Winners of the Golden Bravery Medal with bars for repeat awards

The dimensions of World War I were, regarding the length of time and the number of engaged troops so large that it became obvious that the Golden and the two Silver Bravery Medals were not sufficient to honour all the heroic acts of the  non-commissioned personnel. To that end the Bronze Bravery Medal was instituted on the 14th of February 1915 and finally the bars for repeat awards (Wiederholungsspangen) on the 29th of November 1915. These one, two or three silver-coloured bars on the ribbon showed the second, third or fourth award of the same bravery medal.

These bars, perhaps with the exception of the bars for fourth awards, are common with silver or bronze bravery medals but very rare for the Golden Bravery Medal. The reason was that, on several occasions, it was ordered by the emperor that persons, who had received the Golden Bravery Medal, should "as far as possible" be employed in positions behind the front e.g. training the troops to save their lives as an encouragement for the people. Kaiser Karl added to this order on the 17th of July 1917 with "had to be employed in the rear under all circumstances" but this was too difficult, especially as the aviation troops would have been deprived of their best pilots and so he was forced to made an exception (2nd of August 1917) for all flying personnel. Another reason why the bars for Golden Bravery Medals were so rare, especially by non aviation personnel, was that this medal was often awarded posthumously or after the man received serious wounds during the particular action. Consequently most of the about 4,500 winners never returned to the trenches!

 

 

Winners of four Golden Bravery Medals (three bars on the ribbon):

NAME RANK UNIT AWARD publishing DATE NOTES
Arigi Julius Feldwebel FstArtRgt 1 att. FliK 6 first 26th August 1916  
  Stabsfeldwebel FliK 6 second 7th April 1917  
  Offiziersstellvertreter FliK 6 third 26th August 1918  
  Offiziersstellvertreter FliK 6 fourth 18th December 1918 died 1st August 1981. Hauptmann a.D.
Gruber Kurt Zugsführer FliK 1 first 26th August 1916  
  Stabsfeldwebel FliK 41 second 21st October 1918  
  Stabsfeldwebel FliK 60 third 27th November 1918  
  Offiziersstellvertreter FliK 60 fourth 18th January 1919 posthumous; KIA 4th April 1918

Winners of three Golden Bravery Medals (two bars on the ribbon):

NAME RANK UNIT AWARD publishing DATE NOTES
Bönsch Eugen Korporal FliK 51 first 30th May 1918 died 24th July 1951
  Zugsführer FliK 51 second 24th December 1918  
  Zugsführer FliK 51 third 23rd July 1919  
Fejes Stephan Zugsführer FliK 51 first 21st September 1918  
  Feldwebel FliK 51 second 9th April 1919  
  Stabsfeldwebel FliK 51 third no official publication found Awarded by Kaiser Karl in June 1918
Hefty Friedrich Stabsfeuerwerker rtArtRgt 7 att. FliK 44 first 26th August 1918  
  Stabsfeldwebel FliK 42 second 24th December 1918  
  Stabsfeldwebel FliK 42 third 3rd July 1920 died 20th January 1965
Kiss Josef Zugsführer FliK 24 first 16th October 1916  
  Feldwebel FliK 16 second 26th January 1918  
  Stabsfeldwebel InfRgt 72 att. FliK 55 third 26th August 1918 KIA 24th May 1918; Second (and last) NCO promoted to officer (from Offiziersstellvertreter to Leutnant der Reserve) - posthumous!
Pichl Franz See-Kadett Seeflugstation Triest first 23rd July 1917  
  See-Kadett Seeflugstation Triest second 24th October 1917  
  See-Kadett Seeflugstation Pola/Puntisella third 14th June 1918 posthumous; KIA 14th May 1918
Rybicki Franz Infanterist LdwInfRgt 20 first 11th December 1914  
 

Reserve-

Offiziersstellvertreter

LdwSchRgt 20 second 13th October 1917  
 

Reserve-

Offiziersstellvertreter

LdwSchRgt 20 third 16th March 1918 posthumous; died by wounds in February 1918; First NCO promoted to officer (Leutnant in der Evidenz der Landwehr) - posthumous!

