A Ring of Honour
The story of the unique ‘Leiberring’, a prestigious award issued to members of an elite Bavarian regiment, is comprehensively set out for the first time by Chris Boonzaier.
Against a background of official disapproval of unit awards and badges in the German army, a way was sought to honour men of the elite InfanterieLeib-regiment who had served on the frontline for a period of at least 24 months. Thus, as a visible distinction and sign of appreciation for their service, a ring with a simple design comprising a Bavarian coat of arms, a crown and an oak leaf wreath was suggested by General Graf von Bothmer, former commanding officer of the regiment.
This token would allow the regimental commander an opportunity to reward the men of his unit for their service outside official channels and according to criteria established by the regiment. Not only would the ring not be part of the man’s uniform, and thus not meet with official disapproval, but it could be worn during service and for many years afterwards as a reminder and mark of the veteran’s status.
Of the ring - and specifically of its wearer - Graf von Bothmer said:
“The Person in front of you is not a spinner of yarns, someone who never smelt gunpowder or who profits from the fact that the confusion of war means we often cannot determine the real service of an individual. A real man and a soldier is standing before you.”
The statement by Graf von Bothmer may have seemed deprecating to men who did not have the honour to serve in the Bavarian Leib-regiment, but it was certainly not meant to imply that the ‘Leiber’ were the only men to have really merited the sobriquet ‘Frontschwein’ (frontline pig). It was simply an observation that not all service at the front was equal.
For this reason, the officers of the
Infanterie-leib-regiment instituted the Leiberring.
MAKING AN ELITE
The roots of the Königlich Bayerisches Infanterie-leib-regiment were established under rather unusual circumstances and in French occupied territory during what, in Germany, is known as the ‘Befreiungskriege’, or the Wars of Liberation.
Established by decree on 16 July 1814, the formation of the Regiment was interrupted by Napoleon’s return from Elba and the war of 1815, but due to the rapidity of the campaign the formation was commenced while the Army was still in the field. By July 1815, its formation was well underway. The cadre of what was then known as the ‘Grenadier-gardeRegiment’ had left Munich to join the Bavarian occupation force in Auxerre,
France. The men filling out its ranks were not new recruits, but instead were carefully selected from the best men of the existing grenadier companies of all Bavarian infantry regiments. It was the making of an elite.
With hand-picked personnel, and the experience and traditions the men brought with them, the Grenadier-gardeRegiment became an elite formation. And that was even before its ranks had fired a single musket volley in anger. Bearskins, fabric and haberdashery material was collected in Paris and brought to Auxerre, where some 400 French tailors had been gathered in the cloisters of Saint-germain d’auxerre to sew the uniforms of the Bavarian GardeGrenadiers. The colours of the regiment were consecrated at the cathedral of Auxerre on 22 September 1815.
The Napoleonic Wars, however, had been costly and due to financial constraints the Regiment would lose its expensive uniforms and bearskins and join the regular infantry regiments of the line.
On 6 December 1825, the unit was redesignated: Linien-infanterie-leibRegiment.
PREMIER REGIMENT
Although this might well be interpreted as a form of downgrading, the the men’s spirits were lifted when King Ludwig I. decreed the regiment would hold the status of the premier regiment of the Bavarian Army, becoming the ‘House’ regiment of the King and the Royal family. And as ‘Hausregiment’ to the Bavarian Royal family it was still, defacto, a Guard Regiment even if the word ‘Garde’ was not included in its name.
On the 28 October 1835, the name was once again changed, this time to ‘Infanterie Leib-regiment’ (I.L.R). There were strong connections to the Bavarian royal family, and although many of the family’s members served in its ranks, three played a very important role in cementing the bond between the Wittelsbach family and ‘their Garde’.
On the 7 July 1881, Prinz Arnulf of Bavaria assumed the role as commander of the I.L.R. With Arnulf in command, the regiment began to implement stringent selective recruiting that had been used during the regiment’s formation. The Prince also used his experiences gained in the Franco-prussian War of 1870/71, and from his time as observer in the Russo-turkish War of 1877, to the benefit of the regiment. Under his command, it became exemplary to the rest of the Bavarian army - both in the standard of military training and physical condition of its soldiers.
On his birthday, 18 May 1887, Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria became an active officer in the regiment, responsible for training the recruits of the 1st Company. In June 1896 he assumed command of I. Battalion until leaving the Regiment in 1899 to become regimental commander of the 20. Infanterie-regiment. He remained à la suite to the I.L.R.
