Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (and other awards) of Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher

Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross /Stern zum Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes/ was the highest military decoration of the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire. It was considered a senior decoration to the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross. The Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to the most outstanding of generals who performed feats of leadership to the extreme benefit of the Prussian and later German state. It was awarded only twice, a century apart, to Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher in 1815 for his part in the victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, and to Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg on 25 March 1918 for his conduct of the 1918 German spring offensive.

Blücher star /Blücherstern/

Gold, silver, enamel.

Reverse.

About the cavalier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gebhard_Leberecht_von_Blücher

 

On display.

Before 1945 it was in the collection of Berlin Zeughaus.
In 1946 it was transferred to the collection State Historical Museum in Moscow.

 

Grand Cross of the Iron Cross /Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes/ was a decoration intended for victorious generals of the Prussian Army and its allies. It was the second highest class of the Iron Cross, following the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross. Along with the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class, the Grand Cross was founded on 10 March 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars. The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was twice the size of the Iron Cross and was worn from a ribbon around the neck.

Five men received the 1813 Grand Cross of the Iron Cross for actions during the Napoleonic Wars:

- Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, commander of Prussian forces at the Battle of Waterloo, later also awarded the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross

- Friedrich Wilhelm von Bülow

- Crown Prince Charles John of Sweden (Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte) - earlier a Marshal under Napoleon, after becoming regent and crown prince of Sweden, he joined the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon.

- Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien

- Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg


Blücher Grand Cross of the Iron Cross.
Silver, iron.

Ribbon.

 

On display.

 

Blücher's Order of the Black Eagle /Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler/ (awarded in April 1807).

 

His breast star of the Black Eagle order from the collection of Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin.

 

Blücher's Order of the Red Eagle /Roter Adlerorden/

 

Prussian War Commemorative Medal 1813-14.

 

Blücher's sabre, 1805-10.

Sword: leather, silver wire, foil, gilt-brass, gilt metal. Scabbard: wood, gilt-brass, fishskin.
Length overall: 102.1 cm; length of blade: 85.9 cm width; 3.4 cm (whole object).

In June 1814 the Allied sovereigns made a state visit to England to celebrate the peace following the abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte and his first exile to Elba in April 1814. The sovereigns and generals of the Coalition Allies – Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and a number of German States – attended various peace celebrations around the country including a ceremony at the Royal Garrison Church in Portsmouth. On this occasion the Prince Regent was presented with ‘this Sword ... worn by the Veteran Hero Field Marshal Prince Blucher - during the whole of the Memorable Campaigns of 1813 & 1814 against the French . . .’ . John Prosser’s bill for repairing the Field Marshal's sword on 22 July 1814, is partly illegible, but it was recorded by Benjamin Jutsham, The Prince Regent's Inventory Clerk, as ‘Regilding a Sword, presented by General Blücher, repairing handle & bottom Chape, Cleaning & Darkening the Blade’, for £15 8s. The sword may have French origins. The hilt seems to owe something to a design of Nicolas-Noël Boutet who produced a number of hilts in this style; for example the sword presented to the Polish General Kniazieiwicz, now in the Polish National Army Museum, Cracow. The form of helmet used on the head of the back plate is one commonly found on the sabres of officers of the French National Guard. Nicolas Noël Boutet (1761-1833) was the director of the Manufacture de Versailles from 1798-1818. Boutet was the son of Noël Boutet, 'Arquebusier des chevaux-legers du Roi'. He followed his father's profession and married the daughter of Pierre Desaintes, the 'Arquebusier Ordinaire du Roi'. Desaintes passed on his royal appointment to his son-in-law who subsequently worked for Louis XVI at Versailles and, after the Revolution, was employed by Napoleon Bonaparte as general manager of the Manufacture de Versailles in 1798 where weapons of the highest quality were produced. When he left Versailles in 1818 he traded from premises at 87 Rue de Richelieu in Paris but continued to use the signature 'Boutet à Versailles'.​