Information AboutIron Cross |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT IRON CROSS | |
| cross symbols | |
| military awards and decorations of germany | |
| orders, decorations, and medals of imperial germany | |
| orders, decorations, and medals of nazi germany | |
|
The Iron Cross ( of the Kingdom Of Prussia , and later of Germany , which was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and first awarded on 10 March 1813 . The Iron Cross is only awarded in wartime. In addition to the Napoleonic Wars , the Iron Cross was awarded during the Franco-Prussian War , and the First and Second World War s. The Iron Cross has not been awarded since May 1945. It is a military decoration only - civilians are ineligible. The Iron Cross originally was the symbol of the Teutonic Knights (a heraldic Cross Pattée ) and the cross design (but not the specific decoration) is the symbol of Germany's armed forces (the Bundeswehr ) and was the symbol of the German armed forces since about 1870. DESIGN The Iron Cross (a black four-pointed of the Goddess of Peace was retrieved from Paris at Napoleon 's fall, the Goddess was re-established atop Berlin 's Brandenburg Gate . An Iron Cross was substituted for her Laurel Wreath , making her into a Goddess Of Victory . In contrast to many other medals, the Iron Cross has a very simple design, unadorned, and is made from relatively cheap and common materials. It was traditionally cast in Iron , although in later years, the decoration was cast in Zinc and Aluminium . The Ribbon for the 1813, 1870, and 1914 Iron Cross (2nd Class) was black with two thin white bands. The Noncombatant version of this award had the same medal, but the black and white colors on the ribbon were reversed. Since the Iron Cross was issued over several different periods of German history, the Iron Cross is annotated by a year numeral to indicate the era in which the Iron Cross was issued: so, for example, an Iron Cross from the First World War is annotated with the year numeral "1914", while the same decoration from the Second World War is annotated with the numeral "1939". All Iron Crosses from the Second World War contain a Swastika centered on the decoration. The reverse of the 1870, 1914, and 1939 series Iron Crosses have the year "1813" annotated on the lower arm, symbolizing the year the award was first created. It was also possible for a holder of the 1914 Iron Cross to be awarded a higher grade of the 1939 Iron Cross. A reward of the first or second class was also possible. In such cases a "1939 Clasp" ("Spange") would be worn on the original 1914 Iron Cross. (A similar award was made in 1914 but was quite rare, since there were few in service who held the 1870 Iron Cross.) EARLY AWARDS The Iron Cross was founded in 1813 and awarded to soldiers during the Wars of Liberation against Napoleon. The Prussian King Wilhelm I authorized further awards on 19 July 1870 , during the Franco-Prussian War. Recipients of the 1870 Iron Cross who were still in service in 1895 were authorized to purchase a 25-year clasp consisting of the numerals "25" on three oak leaves. The Iron Cross was reauthorized by Kaiser Wilhelm II on 5 August 1914 , at the start of the First World War. During these three periods, the Iron Cross was an award of the Kingdom of Prussia, although given Prussia's preeminent place in the German Empire formed in 1871, it tended to be treated as a generic German decoration. The 1813, 1870 and 1914 Iron Crosses had three grades:
The Grand Cross was intended for senior Generals of the German Army. An even higher decoration, the Star Of The Grand Cross Of The Iron Cross , was only awarded twice, to Prince Von Blücher in 1813 and to Field Marshal Paul Von Hindenburg in 1918. A third award was planned for the most successful German general during the Second World War, but was not made after the defeat of Germany in 1945. The Iron Cross 1st Class and the Iron Cross 2nd Class were awarded without regard to rank. One had to already possess the 2nd Class in order to receive the 1st Class (though in some cases both could be awarded simultaneously). The egalitarian nature of this award contrasted with most other German states (and indeed many other European monarchies), where military decorations were awarded based on the rank of the recipient. For example, in Bavaria officers would receive various grades of that Kingdom's Military Merit Order (''Militär-Verdienstorden''), while enlisted men would receive various grades of the Military Merit Cross (''Militär-Verdienstkreuz''). Prussia did have other orders and medals, however, which were awarded on the basis of rank, and even though the Iron Cross was intended to be awarded without regard to rank, officers and NCOs were more likely to receive it than junior enlisted soldiers. In the First World War, approximately 5 million Iron Crosses of the lower grade (2nd Class) were issued, as well as around 218,000 of the higher grade (1st Class). Exact numbers of awards are not known, since the Prussian archives were destroyed during the Second World War. The multitude of awards reduced the status and reputation of the decoration. One of the most famous holders of the 1914 Iron Cross 1st Class was Adolf Hitler (which was unusual as very few holders of the 1914 Iron Cross 1st Class were enlisted soldiers: Hitler held the rank of ''Gefreiter'', or Lance Corporal). SECOND WORLD WAR Adolf Hitler restored the Iron Cross in 1939 as a German decoration (rather than Prussian as in earlier incarnations), continuing the tradition of issuing it in various grades. The Iron Cross of the Second World War was divided into three main series of decorations with an intermediate category, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, instituted between the lowest, the Iron Cross, and the highest, the Grand Cross. The Knight's Cross replaced the Prussian Pour Le Mérite . Hitler did not care for the Pour le Mèrite, as it was a Prussian order which could only be awarded to officers. The ribbon of the medal (2nd class and Knight's Cross) was different from the earlier Iron Crosses in that the color red was used in addition to the traditional black and white (black and white were the colors of Prussia, while black, white and red were the colors of Germany). Hitler also created the War Merit Cross as a replacement for the noncombatant version of the Iron Cross. Iron Cross The standard 1939 Iron Cross was issued in the following two grades:
The Iron Cross was awarded for bravery in battle as well as other military contributions to a battlefield environment. The Iron Cross 2nd Class came with a ribbon and was worn in one of three different methods:
The Iron Cross First Class was a pin-on medal with no ribbon and was worn centered on a uniform breast pocket. The Iron Cross was a progressive award, with second class having to be earned before the first class and so on for the higher degrees. It is estimated that some 2.3 million Second Class Iron Crosses were awarded in the Second World War, and 300,000 in the First Class. Two Iron Cross First Class recipients were women, one of those being test pilot Hanna Reitsch . Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ( German Language : ''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes'', often simply ''Ritterkreuz'') recognized extreme battlefield bravery or successful leadership. The Knight's Cross was divided into five degrees:
In total, 7,313 awards of the Knight's Cross were made, but only 883 received Oak Leaves and 159 received Oak Leaves and Swords (plus one honorary recipient, the Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ). Only 27 men were ever awarded the Diamonds grade of the Knight's Cross (10 ace pilots, 2 U-boat captains, 1 colonel, 14 generals and field marshals), and Hans-Ulrich Rudel was the only recipient of the Knight's Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. The Knight's Cross was worn as a Neck Order suspended from the collar. |
|
|