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And we continue with another of my mistakes…. To let this Medal Bar go. Still, let`s try to get the most of it. As we can see, it does not belong to a person, who took part in the First World War, but to the Franco Prussian war from 1870 / 1871.
It contains the following decorations:
– Kriegsdenkmünze für Kämpfer 1870/1871. It countains the following „Spangen“.
o Sedan.
o Loigny-Poupry.
o Orleans
o Paris
– Dienstauszeichnungskreuz 2. Klasse für 24 Jahre.
– Kaiser Wilhelm I. Erinnerungsmedaille 1897.
Well, we could say, we are talking about some of the most important battles. So, we will start tracing, where this person was.
The Bavarian did pretty well during the Battles of Weissenburg and Wörth (marked in the map, that I attach), but both of the bars are not present in this “Ordensspange”, so I guess, this “Bayer” came as reserve afterwards.
The next stop would be Sedan, after they suddenly “changed” the direction of their advance. The Bavarian Army arrived to that city from the south, where they had a terrible time during the battle of Bazeille and in Balan. Here he would have received the first Bar in his medal, the SEDAN one.
After the events in that city and the end of Napoleon III, we see the whole Bavarian Army (I and II Army Corps) racing to Paris. The fall of the French Empire did not mean the end of the War. There were still enough troops all over France and the Colonies to put the Prussian (and other States) into difficulties.
And one of these points were located in Orleans, in the south of Paris, where strong French Troops were storming. The city fall to the German Army almost straight away, but it did not take too long to the “local” army to regain it (after the Bavarian retreat).
The French army continued their push to Paris, but the Bavarians (and other troops, of course), managed to stop the offensive. The Bavarian Equipment wasn’t the best, as well as their “main” rifle, the Podewils 1858/67, in comparison with the French Chassepot.
The rest of the Bars in the “Ordensspangen” explain the month of December and January… the fights near Orleans and, once the French were defeated, the way back to Paris. What the “Loigny-Poupry” Bar could tell us, is that this person was in the I Bavarian Army Corps.
About these final battles, the history of the Leib-Regiment during this war, tells us that the unit within the I Bavarian Army Corps were totally exhausted, with the equipment totally destroyed, but still happy to be able to drink Hofbräu-Beer, while resting in Paris in January 1871 (it costed 1 Thaler).
Personally, as collector, it was the worst mistake of my life to let this Medal Bar go…
Sources:
Foto from Wikipedia.
Foto From Hermann-Historica.
Geschichte des königlich bayerischen Infanterie-Leib-Regiments von seiner Errichtung bis zur Rückkehr aus dem Fledzuge 1870/1871 (Page 119)