✚11654✚ German pre WW1 Nassau 100th Anniversary Medal 88. Infantry Regiment 1908

Original German / Nassau pre WW1 100th Anniversary Commemorative Medal of the 88th Infantry Regiment (100 Jahr-Jubiläumsmedaille 1808-1908 / Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 88), THE AWARD IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION, ON GENUINE RIBBON WITH INTACT PIN DEVICE, DIAMETER: cca 39 mm, A GREAT EXAMPLE OF A RARE AWARD

HISTORY OF THE REGIMENT ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS:

These regiment commemorative medals were instituted on the occasion of the 50th or 100th anniversary with the approval of the German Emperor. Many regiments had such commemorative medals minted for the anniversary, especially after 1900 until the outbreak of World War I. These were mostly set up in 1813 during the war against Napoleon in the Wars of Liberation. These anniversaries were often celebrated with huge events where such commemorative medals were given to the participants of the celebration. The medals were often commissioned by the head of the regiment with permission from the emperor as commanding officer of the army and. The manufacturer was very often Chr. Lauer from Nuremberg who specialised in these medals. 

HISTORY OF AWARD:

Nassau 100th Anniversary Commemorative Medal of the 88th Infantry Regiment (100 Jahr-Jubiläumsmedaille 1808-1908 / Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 88) - Circular bronze medal with eyelet for ribbon suspension. Diameter: 39 mm. The obverse depicts the portraits of Friedrich August Duke of Nassau and Kaiser Wilhelm II. circumscribed "FRIEDRICH AUGUST HERZOG ZU NASSAU KAISER WILHELM II 13. AUGUST 1808-1908. The reverse shows 7 lines of battle names fought by the regiment: "MESA DE JBOR, MEDELLIN, LA BELLE ALLIANCE, WEISSENBURG, WÖRTH, SEDAN, PARIS, MONT VALERIEN” surrounding: "ZUR HUNDERTJAHRFEIER DES II. NASSAUISCHEN JNF. RGTS. NO 88.” The medal was awarded on 13 August 1908 during the ceremony for the 100 years since the establishment of the Regiment. The Regiment was formed in 1808 by Friedrich August Duke of Nassau as the 2nd Infantry Regiment of Nassau. It took part in the Napoleonic Wars, the 1849 war against Denmark over Schleswig Holstein, in the German Civil War of 1866 (on the side of Austria). Following the annexation of Nassau by Prussia (in 1866) it became a Regiment of the Prussian Army being designated the name  2nd Infantry Regiment of Nassau N.88. It participated in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 (battles of  Weissenburg, Worth, Sedan, Mont Valerien, Siege of Paris). During the WW1 it operated on the Western Front (Battle of the Marne River) then on the Eastern Front and since 1916 again on the Western Front (battles of Somme and Verdun). After 1913 Chief of the Regiment was Konstantinos I King of Greece. The Regiment was disbanded following the end of WW1 (in 1919).