Sergeant in the 44th Infantry Regiment (Erzherzog Albrecht Nr. 44). Awarded with the Austro Hungarian Golden Medal for Bravery. The highest possible award in the Austro-Hungarian Army for ranks below officer.
For his actions he was awarded the Hungarian title vitéz and the order in the interwar period you can read more about the Vitézi Rend in the earlier blog.
Grand diploma of the order, handsigned by Regent Horthy.
Below the excerpt from the 1939 Vitéz Albuma:
Awards as stated in the list in the yearbook:
Golden Bravery medal
Silver Bravery medal 1st Class, 2 times
Bronze Bravery medal
Karl Troop cross
The short version of his citation as recorded in the Golden Medal award records in the Austrian Military Records
Im Gefechte vom 12/3 auf den 13/3 (1915) am Brdo Bewies er beispeillose Unerschrockenheit u. heldenhafte Tapferkeit. Kam bis auf 40x vor der fdl Stellung. Trat den Ruckzug trozt des Befehls erst nach 2 Stunden als letzte abt der Angr. Gruppe an.
Which translates as follows:
In the fights of 12/3 and 13/3 in Brdo he showed unprecedented fearlessness and heroic Bravery. Came up to 40x before the enemies position. Retreated, despite the order, only after 2 hours as the last of the attacking group.
His feats where also published in a Hungarian book (A MAGYAR NEMZETARANYKONYVE 1914-1918.” Budapest, 1921. – Golden book of the Hungarian nation 1914-1918 ) which describes the action as follows:
“He ran forward in the killing adverse drum-fire of the enemy as the head of his platoon and during the assault he exhorted his comrades. The regiment met irreplaceable and heavy losses, so sergeant Janos Horvath got the order to withdraw his fellows from the first line. Horvath was forty paces off the enemy and he sent back a message that they will not leave the line as long as the wounded comrades of the neighboring unit (3rd Bosnians) have not been recovered. Finally he withdrew his men two hours later and he was the last soldier who left the front line.”
His Vitézi Rend Award which is numbered and has the initials of Horvath.
And the certificate that belongs to the award
Replacement Golden Bravery Medal (gilded bronze in the Karl version, interwar period). This came directly from the family but is a replacement. The original will have been a real gold FJ type that probably was sold for mentary reasons as happened very often. Next to this his large Silver Bravery Medal with bar for the 2nd award. The Bronze Bravery Medal and the Karl Troop cross were no longer part of the group so I have not included them either.
Free public transport travel cards to the winners of the Golden Bravery Medal including his photo ID with signature.
The original award request forms as they remained in the Hungarian military archives!
Both the medal and the regulations are a copy of the Austro-Hungarian bravery medal in WW1 as I described in my earlier blog. The medal consists of 4 grades, Bronze, Small Silver (or second class silver), Large Silver (first class silver) and Gold.
Bronze, Small Silver and Large Silver (second and first class Silver)
The medal was aimed at ranks below officer but the Gold grade could also be awarded to officers who would receive a special device to the ribbon. Officers in training could be awarded all grades of the medal untill they would get commissioned.
Officer in training with Small Silver and Bronze grade
Border Guard nco with Large Silver grade
The Bronze and Small Silver grade had the same size of 35mm and the Large Silver and Gold grade both measure 40mm. For the silver grades I have so far found three materials – real hallmarked silver, silvered bronze which also has the word BRONZ impressed on the rim and the war metal version without any markings.
It seems the silvered bronze version had a regular problem with the eyelet as I have seen several examples where it came off and I have seen several more on the market. These all seem to be the version with BRONZ stamped in the rim.
So far I have not handled a gold one personally but as far as I understand both hallmarked gold and a gilded bronze versions exist, only 60 were awarded in total so be aware the chances of finding a real one are minimal.
Two variations of the bronze bravery medal where the first one has been gilded!
Below several variations in war metal and silvered bronze of the 2nd class silver.
The front bears the bust of Regent Horthy Miklós. The reverse shows the national symbol of Hungary with crossed swords behind and the word VITÉZSÉGÉRT – bravery.
The ribbon is the standard triangular form and could have two types of devices. A bar for repeat awards (up to three bars!) and a golden device for the officers Golden medal (extremely rare, only 21 examples!).
The award paper is basically the same for all grades with the different grade being mentioned. Below a Bronz and Small Silver example.
Bronze Bravery Medal inside
Above the inside of the booklet for the small silver bravery medal. It was awarded posthumously as was the case with a relative large number. More than 3000 awardees (of the 8193) did not survive the war. A book about all decorated fallen Hungarians during WW2 states he was killed by a headshot in 1944 in the location Dubowy.
Another version of the bronze award paperAnd a regular (not posthumously) certificate for the 2nd class silver medal
The large silver grade has become quite rare and is sought after. Several versions exist as already discussed above can be seen below.
Four versions of the first class silver medal
Compiled from the same website a quick overview of the amounts awarded per year. It seems many men who died in combat also received the bronze or silver 2nd class medal posthumously.