Winners of two Golden Bravery Medals (one bar on the ribbon):

NAME RANK UNIT AWARD publishing DATE NOTES
Binder Ernst (Ernö) Feldwebel Honvéd-IR.20 first 2nd October 1916  
Binder Ernst (Ernö) Feldwebel Honvéd-IR.23 second 4th September 1917  
Csengeri Emmerich Offiziersstellvertreter InfRgt 39 first 26th March 1918  
  Offiziersstellvertreter InfRgt 39 second 25th June 1919  
Dürrbächer Andreas Stabsfeldwebel InfRgt 6 first 25th February 1915  
  Offiziersstellvertreter InfRgt 6 second 17th April 1918 Often misspelled as Dürrbach or Dürrbäcker!
Franek Johann Stabsfeldwebel LdwInfRgt 3 first 9th December 1916  
  Offiziersstellvertreter LdwSchRgt 3 second 23rd March 1918  
Fritsch von Cronenwald Johann Ritter See-Kadett Seeflugstation Pola first 15th June 1915  
  See-Fähnrich Seeflugstation Durazzo second 11th September 1916 air crash as Fregattenleutnant 22nd April 1917
Heinrich Reinhold Feldwebel FliK 15 first 22nd March 1919  
  Stabsfeldwebel FliK 15 second 31st May 1919  
Karadic Hasan Unterjäger bhFJBaon 6 first 10th January 1917  
  Stabsfeldwebel bhFJBaon 6 second 11th September 1920  
Kasza Alexander Zugsführer InfRgt 86 att. FliK 55 first 23rd October 1918  
  Zugsführer FliK 55 second 31st May 1919 died in February 1945 during air raid
Kind Adolf Zugsführer FliK 21 first 17th November 1917  
  Feldwebel FliK 21 second 16th January 1918 posthumous; KIA 26th June 1917
Klefácz Alexander Ldst-Zugsführer FliK 7 first 17th April 1918  
  Feldwebel FliK 59 second 24th December 1918 posthumous; KIA 25th March 1918
Knötig Ferdinand Stabsfeldwebel FliK 11 first 2nd June 1917  
  Stabsfeldwebel FliK 11 second 28th March 1918 posthumous; KIA 23rd May 1917
König Hugo Zugsführer FlugGeschwader I first 24th April 1918  
  Feldwebel FliK 51 second 15th November 1919 posthumous; KIA 18th June 1918
Koudela Franz Ldst-Feldwebel FliK 26 first 31st August 1918  
  Ldst-Stabsfeldwebel FliK 26 second 25th June 1919 died 4th August 1971
Kowalczik Julius Zugsführer FliK 24 first 16th January 1917  
  Feldwebel FliK 24 second 20th March 1918  
Kunz Otto

ZF

-ElektroQuartierMeister

Seeflugstation Pola/Puntisella first 16th October 1917  
 

ZF

-ElektroQuartierMeister

Seeflugstation Triest second 3rd December 1917  
Kusterle Rudolf Zugsführer FeldArtRgt 28 att. FliK 46 first 9th April 1919  
  Zugsführer FliK 46 second 11th December 1902 posthumous; KIA 8th June 1918
Michl Franz Reserve-Feldwebel InfRgt 35 first 6th October 1915  
 

