X-Nico

6 unusual facts about Pour le Mérite


Blue Max

Blue Max is an informal name of Pour le Mérite, a German military decoration from 1740 until the end of World War I.

Carl Dahlhaus

Dahlhaus was honored with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grand Cross with Star), a Blue Max, and accepted into the German Academy.

Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst

In 1711 Christian August was awarded the Order De la Générosité, later renamed in Pour le Mérite, and on 1 March 1713 was elevated to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

Friedrich Wilhelm von Gaudi

In 1760 he distinguished himself in the Battle of Strehlen, and was rewarded with the Pour le Mérite award and a promotion to Major.

Hans Joachim Friedrich von Sydow

Lieutenant General Hans Joachim Friedrich von Sydow (13 May 1762 in Zernikow / Nordwestuckermark – 27 April 1823) was a Prussian officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars He was honoured with a knighthood and the Blue Max (Pour le Mérite).

Hugo von Freytag-Loringhoven

Hugo Friedrich Philipp Johann Freiherr von Freytag-Loringhoven (born May 20, 1855 in Copenhagen; died October 19, 1924 in Weimar) was a Prussian general and a writer on military matters, being awarded the Pour le Mérite in 1916 for his work as a historian.


Friedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin

For his handling of combat operations on the Western Front, particularly at Arras and on the Somme, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite in 1916.

Józef Sowiński

In 1807 he fought at the Battle of Eylau and received the highest military decoration of Prussia, the Pour le Mérite.

Karl Ludwig d'Elsa

Karl Ludwig d’Elsa (born 1 November 1849 in Dresden, died 20 July 1922 in Tannenfeld bei Nöbdenitz, Löbichau, Thuringia) was a Royal Saxon army officer who was a Generaloberst in the First World War and awarded the Pour le Mérite.


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