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
Total
Bronze
244
0
1721
2299
15541
6037
25842
Small Silver
193
1
722
1725
4060
1492
8193
Large Silver
129
2
263
453
546
278
1671
Gold
39
Officers Gold
21
Small grouping to one person including the bronze bravery medal
Mounted group of medals with the 1st class silver medal. Front.
The reverse shows the typical “loose” mounting of Hungarian medals on a metal bar.
Collectors be aware fakes also exist and these can be very deceiving. As far as I know they only exist in bronze and a silvered version of this (so both the same 35mm size using one mold). Here you can see some details regarding the fake version.
Three earlier blogs now combined into 1 complete blog covering medals, paperwork, amounts awarded and equivalents.
History before WW1
The basis for this medal was made in 1789 in the form of the Ehren-Denkmünze für Tapferkeit (honor remembrance coin for bravery) by the Habsburg emperor Joseph II. In its original form it had two classes, gold and silver, for ranks below officer who had distinguished themselves in combat. In 1809 by Emperor Franz II the form was changed to make it a wearable medal that was also renamed in Tapferkeitsmedaille – Bravery Medal. Then again in 1848 the silver class was split into two classes. Next to the original Silver class (40mm in diameter) a second class was added that was smaller in size (31mm in diameter). Emperor Franz-Joseph I in Februari 1915 added a Bronze class with the same size as the silver medal 2nd class (also 31mm in diameter).
The four classes with FJI with his last variation of the observe
A last change was made by Emperor Karl in 1917 in making the Golden class and the Silver 1st class medal available to officers. Until then officers had no specific gallantry medals apart from the Military Maria Theresia order that was only very rarely awarded for extreme examples of gallantry. Most officers received the regular medals that were available for officers that were awarded for gallantry but also other other forms of distinguished service.
Three classes with Emperor Karls’s head
In all these periods the medal would have the ruling Emperor of that moment on the observe and the words “Der Tapferkeit” (The Bravery) on the reverse. Karl would change the text on the reverse to the Latin text “FORTITVDINI” as that language was neutral in an empire where the first languange of many people was not German.
The two reverse variations
The Bravery medal in WW1
With two emperors during the war there were also two versions of all medals from gold to bronze with either Franz Joseph I and from 1917 onward Karl on the observe of the medal. Franz Joseph had 3 versions of his head on the medals during his very long reign. The third version was the regular one for WW1 but the 2nd and even the 1st version could still be awarded if available. This was mainly the case with early awards of the Golden Bravery Medal.
A novelty in WW1 was that all classes could be worn next to each other. Before that period only the highest award of the medal would have been worn. For each next award in the same class a clasp (introduced in October 1915) could be worn on the medal ribbon with 4 bars as the maximum (which obviously was extremely rare in any class).
Version of a single and triple bar (so for second and fourth award)
As officers also could get an award of the Golden and 1st class Silver medal from late 1917 onwards a difference had to be made. This was done in the form of a capital K letter on the triangular ribbon. These existed in both gold (gilded) and silver. An officer could wear both medals of the same class, one with the K device and one without the K device (so awarded as an officer and nco for different occasions).
The official announcement of the K device for officers bravery Medals
As all officers in training went through the non-commissioned ranks before becoming commissioned they were during this training period also eligible for the Bravery Medals. So WW1 Austro-Hungarian officers groups often have Bravery Medals in the group. This is just a sign that the officers was not yet commissioned when he received the medal. The ones with the K on the ribbon are much rarer.
Nice selection of Bravery Medals to officers (all without K device)
Payment
The winners of the Gold and both classes of Silver medals also received an additional monthly payment. The Bronze class was excluded from this so it was also of financial interest to soldiers to receive the highest possible level of Bravery Medal as the payment was doubled for each higher class. Only the highest class was paid and only for one instance of the award. Multiple awards did not multiply the amount received.
Announcement of the amount paid per class
Variations
Before WW1 all medals would have a fixed eye for the ribbon. Only during the war this was replaced with the more standard moveable eye for the ribbon fixture. The only exception to this would be the Golden Bravery Medal that would remain using the fixed (Henkelöse) version. This makes it relatively easy to recognize the non official version of the Golden version. Private/non-official versions of all medals would be made during and after the war. These are not “fake” but bought examples of these medals. Especially real Golden Bravery Medals were often sold for the gold value in the post war period and replaced with a privately purchased gilded version.
Well worn example of the Golden Bravery Medal (gilded bronze, stamped BRONZE on rim. The majority of FJI examples were gold (14/15), the majority of Karl examples were gilded bronze (17/18). Gold versions of Karl are the rarest and gilded bronze versions of FJI (16/17) are the second rarest.
The official versions can also be recognized by the name of the artist below the head of the Emperor. On most private versions this name was not copied! Three names can be found. Two for the FJ versions: Tautenheyn and Leisek. The Karl versions all have Kautsch. The official silver versions would be marked with an A in a circle on the rim (for the Vienna Mint).
Below an example of a private production version of the Gold Bravery Medal without the artists name Kautsch below Emperor Karl. Interbellum period replacement for Horváth János.
