The following order was given quite often before the war to officers in the Imperial Germany. It is “just” the Orden of the Red Eagle, 4th Class (Roter Adler Orden 4. Klasse) and marked J.H.W, for the jeweller Werner from Berlin.
It was a very popular and well given Orden in Germany, if you open one of the yearly officer Lists of the Prussian Kingdom or “Rangliste der Königlich-Preußischen Armee” (see example), you see how common was this particular Orden and Class.
What it is different about this one, is that it is worn in the standard way of the Spanish Army. This Orden belonged to Don Adolfo Hércules de Solás y Patudo de la Rosa and it came to my collection, thanks to a very good Friend (Don Emilio), who got it directly from the family. Don Adolfo was a Spanish Navy Officer during the first decades of the 20th Century. He was in Equatorial Guinea (Río Muni) before and during the First World War. Back then, this territory was a Spanish Colony, surrounded by a German one: Cameroon. Just having a look at the Map attached, we see the distribution of the colonies in that part of Africa.
During this time (and before the war), Don Adolfo was a “Teniente de Navío” in Africa or Navy Captain in the US Standars. He received the Red Eagle Orden in April 1916, as shown in his personal Records, but for something that he did in December 1913: the Gunboat (Kanonenboot) SMS Eber had to go to Cameroon, but it needed to cross Spanish Waters. Of course, they received the permit to do so from Spain. Not only that, also representatives from the Spanish Navy worked with them closely for beaconing. Of course, Don Adolfo was totally involved. The SMS Eber crossed safely the Spanish waters and stayed in Cameroon for Christmas 1913. In his personal Records, he textually writes, that he received the Knight Cross of the Royal Crown of Prussia (4th Class), instead of receiving the Orden of the Red Eagle, 4th Class. I guess, the first description sounds much better (just to confirm, he received just one German Orden in his life).
The SMS Eber was a Gunboat type Iltis, which was 62 Meter Long and had a crew with over 120 Men. It was armed with 2 x 10,5 cm Rapid loading cannons and 6 x 3,7 cm Revolver cannons. The other sister boats from the same class were: S.M.S. Iltis, S.M.S. Jaguar, S.M.S. Luchs , S.M.S. Tiger and S.M.S. Panther. This last one is the most famous, because her involvement in the Agadir crises in 1911.
In July 1914, the SMS Eber was located in Cape Town. As the tensions were already very high, it was decided for the gunboat to leave that city as soon as possible to South America. In the middle of August, the guns and part of the Crew were transferred to the German Passenger Ship “Cap Trafalgar”, converted in that moment into an auxiliary cruiser or corsair. A few days later, the “Cap Trafalgar” was going to be sunk by a British vessel, also an auxiliary cruiser.
The situation of Cameroon at the beginning of the conflict did not go better. Surrounded by enemies, it had little chance to survive. Here played Spain a big role. Having a look at the relations between Spain and Germany, it was obvious that the Spanish authorities there and in Mainland helped the Germans during the war. Through the Spanish colony, it is known, that there were weapons and munitions smuggled into Cameroon. For example, 4 Boxes from Sevilla with 37.509 bullets for Mauser Rifles. As a result, the British and French Governments protested so much about these acts to the Spanish Government. Not only that, they increased their control of the waters to intercept any vessel going to the Spanish Colony.
In February 1916, the situation in the German Colony was so dramatic, that thousands of Africans from Cameroon, as well as over a thousand German Soldiers and Civilians, crossed into Rio Muni (Equatorial Guinea). The Spanish Military and Civilian representatives treated really well the Germans, but with the Africans, it was a different story. Due to the huge difficulties for a small colony to take almost 50.000 of them, the Spanish authorities sent back to Cameroon the half of them, or more. Due to the big pressure made by the British and French colonies to eliminate as soon as possible this “still dangerous” force, Spain decided to send all of the Germans to Mainland Spain and the Africans to the Island of Fernando Poo, that can be located in the map, just “in front” of the Río Muni.
Unfortunately, the conditions for them was no so good, unlike the German, who were transferred in the ships „Cataluña“ and „Isla de Panay“. Their life in Spain was good, with almost no restrictions (or very little) and, how the Germans say, “living like God in France”, meaning, many of them had a good life in Spain,
It is not in the Records of Don Adolfo during the war, but I am pretty sure, he helped in any possible way, the Germans in Río Muni… No doubt.
Sources:
– Personal Records of Don Adolfo Hércules de Solás y Patudo de la Rosa.
– EL INTERNAMIENTO DE LOS COLONOS ALEMANES DEL CAMERÚN EN LA GUINEA ESPAÑOLA (1915-1919)- (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)- Eduardo González Calleja.
– deutsche-schutzgebiete.de.
– kaiserliche-marine.de