Large medal bar in “German style” with 7 decorations: Iron Cross 1914 2nd Class. Order of Leopold Knight's Cross with Swords and War Decoration. Bronze gilt and finely enameled. Order of the Iron Crown Knight's Cross with Swords and War Decoration, bronze gilt and finely enameled. Military Merit Cross with War Decoration. Silver and bronze Military Merit Medal on the ribbon of the Military Merit Cross. Karl Troop Cross 1916. The medal bar nearly unworn in absolutely mint condition. Additionally the matching field bar in German style as well as another field bar in the Austrian style. Furthermore the miniature chain with the 7 decorations.
Additionally the following award documents, sorted according to the sequence of the medal bar:
Provisional certificate for the Iron Cross 2nd Class as Captain and Battery Commander Field Artillery Regiment 5, awarded on April 5, 1916, issued by “Supreme Command of Army Group Linsingen. The Chief of the General Staff.”
Award document for the Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold with War Decoration, with Swords, as Captain of Field Artillery Regiment 148, Commander of Mountain Artillery Battalion 148, awarded on September 24, 1918.
Award document for the Order of the Iron Crown Third Class with War Decoration, with Swords, as Captain of Field Artillery Regiment No. 4, Commander of Battalion I, awarded on June 10, 1918.
Award document for the Military Merit Cross with War Decoration as Captain, awarded on September 26, 1914. Additionally the corresponding statutes.
Award document for wearing the bronze Military Merit Medal on the ribbon of the Military Merit Cross, awarded July 23, 1915.
Award document for wearing the silver Military Merit Medal on the ribbon of the Military Merit Cross, awarded June 1, 1916.
Additionally the following individual decorations: Order of Leopold Knight's Cross with Swords and War Decoration. Bronze gilt and finely enameled. Complete in presentation case, stamped on the underside “BR. Schwerter”. Worn, condition 2. Additionally a triangular ribbon and a small field bar with applied swords. Order of the Iron Crown Knight's Cross with Swords and War Decoration, bronze gilt. Complete with presentation case, the lid slightly damaged. Worn, condition 2. Additionally a triangular ribbon and a small field bar with applied swords. Bronze Military Merit Medal on ribbon in presentation case, inside with maker “Zimbler Wien”. Silver Military Merit Medal on ribbon in presentation case, inside with maker “Breitner Testverek Budapest”. Military Merit Cross with War Decoration, worn, in medallion with slight enamel damage. Jubilee Court Cross 1908 in deluxe version, fire-gilt with polished edges, condition 1+. Artillery Marksmanship Badge, solid struck on wearing clip. Furthermore 2 pairs of collar tabs as First Lieutenant and as Captain of Artillery, additionally a shoulder cord.
As further certificates and documents:
Appointment as Cadet Officer Deputy at Divisional Artillery Regiment No. 30, August 10, 1900.
Appointment certificate as Lieutenant, dated October 28, 1901.
Appointment certificate as First Lieutenant, dated April 27, 1909.
Commendatory certificate of recognition from the 10th Corps Command for service as Regimental Adjutant of Field Artillery Regiment No. 30, dated December 15, 1909.
Appointment certificate as Captain, dated August 8, 1914.
Division order dated April 2, 1918 from the Command of the K.u.K. Field Artillery Regiment No. 148 with mention by name of Ziegele.
Passport, issued 1915, with recorded front leave.
3 identification cards for military personnel for use of the K.k. Austrian State Railways, dated 1914, 1919, all with fine uniform portrait photographs.
Czechoslovak Republic travel document, dated 1919, with fine uniform photograph.
Award of the title Lieutenant Colonel of the Reserve, by the Federal Minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs, December 15, 1925.
Letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance dated March 16, 1932, that the two “unofficial orders (Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold and Iron Crown 3rd Class)” pass into the possession of Ziegele after payment of the replacement amount of 13 Schillings together. Additionally postcard folder “Der Krieg 1914/16 .. Abteilung Oesterreich-Ungarn”, driver's license from 1938 and the identification of the father as Württemberg citizen from 1901.

An excellent, comprehensive and complete estate of a brave Austrian front officer, in this quality and completeness only very rarely to be found.