From 1916 onward the Golden version became to expensive to be awarded. A gilded bronze version was made that would have BRONZE stamped in the rim of the medal. These medals were planned to be exchanged for real gold after the war. As the war was lost this never happened nor would the winners get their additional payment for the new Governments in the countries that would come into being after the war. Karl was on the front often, also for award ceremonies. He only handed out real gold versions. These Karl examples in real gold are the rarest variation of the Golden Bravery Medal.
It was also possible to replace the golden medal when lost or to get a second version. These are marked with the HMA (Hauptmunzamt) stamp next to the material stamp.
Award Certificates and other paperwork
The Austro-Hungarian army was well organized in its paperwork. Each request for a medal would go through the hierarchy and be kept in the personal record when awarded. It would depend on the level of the medal in which stage of the hierarchy the decision would finally be made. For the Golden Bravery Medal a separate register was kept that still is available as a reference in the Vienna Military Archives.
After the medal was awarded the person would receive an award paper (Legitimation) confirming the award which should be worn on the person (to be able to proof the medals that were actually worn in the field). The standard place to keep these papers were the small ID capsules each person would wear. This made it necessary to make the documents very small. Here are some examples.
Bronze
Silver IInd Class
Silver Ist Class
Some units made more elaborate documents available for their men in a larger size. These are not standard and not official but relatively rare and desirable.
Full size award paper for a Ist Class Silver Bravery Medal
Personell files were partially lost in the 2nd world war and also these were split between the different states that resulted from the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The Honvéd related files are mostly in the Hungarian Military Archives in Budapest and most others in Vienna and some in the other states. Here an example of Bravery medal related request as found in the Hungarian archive.
An interesting secondary source for Hungarian WW1 bravery medals related info are the Vitezi rend yearbooks in which also medal lists are published.
Amounts awarded and exchange with the German Iron Cross
The German Iron Cross is probably the most iconic award in the world. As part of the same coalition an exchange agreement between Germany and Austro-Hungaria was made for their armies. Were the German award system is the same for all ranks this is not the case in the Austro-Hungarian (AH) award system were there are specific medals for officers and different medals for the nco ranks. For the Germans the Iron Cross was the most general medal for gallantry so a good basis for exchange. But this would not fit the AH system. Therefore the choice was made to make the German Iron Cross only available to the officers in the AH army. The 2nd class for troop officers and the 1st class only for high ranking officers which can be seen in the extreme low amounts awarded. This only began to change slightly in the last year of the war.
For the ranks below officer a different solution had to be found. This came in the form of the Prussian Warriors Merit Medal (Krieger Verdienstmedaille) that always had been intended for foreign soldiers of ranks below officer. It was worn on the same ribbon as the Iron Cross which made the distinction between officers and men a bit more tolerable.
The Iron Cross could be awarded to the lowest rank of officer (Fahnrich) and also to Officer replacements. Most officers that became an officer during the war had gone through the nco ranks as part of their officers training and often had been awarded medals for the nco ranks in that period. As soon as they were officers they would be eligable to receive the German Iron Cross. So in mixed groups (officers that had been a nco before) both officers and nco medals can be found. This often leeds to the misunderstanding that the German Iron Cross could be awarded the nco’s as well in the AH army – which is not the case.
Officers medals, Bravery Medals for NCO and Iron Cross in a mixed NCO/Officer group
Statistics
The award criteria for gallantry medals are very different in each country as is the structure of the army and the processes to award medals. So a comparison of “level” is not possible. But a comparison of relative numbers of awards should be possible.
To do this I have taken some data from online sources and combined those. I have taken the number of men mobilized between 1914 and 1918. Further I have taken the number of awards per class and compared these with the number of mobilized men. Both as an percentage and as 1 decoration awarded per how many mobilized men.
There are several reasons why this comparison is not “fair”. The AH Bravery Medals were aimed at the men below the rank of officer. No other gallantry medals could be given to them. The German Iron Cross in the German army was open to all ranks. Next to this there were many other awards for gallantry/bravery from the different states within Imperial Germany. Those facts are not taken into account – it is a simple, straightforward comparison of numbers only!
Nevertheless I have made the comparison in numbers and found to my surprise that even the total relative amount of Iron Crosses is way bigger than that of Bravery Medals. Even the “unpopular” Bronze Bravery Medal is relatively rarer than an Iron Cross 2nd Class. And the Silver Bravery Medal 1st class can be compared to the Iron Cross 1st class in relative amounts.
The last part of the statistics show the numbers I have taken from the reference below and state the amount of German Iron Crosses (IC) and Prussian Warriors Merit Medals (WMM) that were awarded to members of the Austro-Hungarian army.
The overview below is based on the information from the website of Dr. János Szentváry-Lukács, see the reference below. It gives the specific amounts for the Bravery Medals to the Honvéd part of the Austro-Hungarian army!
The award was continued after the war in Hungary (could be worn on the uniform) and a new version with Regent Horthy also came into existence. You can read more about those in this blog.
Reference: Steiner, J.C. (2010) Heldenwerk 1914-1918. Vienna, Austria