In 1901, Prinz Arnulf entrusted the officer corps with his son Prince Heinrich, who would go on to share a close bond with the 1st company until his death on the battlefield as commander of the III. Battalion (acting Regimental Commander) in Romania during 1917.
In the years before the war, over and above regulation exercises, the men of the regiment began to excel at sport. This was not initiated through an order but by the initiative and influence of Leutnant Georg Freiherr von Hertling who encouraged his men to participate in gymnastics, field athletics, football and swimming. The regiment wished to encourage the reservists to continue these sporting endeavors and to unite Leiber reservists in an effort to maintain excellent physical condition in case they were again called to serve under the colours.
LOCAL AND REGIONAL PRESTIGE
A relatively high percentage of the officers serving in the I.L.R. came from Bavarian nobility, including the Royal family, of whom several members served the regiment’s officer corps and as regimental commanders.
When it came to selection of other ranks, the recruiters for the Bavarian Leib Regiment had a distinct advantage. While other regiments were locally recruited, the ILR drew its soldiers from the length and breadth of Bavaria. Military Districts were proud to send their recruits who were chosen from among the physically most impressive ‘specimens’ and of exemplary moral character. The fact that recruits from the entire kingdom were represented in the ranks meant that every town and city, and many villages, had connections to the regiment.
In the years leading up to 1914, branches of the regimental association opened up in every city and many towns in Bavaria, thus cementing the fact that while the inhabitants had a deep respect for their local regiment, they also had a soft spot for local men serving in the I.L.R.
Adding to the regiment’s prestige was the fact that the exclusive guard formation remained a regimental sized unit, even though the size of the Bavarian Army would easily have justified a Guards Brigade, or even a Guards Division. However, the King decided to restrict his endorsement to a single regiment which would be responsible for guarding all residences of the Bavarian
Royal family, as well as carrying out ceremonial duties and parades for visiting dignitaries.
As far as peacetime criteria went, the regiment ticked all the boxes: a high percentage of educated officers from the nobility, the stringent selection of recruits and high-profile ceremonial duties.
In wartime, and while a number of regiments might be considered ‘elite’ because of their exploits, the I.L.R. had the edge on most of them. This was simply because of the variety of conditions they fought under, most notably in mountain warfare and spearheading high profile assaults. Even within the Alpenkorps, they stood at the fore with their accomplishments.
CONCEPT OF THE RING
Approximately 17,500 men served in the field with the Leib-regiment during the war. Many served in the ranks for a relatively short period before being transferred to other units, being wounded, getting sick or dying.
The official strength of the regiment when it marched to war in 1914 was 65 Officers and 2,962 NCOS and other ranks. By the end of 1918, the regiment had buried 95 officers and 3,304 NCOS and other ranks, 450 men were missing (presumed dead) and 533 were POW. Many men of the regiment were awarded the Bavarian Military Merit Cross, the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class or even the Bavarian Bravery Medal in Silver or Gold.
There was, however, a core of hardened survivors who, no matter how badly shot-up the regiment was, trained and mentored replacements in the field and turned them into true ‘Leiber’ - the nickname of the regiment’s soldiers which translates to ‘body’ (as in ‘life’) and broadly meant bodyguard. This core of ‘indestructibles’ took part in some of the worst fighting of the war, and in spite of exceptional service to the regiment they received the same kind of awards as a Landwehrmann serving in a reserve regiment who spent the war in quieter sectors of the Western Front. Thus, as we have seen, and as a visible distinction and sign of appreciation for their service,
General Graf von Bothmer proposed the institution of the Leiberring.
With unit awards and badges being frowned upon in the German army, there were only few exceptions. These included the Alpenkorps, Karpathankorps and Flamethrower badges. Most other badges were unofficial and were only tolerated for short periods of time and as long as no authority ordered their removal. For this reason, a non-state award of any sort was out of the question for the ‘Leiber’. Decorative certificates, used by many units as a non-state method to reward soldiers for courageous deeds or service, were also no lasting recompense and would invariably be sent home to be hung in the living room.
However, Graf von Bothmer had found a logical solution where an award could be instituted that would not conflict with uniform regulations, would be recognisable to fellow members of the regiment and be an item that the awardee could carry through life as a constant reminder of his service and of his comrades.