Reserve-

Offiziersstellvertreter

InfRgt 35 second 5th September 1917  
Mikosch Walter Fähnrich der Reserve 3.TKJ first 10th May 1916  
  Fähnrich der Reserve 3.TKJ second 23rd August 1916  
Pawlitschek Josef Ldst-Offiziersstellvertreter InfRgt 1 first 11th December 1920  
  Ldst-Offiziersstellvertreter InfRgt 1 second 28th February 1920  
Petaj Dragutin Stabsfeldwebel Honvéd-IR.28 first 12th August 1915  
  Offiziersstellvertreter Honvéd-IR.25 second 5th May 1918  
Risztics Johann Feldwebel FliK 42 first 26th March 1918  
  Stabsfeldwebel FliK 42 second 24th December 1918  
Russ Gottfried Feldwebel FliK 7 first 22nd June 1916  
  Offiziersstellvertreter FliK 7 second 31st August 1918 died in an air crash Spring 1920
Ruzsa Konstantin Offiziersstellvertreter InfRgt 43 first 10th April 1917  
  Offiziersstellvertreter InfRgt 43 second 29th August 1917  
Sás Alexander Reserve-Offiziersstellvertreter InfRgt 23 first 17th September 1917  
  Reserve-Offiziersstellvertreter InfRgt 23 second 31st August 1918  
Schwach Michael Feldwebel FliK 6 first 28th December 1918  
  Feldwebel FliK 6 second 11th December 1920 posthumous; KIA 7th July 1918
Siegel Josef Feuerwerker FliK 15 first 4th June 1915  
  Reserve-Offiziersstellvertreter FliK 6 second 2nd June 1917  
Slanina Franz Zugsführer FliK 23 first 28th March 1918  
  Feldwebel FliK 23 second 22nd March 1919 posthumous; died in air crash 11th May 1918
Telessy Lajos Zugsführer FliK 21 first 20th March 1918  
  Feldwebel FliK 9 second 31st May 1919 posthumous; died of wounds 10th June 1918
Tomaides Karl Feldwebel LdwInfRgt 21 first 11th December 1915  
  Feldwebel LdwInfRgt 21 second 15th March 1916  
Udvardy Ferdinand Zugsführer FliK 42 first 20th March 1918  
  Zugsführer FliK 42 second 9th April 1919  
Urban Karl Ldst-Feldwebel FliK 10 first 10th April 1917  
  Ldst-Stabsfeldwebel FliK 14 second 22nd March 1919 posthumous; died in air crash 12th July 1918
Wanneck Hans Feuerwerker FliK 11 first 18th October 1919  
  Feuerwerker FliK 11 second 9th July 1920 "Nachträgliche Zuerkennung"; died in an  air crash 29th August 1930

Winners with bars not clearly confirmed:

During my research I found only four persons who claimed a second award of the Golden Bravery Medal by themselves which I could not confirm in any official source, these are:

1.) In 1942 Croatian army Colonel Ladislav Ritter von Alemann, who was a former Austro-Hungarian officer, compiled a list of all winners of the Golden Bravery Medal from 1914-18 who then served with the new Croatian Army. Besides 202 other names he listed a Stabsfeldwebel Jozo BEŠLAGIĆ from Visoko and a soldier Bozo LOVRIĆ from Sinj - both claimed that they had received a Golden Bravery Medal twice. Both names could not be confirmed from any serious source or in any publications prior to 1918. Perhaps both men had changed their names after the war but it seems strange that especially the latter named recipient had still not attained any rank although he had supposedly won the highest award for bravery twice.

2.) Wognar Stephan, born on the 6th of January 1890 at Nagyszombat near Pozsony, who received the Golden Bravery Medal as a Feldpilot and Feldwebel in FliK 2 in 1917, published on the 10th of November 1917. According to some "important" aviation historians it was rumored that he had received the golden medal shortly after this date a second time but this was wrong and could not be confirmed by his files or any other publication! It was true that he had been recommended by his commanding officer for a second award but this was changed to a Silver Bravery Medal 1st class - incidentally between November 1917 and the end of the war he received the Silver Bravery Medal 1st class three times!

3.) Zebisch Eugen, born on the 16th of September 1889 at Landeck,  received the Golden Bravery Medal as an Oberjäger in 4.TKJ in 1915, published on the 18th of September 1915. Following this, he volunteered for the Luftfahrttruppe and was trained as pilot and at least saw some action on the Italian front. During the war he received all the bravery medals and was wounded five times! Long after the war, when he volunteered for the German Luftwaffe in 1939, he claimed by himself that he had received the Golden Bravery Medal a second time and the Field pilots badge for his performance as a pilot at the end of October 1918. During World War II he wore the medal with bar and the badge until he died in action on the 16th of January 1945 near Bozen. The second award and the Field pilots badge could not be confirmed by any documents or serious sources and it seems strange to me that he did not write a single word about all this (and gave his birthday as the 23rd of September 1890) when he was asked by the Society of the Golden Bravery Medal Winners for their planned book in April 1937!

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