Content - Richard Lundström
Layout - Sebastian Bianchi 

Rules & Regulations

1940 Regulations “For the Armed Forces and Police” (after 19 August 1940)

1) Iron Cross 2nd Class 1914 or 1914 with Spange or 1939
2) 1939 War Merit Cross 2nd Class With or Without Swords
3) Prussian Hohenzollern House Order 3rd Class with Swords (about 8,000 awarded WW1)
4) Prussian Red Eagle Orders 3rd or 4th Classes with Swords
5) Prussian Crown Orders 3rd or 4th Classes with Swords
6) Austro-Hungarian Maria Theresa Order (110 awarded WW1)
7) Austro-Hungarian Leopold Order with War Decoration (!!!)
8) Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order-Knight (288 awarded WW1, with title “Ritter von….”)
9) Bavarian Military Medical Order 2nd Class (160 awarded WW1)
10) Saxon Saint Henry Order-Knight (2,717 awarded WW1)
11) Württemberg Military Merit Order-Knight (2,183 awarded WW1)
12) Baden Military Karl Friedrich Merit Order-Knight (288 awarded WW1) 
13) Prussian Gold Military Merit Cross (1,770 awarded WW1)
14) Prussian Military Decorations 1st and 2nd Classes
15) Austro-Hungarian Gold Bravery Medals (about 3,700 awarded WW1)
16) Bavarian Gold Bravery Medal (998) and Silver Bravery Medal (2,839 for WW1)
17) Saxon Saint Henry Order-Gold Medal (150 awarded for WW1)
18) Württemberg Gold Military Merit Medal (4,234 awarded for WW1)
19) Baden Military Karl Friedrich Order-Silver Medal (1,282 awarded for WW1)
20) “All other German WW1 awards in seniority by class and within class by award date”
21) Honor Cross of the World War aka Hindenburg Cross
22) War Merit Medal (created 19 August 1940)
23) Austrian WW1 Commemorative Medal of 1933
24) 1864, 1866, 1870-71 campaign awards (in order listed!)
25) Austro-Hungarian War Medal of 1873 (awarded for 1848-1901)
26) 1904-06 Southwest Africa Medal, Colonial Medal, 1900-01 China Medal (in that order!)
27) 1919-21 Silesian Eagle 2nd Class, 1919 Carinthian Cross 2nd Class, Tyrol WWI Medal of 1928
28) Lifesaving Medals (!!!) (“3,000 living holders” in 1938)
29) Wehrmacht Long Service Awards (see notes)
30) “Other National Awards and Decorations of the NSDAP” by grade and award date
31) 1936 Olympics Decoration 2nd Class (3,364 awarded internationally)
32) 1938 Austrian Anschluss Medal
33) 1938 Sudeten Medal with or without 1939 Prague Bar
34) 1939 Memel Medal
35) 1939 “Westwall” Medal (Medal for Work In Defense of Germany)
36) 1936 Olympics Medal (54,915 awarded internationally 1937)
37) Decorations of the German Red Cross (1922-39, Volkspflege 1939-45)
38) Awards of former German states in order of grade seniority and award date
39) Foreign awards in date of bestowal

Note that the “seniority” of the top awards for WW1, #s 6 through 19, is listed here more or less alphabetically by the size/importance of the former state. It would be a rare recipient of any of those who would actually have two or more of those decorations. For Wehrmacht awards #29, it was noted that holders of old Imperial “Wehrmacht” awards were to wear the current equivalent if—and only if—they were on active WW2 Wehrmacht duty. In the cases where double Wehrmacht long service awards were worn (25 & 12, 18 & 4, 12 & 4), if a holder of an Austrian Republic military long service cross was entitled to a higher Third Reich award, he was to wear only the senior Wehrmacht award with his existing Austrian cross. (This was routinely flouted.) 

“Other National Awards” #30 would cover the myriad of organizational long service awards, as well as the Long Service Crosses of the NSDAP. Omitted from this list is the 1917 Austro-Hungarian Karl Troop Cross—although only a campaign award, worn as a “decoration” by Aus-trian veterans before #21. The 1936+ Fire Brigade Merit Cross 2nd Class, Mine Rescue Decora-tion, and 1938 Luftschutz awards are all oddly unmentioned and therefore would seem to fall into #30. Even “Official Lists” were rarely actually all inclusive or NOT subject to interpretation! Objec-tions to the inexcusably low precedence of Lifesaving awards, and the unseemly position of the KVK2 has been noted in earlier text on WW2 ribbon bars and period errors.