457520

Austria K. u. K. Monarchy World War I: Large Estate of Orders and Documents from the Possession of Captain Theodor Ziegele, Last Commander of Mountain Artillery Battalion 148 in Field Artillery Regiment 148

This exceptional estate documents the military career of Hauptmann Theodor Ziegele, an Austro-Hungarian artillery officer whose service spanned the turbulent years of the First World War and the transition to the First Republic. The collection unites not only an impressive medal bar in German style with seven decorations, but also the corresponding award documents and personal papers that provide a rare complete picture of an Imperial and Royal front-line officer.

Ziegele's military career began on 10 August 1900 with his appointment as Cadett-Officiers-Stellvertreter (cadet officer substitute) with Division Artillery Regiment No. 30. His advancement proceeded steadily: he was promoted to Lieutenant on 28 October 1901, and to First Lieutenant on 27 April 1909. During this peacetime period, he served as regimental adjutant of Field Artillery Regiment No. 30, for which he received a commendatory recognition certificate from the 10th Corps Command on 15 December 1909. With the outbreak of the First World War, his promotion to Captain followed on 8 August 1914.

The medal bar and accompanying documents trace Ziegele's wartime service. His first decoration came as early as 26 September 1914 with the Military Merit Cross with War Decoration. This honor, instituted in 1849 by Emperor Franz Joseph I, was awarded sparingly; the first awards in 1849-1850 totaled just under 1,500. On 23 July 1915 followed the Bronze Military Merit Medal on the ribbon of the Military Merit Cross, and on 1 June 1916 the silver class of the same medal. The silver class, only introduced on 26 March 1911, was intended for those earning a second award.

A remarkable feature of the estate is the German Iron Cross Second Class, awarded on 5 April 1916 by the High Command of Army Group Linsingen. At this time, Ziegele served as Captain and battery commander in the German Field Artillery Regiment 5, testimony to the close cooperation between Austro-Hungarian and German troops. The Iron Cross, reauthorized on 5 August 1914 by Kaiser Wilhelm II, was awarded in the second class approximately 5,215,855 times between 1914 and 1918, though exact numbers were lost through the destruction of Prussian military archives in World War II.

The two highest decorations in Ziegele's estate document his outstanding achievements in the late war years. On 10 June 1918, he received the Order of the Iron Crown Third Class with war decoration and swords as Captain and commander of the I. Battalion of Field Artillery Regiment No. 4. This order, re-established in 1816 by Emperor Franz I, was originally limited to 50 Third Class knights, but developed during the First World War into the preferred officer's bravery medal. On 24 September 1918, only weeks before the collapse of the monarchy, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold with war decoration and swords, while serving as commander of the Mountain Artillery Battalion 148 in Field Artillery Regiment 148. The Order of Leopold, founded in 1808 by Emperor Franz I, was awarded sparingly according to strict requirements.

The Karl Troop Cross, instituted on 13 December 1916 by Emperor Karl I, completes the medal bar. Of this decoration, 651,000 were struck between 1 July 1917 and 30 June 1918, with the republican government continuing issuance through 1922. It was awarded to all troops who served with a combatant unit for a minimum of twelve weeks and participated in at least one battle.

The mounting of the decorations in German style as a horizontal medal bar rather than the traditional Austrian trifold form reflects a widespread practice among Imperial and Royal officers who fought alongside German forces. The estate contains both variants, however, with German and Austrian field bars.

Following the collapse of the monarchy in November 1918, Ziegele continued his military connection. On 15 December 1925, the Federal Minister of the Ministry of Military Affairs conferred upon him the title Reserve Lieutenant Colonel. A fascinating document of 16 March 1932 from the Federal Ministry of Finance confirms that the two orders (Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold and Iron Crown Third Class) were transferred to his possession after payment of a replacement sum totaling 13 Schilling. This regulation reflects the complex afterlife of imperial decorations in the First Republic, where higher classes normally had to be returned to the Chancellery upon the death of the holder.

The exceptional completeness of this estate, with nearly unworn decorations in original presentation cases from manufacturers such as Zimbler Wien and Breitner Testverek Budapest, together with unbroken documentation from 1900 into the 1930s, makes it an outstanding testimony to the military experience of an Austro-Hungarian artillery officer.