Kingdoms of the German Empire, Prussia & Bavaria

The Blue Max officially Orden Pour le Mérite (Order of Merit)

"The Blue Max" officially the Order of Merit. From Prussia. Established in 1667 by Margrave Frederick (later to become King Frederick I), the Orden Pour le Mérite was originally known as the Brandenburg Ordre de la Génerosité (Order of Generosity).

Reorganized by Frederick II in 1740, it became the Orden Pour le Mérite (Order of Merit) and was awarded to military personnel and civilians. The Order was again reorganized in 1810 by Frederick William III who reserved it solely for individual military achievement on the battlefield against the enemy.

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.

In 1842, Frederick William IV added a civil class for scholars, painters, sculptors, and musicians. Following the armistice of 1918, the Orden Pour le Mérite was never again awarded for military service. During World War I, Prussia's highest military award, the Orden Pour le Mérite, was awarded to military personnel for repeated and continual gallantry in action. Recipients were required to wear the medal whenever they were in uniform.

This Prussian award, the "Blue Max" was named in French because that was the language used in the Royal Court at the time. It is nick-named after Max Immelmann the WW1 German fighter pilot who was their first "Ace".

WW1 period German (Kingdom of Prussia) Landwehr XX long service cross.

These were awarded in the period 1868 to 1919 for service in the Pussian home defence army.

The front has the Imperial cypher (WR) of Kaiser Wilhelm and the reverse has the roman X X numerals denoting 20 years of service.

Order of the Royal House of Hohenzollern

The Cross of the Order of the House of Hohenzollern was a Prussian order, started in 1851, by Frederick William IV and only bestowed upon officers.

It was awarded for acts of bravery in combat; the decoration was adorned with crossed swords.

It was most often awarded to recipients who had already received the Iron Cross, first class.

8300 were awarded during WW1

Order of the Crown

Order of the Crown (boxed, class unknown)	Order of the Crown 2nd Class with swords

Order of the Red Eagle

Order of the Red Eagle 2nd Class with Oak leaves and swords

ORDER OF THE RED EAGLE 2nd CLASS - PRUSSIA. Within the Red Eagle family of decorations, the 2nd Class was the first level in which the Order was worn as a neck badge. The 2nd Class is also physically larger than the 3rd and 4th Classes, which were identical in size. This is a very high quality example of the 2nd Class Red Eagle. This particular design was manufactured from 1854-1918.

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3rd Class of the Order of the Red Eagle with crown & swords

Other Prussian decorations

Military Merit Cross. Supposedly equates with Pour Le Merit but available only to NCOs

The Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maximilian-Joseph.

Started 1 January 1806, by Maximilian-Joseph upon his ascent to the throne of the Kingdom of Bavaria

Criteria: The Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maximilian-Joseph was bestowed upon Bavarian soldiers for bravery in combat.

A knighthood entitled the recipient to a lifelong pension and the right to append " Ritter von" to his surname

The Order of Military Merit (Bavaria)

Order of Military Merit: Officer's Cross with Crown & Swords	Order of Military Merit: Cross 3rd Class with Crown and Swords


Silver Military Merit Medal	Prinz Alfons of Bavaria, Gold Shooting Badge. This is the 2nd class version of the Prinz Alfons Shooting Medal. It features the silver-toned Cypher of Prinz Alfons. Awarded by the Kingdom of Bavaria as a marksman's award in 3 classes, bronze, silver and gold.



Bavarian Military Cross, 3rd Class. It is copper coloured. The Maltese Cross has crossed swords and features a central motif of the letter "L" (Ludwig) inside a raised border with the word "MERENTI". The reverse centre motif features a Bavarian lion and the date 1866. There is a blue, black and white ribbon. Possibly a fore-runner to the Bavarian Order of Military Merit above.