ENLISTED MEN AND OFFICER’S RINGS
The design of the ring is relatively innocuous, with many collectors not recognising it for what it is – even in Bavaria. Over the last 20 years, the author has held just four in his hands and seen photos of five or six more. The second ring the author saw had been in a display with regular ‘Patriotic Rings’ which is probably the fate of many of these once coveted awards. In all probability, the vast majority of surviving rings have not been recognised as having any military connection by their present owners.
The ring, awarded for the first time on the 24 July 1917, was given to men of the Field Regiment who had served in the frontline for 24 months - as we have already seen. It rewarded service that included bloody and brutal fighting, extreme weather conditions, long marches, deprivation and sacrifice. Consequently, the men of the regiment would wear it with pride and treat it as their most cherished award.
It is a sobering fact that for every ‘Leiber’ who survived at the front long enough to qualify for the ring, three of his comrades had been killed in action.
The rings are all stamped ‘800’ on the reverse and should carry the award number which is recorded in the regimental history. Two of the numbered rings were reissues for lost rings, and although un-numbered rings do exist, they are possibly replacement rings issued after the war. One officer, a former ‘other rank’, was awarded an unnumbered ring in January 1919.
Officers who had come up through the ranks could be awarded both the Mannschafts and Offiziers ring, but from the recipient list this seems to have been limited to just six cases.
While the other ranks ring had the Bavarian crown and shield, the officers ring also had a very symbolic design.
The Bavarian Lion has been associated with the Bavarian Royal family since 1214, when the Wittelsbacher Family
incorporated it into its coat of arms. The lion appeared on monuments, awards and documents and it remains solidly anchored in Bavarian tradition up until today. Statues of Lions guard the entrance to the Feldherrnhalle, the entrance to the Wittelsbacher Palace (Münchener Residenz) and as part of the Bavaria Statue on the Theresienwiese.
The Bavarian Lion, with sword and shield, also graces the reverse of the Bavarian Bravery medal and so it is unsurprising that when Professor Hans Schwegerle (a leading sculptor and medal maker) designed a ring for the officers of the Bavarian Life Guard Regiment, that it would have a Lion as its central motif.
The exact dates of the officer ring awards are not known, but it seems they were made in two small batches and possibly by two different companies. After the die was completed, Priessmann, Bauer & Co. did the casting and
produced a flat silver strip with a lion’s head in its centre. Wolfgang Hasselmann, in his book ‘Hans Schwegerle - Medaillen und Plaketten’ (2000) claims that 28 Rings were thus produced and a ‘Karl Herzner’ is also mentioned (with whom Schwergele produced other plaques) but it is not clear if this was the maker of the first batch or if he was involved in some other capacity.
As there were two lists of recipients, initially 35 then 25 more awardees, Hasselmann’s figure of 28 rings is incomplete. As an absolute exception to the rule, one prewar ‘Leiber’ officer who served in the 1st Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment was also awarded a ring.
Originally, the rings were to be engraved with the recipient’s name by the silversmith Carl Weishaupt (Marienplatz 29, Munich) before he soldered the ends together. This did not occur because the widest portion of the ring has the marked incuse ‘JLR’ on the reverse, and from that point the sides
narrow sharply to a width of just 3mm in the band running around the finger. While a short name may theoretically have been squeezed on to the widest part, there was simply not enough space for the often much longer names of recipients.
The Schwegerle ring is smaller than later rings, lacking the fierce expression of the lion with its exposed incisors. The incuse ‘JLR’ on the reverse was apparently gold plated (or washed) when the ring was awarded, but there is usually no trace left of this process on surviving rings
CRITERIA FOR AWARD
The Leiberring could be awarded to all officers, medical officers, veterinarians, NCO’S and other ranks who had completed 24 months service at the front in the field regiment and who were still part of the regiment on 7 August 1917.
The qualification for the award of a ring was as detailed in the panel below.
As exceptions, officers who had been awarded the Max Joseph Orden, and
NCOS and other ranks decorated with the Bavarian Gold Bravery medal or Iron Cross 1st Class, qualified for the ring after only 12 months of frontline service, and recipients of the Bavarian Silver Bravery Medal qualified after 16 months.
