Order of the Red Eagle Roter Adlerorden | |
---|---|
Awarded by the Kingdom of Prussia | |
Type | State Order |
Established | 12 June 1792 (in Prussia) |
Eligibility | Civilians and military, Prussian and foreign, with rank/status determining which grade one received |
Criteria | Merit |
Status | Obsolete |
Sovereign | Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia |
Precedence | |
Next (higher) | Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown |
Next (lower) | Order of the Crown |
Ribbon of the order |
The Order of the Red Eagle (German : Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, or other achievements. As with most German and other European orders, the Order of the Red Eagle could be awarded only to commissioned officers or civilians of approximately equivalent status. However, there was a medal of the order, which could be awarded to non-commissioned officers and enlisted men, lower ranking civil servants and other civilians.
The predecessor to the Order of the Red Eagle was founded on 17 November 1705, by the Margrave Georg Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Bayreuth as the Ordre de la Sincérité . This soon fell into disuse but was revived in 1712 in Brandenburg-Bayreuth and again in 1734 in Brandenburg-Ansbach, where it first received the name of "Order of the Brandenburg Red Eagle". The statutes were changed in 1777 and the order named therein as the "Order of the Red Eagle". The order was conferred in one class, limited to fifty knights. [1]
The Kingdom of Prussia absorbed both Brandenburg-Bayreuth and Brandenburg-Ansbach in January 1792, and on 12 June 1792, King Frederick William II again revived the order as a Prussian royal order. After the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eagle was the second highest order of the kingdom in order of precedence. [1] Every Knight of the Black Eagle now automatically became a member of the contemporary highest class of the Order of the Red Eagle.
In 1810, King Frederick William III revised the statutes of the order, expanding it into three classes. In 1830, a breast star was authorized for the Second Class and the First Class General Honor Decoration became the Fourth Class of the order. [1] The statutes were further revised in 1861, and a Grand Cross was established as the highest class of the order. By change to the statutes of the Order of the Black Eagle, every member of that order was automatically invested with the new Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, as well as with the Order of the Prussian Crown. By 1918, an affiliated soldier's medal had been made available to commoners and enlisted men.
Following the Kaiser's abdication at the close of the First World War, a new German constitution was signed into law on 11 August 1919, effectively putting a legal end to the monarchy. All orders and decorations formally conferred by the monarchy ceased to exist, but recipients of the Order of the Red Eagle continued to wear it with their other decorations during the eras of the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich, and the restored republic.
By the time of World War I, the order had evolved into four classes, two of them divided in two divisions each, and an affiliated medal:
Within these seven grades, however, were a bewildering array of variations. Among these were:
There were also a set of special versions, the Stars 1st through 4th Class, for non-Christians.
The badge of the order for the Grand Cross was a gold (gilt after 1916) Maltese cross enameled in white, with red enameled eagles between the arms of the cross; the gold central disc bore the Royal monogram, surrounded by a blue enameled ring bearing the motto of the Order, Sincere et Constanter.
The badge for the 1st to 3rd classes was a gold (gilt after 1916) cross pattée, enameled in white; that for the 4th class was similar but with smooth, plain silver arms. After 1879 the silver arms of the 4th class cross were pebbled in texture and appearance. The central disc bore the red eagle on a white enamel background on the obverse, with the royal cipher of King Friedrich Wilhelm surmounted by the Prussian crown on the reverse. The enlisted man's medal was of a relatively simple, round design, topped with the Prussian crown, with a depiction of the regular badge in the center of the medal on the obverse, with the royal cipher of the reigning monarch on the reverse.
The breast star of the order was (for the Grand Cross) a golden eight-pointed star, (for 1st Class) a silver eight-pointed star, or (for 2nd Class) a silver four-pointed star with a white enameled cross pattée, all with straight rays. The central disc bore the red eagle on a white enamel background, surrounded by a ring (enameled blue for Grand Cross, white for the others) bearing the motto of the Order, Sincere et Constanter.
After September 16, 1848, awards of all classes (except the medal) bestowed for military merit had two golden swords crossed through the central medallion.
The traditional ribbon of the order was white with two orange stripes at the edges, but combat awards were frequently conferred with a black and white ribbon similar to that of the Iron Cross. Numerous variations of the ribbon existed, depending on the nature of the specific award.
What follows are some additional details on a fair cross section of individuals who are known to have received the Order in any of its several classes, listed in order of precedence. The Order of the Red Eagle frequently was conferred upon foreign nationals, both royal and non-royal, to honor their individual positions or work and to further diplomatic relations with their nations, in much the same way that the Order of the Bath still is conferred by the British monarchy.
