Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is a very nice genuine medal bar, owned by a German soldier who fought during WWI and was a veteran of the Battle of the Somme. This is a parade mounted medal bar and has medals from various countries as well as an EKII and a Hesse Medal for bravery.

The Medals Included On This Bar Are:
-Iron Cross 1914 Second Class: Emperor Wilhelm II reauthorized the Iron Cross on 5 August 1914, at the start of World War I. During these three periods, the Iron Cross was an award of the Kingdom of Prussia, although—given Prussia's pre-eminent 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:

• Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse, or EKII)
• Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse, or EKI)
• Grand Cross of the Iron Cross

The Iron Cross was awarded for bravery in battle as well as other military contributions in a battlefield environment.

The Iron Cross 2nd Class came with a ribbon and the cross itself was worn in one of two different ways:

• From the second button in the tunic from the first day after award.
• When in formal dress, the entire cross was worn mounted alone or as part of a medal bar.

-General Honor Decoration FÜR TAPFERKEIT (Hesse):The General Honor Decoration was a civil and military decoration of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Established 25 September 1843, the medal could be awarded to recognize several different accomplishments or merits. The reason for the award of the medal was determined by the inscription on the reverse of the medal, with the obverse bearing the effigy of the reigning Grand Duke of Hesse.

There were nine different reverse inscriptions for the medal:

FÜR VERDIENSTE (FOR MERIT)
FÜR TREUE DIENSTE (FOR FAITHFUL SERVICE)
FÜR LANGJÄHRIGE TREUE DIENSTE (FOR MANY YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE)
FÜR FÜNFZIG JÄHRIGE TREUE DIENSTE (FOR FIFTY YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE)
FÜR RETTUNG VON MENSCHEN-LEBEN (FOR RESCUE OF HUMAN LIFE)
FÜR WIEDERHOLTE RETTUNG VON MENSCHEN-LEBEN (FOR REPEATED RESCUE OF HUMAN LIFE)
FÜR TREUE ARBEIT (FOR FAITHFUL WORK)
FÜR KRIEGS-VERDIENSTE (FOR WAR MERIT)
FÜR TAPFERKEIT (FOR BRAVERY)

-Cross of Honor 1914/18 with Swords and Somme Bar: The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918, commonly, but incorrectly, known as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, President of the German Weimar Republic, by an order dated 13 July 1934, to commemorate service of the German people during the First World War. This was Germany's first official service medal for soldiers of Imperial Germany who had taken part in the war, and where they had since died it was also awarded to their surviving next-of-kin. The Somme bar was purchased separately by the soldier and attached to the ribbon to show he was a veteran of the Somme.

-1914/18 Austro-Hungarian Combatant's Commemorative Service Medal: After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, both parts of the former dual monarchy created different commemorative medals for their veterans. The Hungarian War Commemorative Medal was instituted in 1929, three years prior to Austria creating a similar medal. There were two classes of this medal. The one shown here is the combatant’s version “with swords and helmet.” Actually, the combatant’s version was awarded to all active military, regardless of where they served, as well as veterans of Hungary’s allies. The non-combatants version was the same, but without the swords behind the shield or the helmet on the back. Those went to next-of-kin and civilian officials.

The front of the medal depicts crossed swords with a shield with the arms of Hungary and the Holy Crown of Hungary with its distinctive bent cross at the top. These are surrounded by laurel and oak leaves. The reverse has the words "PRO DEO ET PATRIA” (for God and Fatherland) and the years of the war.

-Hungarian/Bulgarian European War Commemorative Medal: The Bulgarian European War Commemorative Medal was instituted in 1933, and was available to all WWI veterans including military personnel, non-combatants like medical personnel and civilian officials and next-of-kin. Allied veterans were eligible. The ribbon on this example indicates it was awarded to a combatant. Non-combatant ribbons were the same except with a white stripe down the middle, and next-of-kin medal ribbons had a black mourning stripe in the center.

The medals are very beautifully mounted and have a green felt backing. The pin and catch are undamaged, nor is any other part of the ribbon bar. The ribbons unfortunately have faded significantly over the past 100 years of being displayed.

This would make a great addition to any Imperial German collections!