✚11684✚ German pre WW1 Bavarian Regimental Honour Cross 3rd Infantry Regiment

Original German / Bavarian pre WW1 Warrior League Regimental Honour Cross of the Royal Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment ‘Prince Carl of Bavaria’ (Königlich Bayerisches 3. Infanterie-Regiment „Prinz Karl von Bayern“) The Regiment was instituted on 1 February 1698 at Dusseldorf as the Kurpfälziches Garde-Grenadier-Regiment (Palatine Grenadier Guards Regiment). It fought in the War of Spanish Succession in 1702-14, the War of Austrian Succession 1741-48, the Seven Years’ War in 1759-59 and in the Napoleonic Wars. In the War of 1866 if fought with Austria against Prussia and with German forces in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. In World War I it fought on the Western Front at Saarburg, in Lorraine and n the Somme before moving to the Eastern Front in 1915 where it met success at Gorlice-Tarnow and Przemysl before crossing the Danube into Serbia that autumn. It then moved to Verdun and, having suffered heavy casualties, moved back to the Eastern Front in defence of the Brusilov Offensive and into the Carpathians against Romania. It returned to the Western Front in 1917 and subsequently fought in Alsace, on the Aisne and in Flanders, suffering further losses. After the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the remains of the Regiment returned to Bavaria and it was demobilised at Augsburg between 13 December 1918 and 15 January 1919 but formed the basis of the Volkswehr-Infanterie-Regiments Augsburg on 25 April 1919 which became the First Battalion of the Reichswehr-Infanterie-Regiments 44 in June 1919., THE AWARD IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION, THE BACKING SHOWS A MINOR MOTH DAMAGE, GOOD EXAMPLE WITH ATTRACTIVE TARNISH, WORKING PIN DEVICE, VERY NICE EXAMPLE OF A RARE AWARD

HISTORY OF THE AWARD:

Bavarian Regimental Honour Cross (Bayern / Regiments Ehrenkreuz) - Gilt cross pattée with oak leaves between the arms and with loop for ribbon suspension; the face with a circular central medallion bearing the Bavarian crown, the upper, left, right and lower arms inscribed respectively ‘FÜR’ ‘KÖNIG’ ‘UND’ ‘VA. / TER. / LAND’ (For King and Fatherland), inverted crossed swords at the base of the upper arm, six-pointed stars at the upper and lower ends of the lateral arms; the reverse with a circular central medallion bearing the Bavarian arms, the upper, left and right arms inscribed respectively ‘IN’ ‘TREUE’ ‘FEST’ (In Steadfast Loyalty, motto of the Bavarian Army), the Bavarian crown at the base of the upper arm, six-pointed stars at the upper and lower ends of the lateral arms, crossed swords on the lower arm. The Cross was awarded to Bavarian regiments in about 1900. Deutscher Kriegerbund (German Warrior League) was a War Veterans' and reservists' Association in Germany. It was established in April 1873 in Weißenfels. Its origins lie in a Warrior Association established in 1786 by fusiliers of Frederick II of Prussia's army in Wangerin/Pomerania. The original purpose of the War Veterans' Associations was to provide their members and former soldiers with proper burial arrangements. Former soldiers felt the need of commemorative tombs that would preserve the dignity of their former comrades-in-arms and honor them even after their death. This type of association received a considerable boost after Prussia's victorious battles against the Danish (1864), Austrian (1866), and French armies in 1871. A number of these veterans' associations established the "Deutscher Kriegerbund" by joining efforts for a common cause in 1873. In April 1897 the Deutscher Kriegerbund became the "Prussian Country's Warrior League" (Preußischer Landeskriegerverband). Its former name "Deutscher Kriegerbund" was kept, however, for certain economic and social dealings. In this form it was a forerunner of later German military social welfare provisions, like the NSKOV. Since it was initially dominated by groups of soldiers of the former Prussian army, local veterans' associations of Bavaria, Saxony, Württemberg, Hessen and Baden preferred to remain out of its circle. The Deutscher Kriegerbund began the efforts to build a memorial that would honor and represent the German warriors in 1888. This monument, located on top of the 473 m high Kyffhäuser mountain was finally inaugurated on the 16th June 1896. The building of the memorial pleased and inspired the other German war veterans' associations, who had been reticent to join the Deutscher Kriegerbund. As a result of this change of attitude, the steps to form a wider organization were taken in 1900 and the Kyffhäuserbund was formed. This inclusive organization integrated the formerly scattered German war veterans' associations, which had been one of the main aims of the Deutscher Kriegerbund.