>>Erbovní listina Eduarda von Bohm-Ermolli

Faleristics is most interesting when we know the bearers of the order, the personality and the life of a soldier. With the consent of the author Mgr. Květoslav Growka, who is also an experienced falerist, we will mention the person of the field marshal Eduard von Bohm -Ermolli.


The increased interest in the person of the last Austro-Hungarian field marshal, Eduard von Bohm-Ermoli, leads us to re-introduce this remarkable personality. An analysis of the almost forgotten document-coat of arms for the decision of the Austrian emperor Karla I. to promote on 17. August 1917 E. Bohm-Ermolli, Colonel General and Army Commander, to the status of free lords and give him the coat of arms.


The document is in the form of a book bound in red velvet measuring 37x28 cm with four parchment foils, handwritten, on the third there is a drawing of the coat of arms made in gold by O.Schwarzacher. The coat of arms can be briefly described as follows: in a blue shield a golden stake with one blue rafter. At the upper edge of the shield is the crown of the free lords, above it a tournament helmet, the jewel is a growing winged golden horse. The covers are blue-gold.


However, we are more interested in the fact that the text also includes a list of decorations that Bohm-Ermolli owned. For clarity, we will list them under the number and add any comments:


l. Military Merit Cross 1st Class with war decorations and swords
- this award is not mentioned in the first place by chance, as it is related to the most significant military operation of the first year of the war. The troops of the 2nd Army under the command of Bohm-Ermolli conquered Lviv on June 22, 1915, which was lost since the beginning of the war. A commemorative medal of Bohm-Ermolli was minted to commemorate this event, and the emperor awarded him a 1st Class Military Merit Cross with war decorations in his personal letter, and was handed over to him by Archduke Frederick. He received swords for him on October 8, 1917, and this cross has been preserved.


2. Grand Cross of the Leopold Order with War Decoration
- was granted 31.101914 (Decree No. 213/1914) and supplemented by swords 8.10,1917 (Decree No. 6035). Bohm-Ermolli was already the holder of the Knight's Cross of the Leopold Order from March 11, 1909 (Decree No. 90), when in the rank of Field Marshal, he served as commander of the cavalry division in Krakow.


3rd Order of the Iron Crown 1st Class
- was awarded to the cavalry general and commander of the 1st Army Corps in Krakow March 3, 1914 (decree 138/1914), the star has been preserved, received the 3rd class of this order April 13, 1901 (Decree No. 116) as a colonel and commander of the Hulan Regiment No. 3 Archduke Charles, but only the decree has been preserved, including the colonel's patent.


4. Meritorious Red Cross star with war decoration
- was granted on June 7, 1915 (Decree No. 144)


5. Grand Military Merit Medal with Swords (Signum Laudis)
- was granted on 20 January 1917 (Decree No. 1802)


6. Military Merit Cross 3rd Class
- received it 15.10.1895 in the rank of lieutenant colonel (Decree No.976)


7. Bronze Military Merit Medal on a war ribbon
- was awarded April 27, 1916 (Decree No. 103372) and swords to the medal October 8, 1917


8. 2nd Class Military Service Badge for Officers
- received it September 1, 1910 (Decree No. 17530) on the badge of the 3rd class, we learn from the decree to the Knight's Cross of the Leopold Order


9. Jubilee Medal for the Armed Forces of 1908


10. Military Jubilee Cross from 1908


11. Memorial Cross 1912-1913 Mobilization


12. Prussian Order Pour le mérité
- received it on October 7, 1916 from Emperor William II. And by a personal letter dated July 27, 1917, he received period branches for him. This order has been preserved.


13. 1st and 2nd class iron cross


14. Bavarian Grand Cross of the Military Order of Merit with Swords
- was awarded to 9.7.1915


15. Saxon Grand Cross of the Order of Albrecht with a gold star and swords
- He received the Grand Cross on October 16, 1913, the star with swords on July 28, 1917 (Decree No. 8662/IV), the Grand Cross has been preserved without a ribbon.


16. Commander's Cross of the Saxon Military Order of St. Henry
- was awarded by King Friedrich August 30.8.1917, when he was previously the holder of the Knight's Cross


17. Turkish Gold and Silver Military Medal Imtiaz


18. Commander's Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa
- was awarded to him on the basis of the decision of Emperor Charles I. Of July 28, 1917, then already in the rank of colonel general and commander of the army group. It was shortly after the famous battle of Zborov, when on July 2, 1917, the Czechoslovak brigade of Russian legions managed to break through the position of the 2nd Army to the third line, which was used by neighboring Russian divisions and expanded this breakthrough. Bohm-Ermoli himself admitted that he was surprised by this breakthrough, and explained it by the passivity of the Czech Infantry Regiments No. 35 (Pilsen) and 75 (Jindřichův Hradec), which formed the 37th Brigade of the 19th Division. He also believed that the Czech soldiers of these regiments were negotiated with the legionaries and did not resist. He proved this by the fact that the trenches on this section were not disturbed by artillery fire, and a large number of prisoners, and therefore ordered a lawsuit against the commanders of both regiments. However, already on 19.7. The Austrian 2nd Army set out to attack in the simplicity of Zločov and achieved considerable success. This corresponds to the award of the Order of Maria Theresa - it is interesting that it is a handwritten letter of Emperor Charles I, written in ink pencil, ie the decision of the emperor without the participation of the Order's office. This is automatically followed by promotion to the status of a nobleman, a free lord.



