: Teutoburger Münzauktion GmBH 2025

這是「德意志帝國 一戰獎章組」的勳表組，勳表固定於橫桿上。由左至右為「鐵十字勳章」、「戰爭功績十字(利珀)」、「軍事長期服役飾章」、「世界大戰榮譽十字」、「中國戰役紀念章」、「雙龍寶星副寶星」。

鐵十字勳章 第三型(Iron Cross, III model)

該勳表為原綬帶配色，即黑底、兩側各有一道白色色帶，與最高等級的「功勳勳章」(Pour le Mérite)相同。非前線戰鬥人員的綬帶為反色。

15年長期服役軍事飾章 第二型

該勳表為原綬帶配色，即藍色，類似王冠勳章。

戰爭功績十字，利珀親王國

該勳表為原綬帶配色，即白-紅-黃-紅-白，黃色色帶較寬。

該章由利奧波德四世親王於公園1914年12月8日設立。截至公元1922年，共頒發了18,375枚佩戴戰鬥人員綬帶的十字章和1,117枚佩戴非戰鬥人員綬帶的十字章。

世界大戰榮譽十字佩劍勳章1914/1918

1914/1918年世界大戰榮譽十字勳章（Ehrenkreuz des Weltkrieges 1914/1918），通稱興登堡十字勳章（Hindenburgkreuz），由威瑪共和國帝國總統保羅·馮·興登堡於公元1934年7月13日設立，是一戰結束後德國官方設立的第一個也是唯一一個全德統一的一戰服役紀念章。在此之前，各類一戰老兵紀念章多由各舊邦國或私人退伍軍人協會自行頒發，該章的設立旨在以國家名義統一表彰所有一戰參與者及其犧牲奉獻。

該勳表為原綬帶配色，即為黑、白、紅三色相間的帝國配色，章體上的交叉雙劍配飾同時也呈現在勳表上。遺屬版綬帶顏色配置則相反。興登堡十字勳章的申請須經官方嚴格審查，主要向曾服役於德意志帝國武裝部隊及相關戰時機構的在世人員或遺屬發放。截至公元1940年代停止受理為止，該勳章合計頒發超過八百萬枚，其中絕大多數為佩劍的前線作戰版。

中國戰役紀念章

該章由德皇威廉二世於1901年5月10日頒布設立，旨在表彰在東亞軍事行動中表現英勇與堅韌的參戰人員。該章嚴格界定了1900年5月30日至1901年6月29日期間的服役資格，並依據對象身分區分為授予戰鬥人員的青銅版本與授予非戰鬥人員的鋼質版本。其頒發對象涵蓋直接參與軍事行動或在戰事爆發前已駐紮當地的全體官兵、軍醫、海軍工程師及軍械軍需人員，同時包含在戰場、野戰醫院與醫院船上服務的志願護理人員，以及駐守北京與天津的警衛隊員和避難於德國使館內的非華籍人員，總頒發量超過四萬枚。

該勳表為原綬帶配色，即以兩側的細白邊為框，向內依序為各3毫米的黑、白、紅三色德意志帝國國旗條紋。正中央黃色主條帶較寬，黃色兩側並帶有白色細邊。

二等第三級 第二版雙龍副寶星

該勳表為原章綬帶配色，即淺藍色，但與清代官方制度的紫色相異。

早在同治二年（公元1863年），李鴻章等官員於撫卹外國助戰將領時，便已注意到，應當引入外國獎勳制度，才能適當的酬謝外國有功官兵，而且並不會涉及既有制度。於是，數位官員先後提出「功牌」、「寶星」等獎勳制度，後經整合，以「功牌」對應西方獎章，以「寶星」對應西方勳章及星章。直到公元1908年整合為單一的「雙龍寶星」體系。

若假設該獎章組受勳者為同一人，則該受勳者顯然於公元1900年義和團運動爆發時，已作為基層軍官，隨東亞遠征軍或海軍陸戰部隊開赴中國參戰，因而獲頒中國戰役紀念章。此後，他經歷了普魯士軍事服役獎勵制度的變更，先後獲頒公元1825年至1913年舊制的長期服役飾章，以及公元1913年改制後的軍官長期服役十字章，顯示其在第一次世界大戰爆發前夕，已在現役部隊中累積了至少十五年乃至二十五年的經歷，是一戰前夕帝國陸軍中的骨幹。

一戰爆發後，其人率部投入前線戰局並獲授一九一四年型鐵十字勳章；同時獲頒的利珀戰爭功績十字章，則高度限定了其服役部隊的編制。由於利珀親王國防務全權交由普魯士第七軍團代管，該勳章極大機率指向常駐利珀首府德特摩爾德的西發利亞第55步兵團「比洛·馮·丹尼維茨伯爵」，並可能於該團或第七軍團編制內擔任軍官。大戰結束後，他隨帝國軍隊解體而退役，並平安渡過威瑪共和時期。公元1934年7月興登堡總統設立世界大戰榮譽十字勳章(佩劍前線老兵版)時，他仍健在，並申請獲頒。