German / Prussian
Foreign
German
Foreign
German
Foreign
Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia was the eldest child of the last Kaiser, Wilhelm II, German Emperor, and his consort Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, and thus a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, and distant cousin to many British royals, such as Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III. As Emperor Wilhelm's heir, he was the last Crown Prince of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, until the abolition of the monarchy.
The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was a decoration intended for victorious generals of the Prussian Army and its allies. It was the second highest class of the Iron Cross, following the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, which was awarded only twice. Along with the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class, the Grand Cross was founded on 10 March 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars. It was renewed in 1870 for the Franco-Prussian War and again in 1914 for World War I. In 1939, when Adolf Hitler renewed the Iron Cross as a German decoration, he also renewed the Grand Cross.
Karl Wilhelm Paul von Bülow was a German field marshal commanding the German 2nd Army during World War I from 1914 to 1915.
The Order of the Black Eagle was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg. In his Dutch exile after World War I, deposed Emperor Wilhelm II continued to award the order to his family. He made his second wife, Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz, a Lady in the Order of the Black Eagle.
The Royal Order of the Crown was a Prussian order of chivalry. Instituted in 1861 as an honour equal in rank to the Order of the Red Eagle, membership could only be conferred upon commissioned officers, but there was a medal associated with the order which could be earned by non-commissioned officers and enlisted men.
Prince Wilhelm Eitel Friedrich Christian Karl of Prussia was the second son of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany by his first wife, Princess Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. He was born and died in Potsdam, Germany.
Maximilian “Max” Wilhelm Gustav Moritz von Prittwitz und Gaffron was an Imperial German general. He fought in the Austro-Prussian War, the Franco-Prussian War, and briefly in the First World War.
Prince Frederick Charles Alexander of Prussia was a younger son of Frederick William III of Prussia. He served as a Prussian general for much of his adult life and became the first Herrenmeister of the Order of Saint John after its restoration as a chivalric order. Nevertheless, he is perhaps remembered more often for his patronage of art and for his sizable collections of art and armor.
The House Order of Hohenzollern was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses and medals which could be awarded to lower-ranking soldiers and civilians.
The Bavarian Military Merit Order was established on 19 July 1866 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It was the kingdom's main decoration for bravery and military merit for officers and higher-ranking officials. Civilians acting in support of the army were also made eligible for the decoration. The Military Merit Order ranked below the Military Order of Max Joseph (Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden), which was Bavaria's highest military honor for officers.
The House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis or proper German Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis was a civil and military order of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, a member state of the German Empire. The order was founded by Grand Duke Augustus of Oldenburg on 27 November 1838, to honor his father, Peter Frederick Louis of Oldenburg. It became obsolete in 1918 after the abdication of the last grand duke.
Wilhelm Gustav Karl Bernhard von Hahnke was a Prussian Field Marshal, and Chief of the German Imperial Military Cabinet from 1888 to 1901.
Georg Alexander von Müller was an Admiral of the Imperial German Navy and a close friend of the Kaiser in the run up to the First World War.
Gustav Ernst Otto Egon Freiherr (Baron) von Senden-Bibran was an admiral of the German Imperial Navy.
Walther Franz Georg Bronsart von Schellendorff, Dr. jur. h.c., was a Prussian General of the Infantry à la suite, Adjutant-General to the Kaiser and King, and Prussian Minister of War.
Wilhelm Heye was a Prussian and German officer who rose to the rank of Generaloberst and became Chief of the Army Command within the Ministry of the Reichswehr in the Weimar Republic.
The House Order of Henry the Lion In German: Hausorden Heinrichs des Löwen, was the House Order of the Duchy of Brunswick. It was instituted by William VIII, Duke of Brunswick on 25 April 1834. The ribbon of the Order was red with yellow edges. It had five grades: Grand Cross, Grand Commander with Sash, Commander, Knight 1st Class, Knight 2nd Class, plus Medal of Merit for Science and Arts, the Cross of Merit and the Medal of Honour. The Order was named in honour of Henry the Lion, who remains a popular figure to this day.
Gustav Emil Bernhard Bodo von Kessel was a German general who served in the Austro-Prussian War, the Franco-Prussian War and World War I.
Hugo Moritz Anton Heinrich Freiherr von Obernitz was a Prussian general who served as adjutant general of Kaiser Wilhelm I.
Friedrich Bernhard Karl Gustav Ulrich Erich Graf von der Schulenburg was a Prussian General during World War I and a member of the Nazi Party during the inter-war period.