Although this coat of arms has a considerable price and informative value, the list of decorations is not exhausted here. In addition to these decorations, Bohm-Ermolli received:


- Prussian Order of the Red Eagle 3rd Class, on 19.9.1893
- Prussian Order of the Crown 1st Class, acquired during the maneuvers at Velké Meziříčí September 9, 1909, only the star of the order has been preserved.
- Hamburg Hanseatic Cross, 18.12.1917
- Commander's degree of the Order of the Romanian Star with swords, obtained from the Romanian King Carol I, on 13 December 1901 (Decree No. 22227), when he was commander of the cavalry brigade in Bratislava


He was also the holder of the Iron Crescent. The last two decorations were awarded to the field marshal (from 31.1.1918) in the final year of the war, when his 2nd Army occupied Ukraine and its headquarters were located in Odessa. On April 1, 1918 he received the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of St. Štěpán (Decree No. 17/1918). A star to the grand cross and a small decoration have been preserved.



After his dismissal by the emperor from the position of commander of the 2nd Army and its dissolution on May 16, 1918, he returned to Vienna, where on August 20, 1918 he received a silver Military Meritorious Medal with swords (Decree No. 28664). He was originally expected to serve as chief of staff, but the collapse of the Austrian monarchy prevented this. He later went to his family in Opava. In Opava, he soon spoke as a spokesman for former military old pens with a show of loyalty to the Czechoslovak state. He was a complete apolitical professional who had worked his way up to a high rank, so to speak, "from scratch." The Czechoslovak state gave him as of 1.1. In 1920 he granted the rank of General I. Retired rank class with an annual pension of CZK 26,400. On March 27, 1928, his rank was renamed the Army General, and on January 1, 1930, he was granted a permanent service fee of CZK 39,000 per year by the Czechoslovak government. He interacted with former comrades-in-arms, such as the commander of the Opava garrison, General Jindřich Hanák, who commanded the Hunting Battalion No. 5 in Olomouc during the war, participated in the ceremonial removal of new lieutenants from the Military Academy in Hranice and was introduced to the president in 1924.=forum.valka.cz] TGMasaryk[/url] during his visit to Opava. However, he was in disgrace with the Czechoslovak Legionnaires and especially direct participants in the battle of Tvorov.


After the occupation of Opava by Nazi Germany, its popularity and its apolitical nature were exploited and abused because on the 85th birthday, Hitler appointed him Field Marshal of the Wehrmacht.He participated in the November 1941 parade in Berlin. However, it became fatal for him, he fell ill and died on December 9, 1941. The Nazis arranged a pompous state funeral for him in Vienna, but he is buried in the graves of his parents in Opava. On the tombstone is placed his personal emblem and a simple soldier's inscription:
GENERALFELDMARSCHAL/EDUARD FREIHERR V.BOHM-ERMOLLI/12.12.1856-9.12.1941



Note:
The rank of German field marshal was only an honorary position, and Bohm-Ermolli had no real rights and requisites of a field marshal or marshal at rest, such as a car with a driver, a marshal's staff. However, he was entitled to a personal pension and an honorary funeral.




Sources:
Jiří Fidler and team: Czechoslovak generalita, army generals 1918-1938 VHÚ Prague 1995
Jiří Fidler :: Eduard, free lord Bohm-Ermolli
Eustach Bittner-Erich Šefčík: Faleristic Collection of the Silesian Museum in Opava
Karel Miller: Heraldic documents in museums and libraries of the North Moravian Region
Jaromír Stach: The Influence of the Orders of the Austrian Monarchy on the Acquisition and Improvement of Nobility
Dr.phil. Géza Baron Kovess von Kovessháza: The Militár Maria Theresien-Ordens-Ritter des Weltkriegs 1914-1918

With the permission of the author of this post, my colleague Altmann, I add here a picture of the cheek and the reverse
of the Red Cross Star of Merit with war decoration, which was Böhm-Ermolli awarded on 7.6.1915.

This specimen comes from a foreign private collection.

Perhaps just to illustrate, here is a picture of a field marshal in uniform with the described orders. His Pour le Mérité, then the Military Cross of Merit with war decoration and swords. Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold with a small decoration on the ribbon. But also the Grand Signum Laudis. The Field Marshal also has two Turkish Meritorious Decorations and the Iron Crescent Star is clearly visible, which is discussed in an article in the Signum, a magazine for phalerists, in March this year.



Note:
If anyone has the opportunity to post another picture of this outstanding soldier, please do so, or contact me.

The photo of the "Old Gentleman" is his poesldni and is from 1941.It is an official portrait of RU Field Marshal Bohm-Ermolli, later a retired Czechoslovak army general and after 1940 already here in the uniform of the German armed forces.It is unnecessary to be offended that he is in German uniform. But even here we see an old soldier with the Order Pour lé Merité and the Commander of the Military Order of Maria Theresa.


The picture was added courtesy of my colleague Faleristika and comes from his archive.