THE BLUE MAX MEDAL

  Medals awarded for bravery and films about those courageous men

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE POUR LE MERITE ( THE BLUE MAX).

In the small German state of Brandenburg, the Ordre de la Generosite (Order of Generosity, French was the official language of the Prussian court at the time) was established by Friedrich Wilhelm I, on May 12, 1667.

On June 6,1740, The Ordre de la Generosite was renamed the Pour Le Merite (For Merit) by Friedrich II, who was also known as Friedrich the Great. The new order was to serve as a reward to loyal subjects for meritorious service in the pending war over the territories of Silesia.

It is with the Great War (World War I) that the Pour Le Merite gained its fame. The creation of aerial combat brought forth a new breed of warrior that seemed glamorous and daring. Their exploits were watched by thousands of soldiers down below in the trenches. In order for a pilot to be considered for the Pour Le Merite, he would have to obtain a verified number of aerial victories.

AIRCRAFT

The first pilot to receive the award had to have 8 aerial victories.  On January 12,1916 Max Immelmann was the first to receive the Pour Le Merite. After that it became unofficially known as THE BLUE MAX.  By January 1917 the requirements had been raised to sixteen victories. The only pilot to receive his award under these conditions was Manfred Freiherr Von Richthofen (The Red Baron).

U BOATS

During the same conflict, the medal was also awarded to U Boat captains who had sunk 190,000 tons of enemy shipping. Such an award was made to Kapitan-Leutnant Walther Schwieger,

THE OAKLEAVES:

The Oakleaves were originally established for the Red Eagle Order as an additional level to the Order. The same was true of the Pour Le Merite on March 10,1813.  This special higher level was to be awarded for extraordinary achievements.  No one in the air service received Oakleaves even though Manfred Von Richthofen was considered for the award.  It was a great surprise to most people and especially General Ludendorff, that he did not receive the award. 

NOTABLE RECIPIENTS

Notable recipients included Field Marshal Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal, Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the "Red Baron", Hermann Göring, who later became one of the most senior leaders of the Third Reich, Erwin Rommel, the famed "Desert Fox" of WWII, Kress von Kressenstein, and Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck , who led German forces in the guerrilla campaign in German East Africa. The last living holder of the Pour le Mérite was novelist Ernst Jünger, who died in 1998.

Although many of its most famous recipients were junior officers, especially pilots, more than a third of all awards went to generals and admirals. Junior officers (army captains and lieutenants and their navy equivalents) accounted for only about 25% of all awards. Senior officer awards tended to be more for outstanding leadership in combat than for individual acts of bravery.

The award was abolished with Kaiser Wilhelm II's abdication on 9 November 1918.

In 1952, the President of West Germany, Theodor Heuss, revived the peace class of the order as an autonomous organization under the protection of the German President (although it is not a state order like the Bundesverdienstkreuz). This revised order is awarded for achievements in the arts and sciences, rather than for military merit. Laureates of the present are e.g. Wim Wenders (filmmaker), Rudolf Mößbauer (physicist and Nobel Prize winner) and Umberto Eco (writer).

TRIVIA

A movie was made about the exploits of the Red Baron, named after the famous medal, starring George Peppard and James Mason: The Blue Max.  

Stirrings in the Amazon jungle send alarm bells ringing for John Storm and his intrepid crew.

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