The award of a ring was individually vetted by a committee and confirmed by the regimental commander. For other ranks, this comprised a regimental staff officer and Leutnant (presumably from the recipient’s company), and for the officers the committee was made up of a regimental staff officer and battalion commander. The committee would check if all criteria were met and would pass the recommendation on to the regimental commander for approval. In exceptional cases, the committee could propose a person who didn’t fill all the criteria or had just missed the criteria. In this case, and for transparency, the reason for the exception was communicated to the regiment.
In total, 61 officers and 1,087 ‘Leiber’ received the ring, each one engraved with a unique number.
Unfortunately, however, the published roll of recipients, even though originating from the regimental history, has numerous transcription errors. For example, in the last block of names for 6th company recipients there are three errors in the space of ten names. Gefreiter Keck is listed as Leiber Heck, Gefreiter Wagensonner is listed as Leiber Wagensanner and Hohmann as Hihmann. Numerous men listed as ‘Leiber’ (the equivalent of private) had, in fact, been promoted to Gefreiter.
FRANZ MITTERER’S RING
On 30 August 1914, Franz Mitterer was serving in the function of Offiziers Stellvertreter and by November 1917 was finally promoted to Leutnant der Reserve. Mitterer took part in all the Regiments actions until he was wounded on the 29 April 1918 at Kemmel - an action that would add to the Regiments reputation as an elite assault unit.
As the war progressed, and the number of machine gun companies in the I.L.R. increased to three, Mitterer was attached to the 3rd MG Company
and thus served in the same battalion as Ferdinand Schörner (see below). During the course of the war, Mitterer would become one of the most highly decorated NCOS in the Regiment. He was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class, the Bavarian Militärverdienstkreuz 2nd class with swords, the Bavarian Militärverdienstorden 4th Class with swords and the Bavarian Silver Bravery medal - which he received for his actions on 17 December 1914 at Montauban-dePicardie.
Franz Mitterer was awarded a ‘Mannschafts’ or other ranks ring (No. 1086) on 11 January 1919 as Leutnant der Reserve. On the same day, Unteroffizier Seilmaier received ring Number 1087, the final award of a Mannschaft’s ring.
On 23 June 1920, Mitterer was also awarded the officers ring (No. 37). The award document was signed in München by Franz Ritter von Epp.
FRANZ STEIDLE’S RING
Franz Steidle was a cabinet maker from Pfersee, near Augsburg, who joined the 5th company while the regiment was on the Greek border and stayed with it until the battle of Verdun. On 1 July 1916, he was seriously wounded by shrapnel to his left jaw and neck. The day is described in the regimental history:
‘The enemy ceaselessly bombarded the slope. The whole landscape was a bubbling sea of shell holes. We stumble through and fall into huge shell holes. There is no way to get our bearings. In the flash of exploding shells we are able to see the battlefield in all its horror. A ghostlike vision as the forward elements of the company advance with a backdrop of a burning Fleury and its flickering flares. They light up the railway embankment. It is the path we must take. With geometric precision, heavy shells explode along the embankment. On both sides of the embankment there are piles of bodies. Those who are hit while crossing, roll down to join the rest. Then, 100 metres further, the groups were assembling. It is not possible to ascertain who is missing. Forward! Suddenly there is confusion ahead. The path is no longer recognisable. It has changed since we walked it last. By coincidence, we are able to recognise the corpses of men from the company who had been killed on the day of the assault. Even in death, they serve by marking the way forward. The artillery fire gives no respite. Heart and lungs want to simply give up. Exhausted, out of breath and bathed in sweat we reach the positions at 2am. 18 men are missing, mainly wounded on the embankment.’
After a hospital stay and recovery with the regiment’s depot battalion, he rejoined his company in September 1917
and fought with them until the end of the war. On 11 January 1919, he received ring number 868.
Steidle was able to amass the necessary service time due to four of the six months in hospital counting towards 24 month’s field service. Franz Steidle was wounded either on the way to Fleury or in the village itself, and if the journey there was exhausting and filled with terror, it is hard to imagine the journey back: alone, with a badly damaged jaw, and still under enemy fire.
The regimental history also holds a mention of Steidle himself, marking a rather remarkable event that took place on 26 October 1917:
‘Comrade Steidle had to answer the call of nature. He went off into the bushes and was just ready to do his business when he saw ten armed Italians creeping forward. “What can I do?” Steidle asked himself. There was no time to get his uniform in order, so, holding his trousers up with one hand and swinging his rifle like a club he charged, giving a terrible scream that would have done justice to an Indian chief. The Italians were so astounded they dropped their rifles and gave up, offering also to fetch a machine gun dug in not far away, which they then did.’
