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Ordre Pour le Mérite (Blue Max)

Country:Germany
Established:Established in 1667 by Margrave Frederick (later to become King Frederick I), it was originally known as the Order of Generosity. Reorganized by Frederick II in 1740, it became the Order for Military and Civil Merit (pour le mérite). It was again reorganized in 1810 by Frederick William III and became the Order of Military Merit. In 1842, Frederick William IV added a civil class for scholars, painters, sculptors, and musicians. Following the armistice of 1918, it was never again awarded for military service.
Criteria:During World War I, Prussia's highest military award, the Ordre Pour le Mérite, was awarded for repeated and continual gallantry in action. It was never awarded posthumously. Recipients were required to wear the medal whenever they were in uniform.
WWI Awards:1,687 (122 with oak leaves)
Ordre Pour le Mérite (Blue Max)

Recipients - World War I Aces
GermanyKarl Allmenröder - 14 June 1917

GermanyErnst von Althaus - 21 July 1916

GermanyPaul Bäumer - 2 November 1918

GermanyOliver von Beaulieu-Marconnay - October 1918

GermanyFritz Otto Bernert - 23 April 1917

GermanyRudolf Berthold - 12 October 1917

GermanyWalter Blume - 2 October 1918

GermanyOswald Boelcke - 12 January 1916

GermanyErwin Böhme - 24 November 1917

GermanyOskar von Boenigk - 25 October 1918

GermanyKarl Bolle - 28 August 1918

GermanyHeinrich Bongartz - 23 December 1917

GermanyFranz Büchner - 25 October 1918

GermanyJulius Buckler - 4 December 1917

GermanyHans-Joachim Buddecke - 14 April 1916

GermanyWalter von Bülow-Bothcamp - 8 October 1917

GermanyCarl Degelow - 9 November 1918

GermanyAlbert Dossenbach - 11 November 1916

GermanyEduard von Dostler - 12 July 1916

GermanyWilhelm Frankl - 12 July 1916

GermanyFriedrich Friedrichs - July 1918

GermanyHeinrich Gontermann - 14 May 1917

GermanyHermann Göring - 2 June 1918

GermanyRobert von Greim - 8 October 1918

GermanyWalter Höhndorf - 12 January 1916

GermanyMax Immelmann - 12 January 1916

GermanyJosef Jacobs - 18 July 1918

GermanyHans Kirschstein - 24 June 1918

GermanyOtto Kissenberth - 24 July 1918

GermanyHans Klein - 2 December 1917

GermanyOtto Könnecke - 26 September 1918

GermanyHeinrich Kroll - 29 March 1918

GermanyArthur Laumann - 25 October 1918

GermanyGustav Leffers - 5 November 1916

GermanyBruno Loerzer - 12 February 1918

GermanyErich Löwenhardt - 31 May 1918

GermanyCarl Menckhoff - 23 April 1918

GermanyMax von Müller - 3 November 1917

GermanyMax von Mulzer - July 1916

GermanyUlrich Neckel - 8 November 1918

GermanyOtto Parschau - 10 July 1916

GermanyFritz Pütter - 31 May 1918

GermanyLothar von Richthofen - 14 May 1917

GermanyManfred von Richthofen - 12 January 1917

GermanyFriedrich von Röth - 9 September 1918

GermanyGotthard Sachsenberg - 20 August 1918

GermanyKarl Schäfer - 26 April 1917

GermanyEduard von Schleich - 4 December 1917

GermanyKarl Thom - 1 November 1918

GermanyEmil Thuy - 30 June 1918

GermanyAdolf von Tutschek - 3 August 1917

GermanyErnst Udet - 9 April 1918

GermanyJosef Veltjens - 16 August 1918

GermanyWerner Voss - 8 April 1917

GermanyFranz Walz - 9 August 1918

GermanyKurt Wintgens - 1 July 1916

GermanyKurt Wolff - 4 May 1917

GermanyKurt Wusthoff - 26 November 1917


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