On 25 April 1918, during the Battle of Kemmel, 5. Kompanie, having advanced the day before and now dug in about 50 metres from the enemy front line, had to pull back to avoid friendly artillery fire. Steidle made it back as the only survivor of a light machine gun team. The company history carries his account:
‘Suddenly, there was trench mortar fire in front of us, while behind us the heavy artillery shells began to land. At first, we did not realise it was our own artillery. Rocks and dirt rained down on us. Gnashing our teeth, we pull together. Clinging to one another. We had just one thought: there would be no escape from this.
A shell then exploded next to us, completely burying Loibl and Dietrich and covering me up to my torso. Luckily, my arms are free, and a spade is within reach. I was able to dig myself out with great effort. I think of the others and jump back 10 meters to get help. This saved my life. Suddenly, there was an explosion that threw me to the ground. An ammunition crate, blown into the air, lands just next to me. It was probably from our machine gun. There is now nothing left of our position.
I headed to the rear and saw another shell hole with four men buried in dirt. Arriving at yesterday’s front line I report the situation to the medical sergeant and point out the location, but there is nothing to be done.’
Members of the 5. Komp received 87 Leiberringe, although the company history lists 1,588 men who served with the regiment in the field. A total of 347 members of the company were killed in action.
FELDMARSCHALL FERDINAND SCHÖRNER’S RING
Schörner’s ring is obviously well worn. An avid sportsman, mountaineer and skier, the recipient wore this ring for many years after the war while serving as an officer in Gebirgsjäger units, although photographs taken during the Second World War show that at some stage Schörner had replaced the Leiberring with a signet ring.
After his Abitur graduation in 1911, he
served as a one-year volunteer in the Bavarian Infanterie-leib-regiment and during the months leading up to the war he spent time in Lausanne and Grenoble studying philosophy and modern languages before rejoining his regiment on mobilisation in August 1914. Promoted to Leutnant der Reserve in November 1914, Schörner served throughout the war in the 12th Company and was able to distinguish himself in many of the regiment’s actions.
Schörner was wounded twice during the war and his first wound was a shell splinter to the left arm at Verdun on the 22 June 1916. Schörner had been leading a small patrol carrying out a reconnaissance of the staging area for the attack on Fleury.
The Leib-regiment attack on the 23 June was possibly the greatest action carried out by the regiment during the war, and the fact that Schörner was not able to participate in the attack may well have saved his life. He was wounded a second time in 1918, during the defensive fighting on the Somme.
It was in the Battle of Caporetto in Italy that Ferdinand Schörner earned the highly coveted Prussian Pour le Merite. In an action near Monte Matajur, Schörner led a daring uphill attack against the Italian positions on Hill 1114. A month later, in the same sector, Oberleutnant Erwin Rommel would also win the Pour le Merite. The battle created an underlying animosity between the two men who, on more than one occasion, fell-foul of each other while competing for the same prize.
Schörner would be the only Bavarian Leutnant to win the Pour Le Merite, and along with Franz Ritter von Epp, he would be one of just two officers in the Bavarian Infanterie Leib Regiment decorated with the award.
Franz Josef Strauß, himself an officer during the Second World War and later Defence Minister of postwar Germany, referred to the later Feldmarschall Ferdinand Schörner as a ‘monster in uniform’. During the war he was known as ‘Blutiger Ferdinand’ (Bloodstained Ferdinand).
He was certainly brave and dedicated, but unlike Rommel he was not able to form the bonds of camaraderie that makes an officer popular with his men.
In effect, Schörner, a committed National Socialist, seems to have been disliked by many officers serving with him and was hated and feared by the men who served under him due to his draconian, brutal and inhumane style of leadership. A summary can be found in the diary of Joseph Goebbels:
‘The Führer too is of the opinion that Schörner is one of our most excellent army commanders. Deserters find no mercy with him. They are strung up at the next available tree with a sign around their neck: ‘I am a deserter. I have refused to protect German women and children and was strung up because of it.’ Of course, such methods work. In any case, every soldier in Schörners area of operations knows that he might die at the front but will definitely die in the rear!’
Whilst Schörner’s ring was certainly ‘earned’ honourably during the First World War, his behaviour in the Second World War was unquestionably dishonourable. He was a committed Nazi and he also treated the men under his command harshly and often with inhumanity.