Imperial German WWI Iron Cross 1st 2nd Class Named Goslarer Jaeger Btl 10

The piece is a named and documented Imperial German Iron Cross grouping to Jäger Julius Lelonge of the 1. Kompanie, Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon 10 — the wartime reserve formation of Hannoversches Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 10, universally known as the Goslarer Jäger for its peacetime garrison in the imperial city of Goslar in the Harz Mountains. The offering comprises both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz 1914 (Iron Cross 1914) and the original corps-level award document for the 2nd Class, dated 17 June 1916 and issued in the name of General der Infanterie Robert Kosch as commanding general of the X. Reservekorps. Named pairs of the 1st and 2nd Class with original period award documentation are uncommon on the market and represent the most desirable form in which a German Eiserne Kreuz group can be encountered.

The Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse is the standard three-piece pattern of the renewed 1914 series: cast iron core in matte black with raised relief, silvered nickel-silver frame in two halves brazed at the periphery, and integral suspension loop at the upper arm. The obverse displays the central crowned cypher W (for Wilhelm II) with the date 1914 in the lower arm. The reverse displays the crowned cypher FW at the upper arm (for Friedrich Wilhelm III, founder of the order in 1813), the central oak-leaf spray, and the date 1813 in the lower arm. The cross retains its full period black-and-white Kämpferband (combatant ribbon) — black grosgrain with two narrow white side stripes, the variant correctly issued to soldiers in active field service rather than to non-combatant medical or administrative personnel. The ribbon shows expected age and storage wear with several short edge nicks and softening of the selvedge, and the cross itself shows light age patination and minor surface speckling consistent with one hundred and ten years of storage.

The Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse is the standard 1914 pattern of the same iron core and silvered frame construction as the 2nd Class but flat-backed for breast wear and fitted with a horizontal pin and C-catch on the reverse. The obverse face matches the 2nd Class obverse (crown, W, 1914); the reverse is flat and shows the original soldered pin hinge, vertical pin with sharpened taper, and round C-catch, all intact and functional. The piece is unmarked on the reverse, a common feature of mid-war 1st Class crosses, which were issued by multiple firms with variable marking practices. The frame shows good edge definition with light wear at the high points and the expected mottled patination across the iron face.

Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon 10 was raised on mobilization in August 1914 as the wartime reserve element of Hannoversches Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 10, a Hanoverian light-infantry formation tracing its lineage to the early nineteenth century and counted among the most distinguished Jäger (literally "hunter," denoting light infantry of riflemen and skirmishers) battalions of the Imperial German Army. The reserve battalion was committed to active operations from the autumn of 1914, serving across multiple formations of the German order of battle in the eastern theater. By 1916 it formed part of the X. Reservekorps under General Kosch, which in that year was engaged in operations across the Polish and Galician sectors and was subsequently directed into the Romanian campaign of late 1916 and early 1917. The 2nd Class award documented in the present grouping accordingly falls within the battalion's eastern operational period. The 1st Class award, dated 30 June 1918, falls within the closing months of the conflict and reflects continued active service in the field.

The original award document for the 2nd Class is typed on the official letterhead of the General-Kommando X. Reservekorps, with the file reference IIa Nr. 18555, dated at the Korps-Haupt-Quartier (Corps Headquarters) on 17 June 1916, marked Einschreiben! (Registered post), citing the corps daily order Korpstagesbefehl vom 14. 6. 1916, and reading in the printed body: Im Namen Seiner Majestät verleihe ich das Eiserne Kreuz 2. Klasse: (In the name of His Majesty I bestow the Iron Cross 2nd Class:) — followed by the handwritten recipient line naming Julius Lelonge of the relevant unit, and closing with the printed signature line Der kommandierende General. gez. Kosch. General der Infanterie Robert Kosch (1856–1942) commanded the X. Reservekorps from the outbreak of hostilities through major operations in the East, including the principal direction of German forces in the Romanian campaign of 1916–17; his attributed corps orders are sought as both award provenance and as the documentary signatures of a senior Imperial general-officer. The document shows heavy period folds, edge soiling, and toning consistent with carriage by a frontline soldier in his Soldbuch (paybook) pocket, but is fully legible and intact, with the recipient line and the printed signature both clearly readable.

The recipient himself is identified as Jäger (rifleman) Julius Lelonge, born 5 March 1895 at Görz in Lothringen — almost certainly the town of Gorze in Lorraine, then part of the Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen annexed to the German Empire after 1871 and reverted to French sovereignty in 1918. The surname Lelonge is of French origin and the birthplace identifies a German subject of French-territorial Lorrainer extraction, who in the event served loyally in one of the most distinguished Hanoverian formations of the field army through both major theaters of the conflict, surviving to the armistice and beyond.

Condition across the listed offering is honest period-used with full legibility and physical soundness. The medals are complete with original frames, original combatant ribbon on the 2nd Class, and undisturbed pin construction on the 1st Class. The 1916 award document is heavily folded and toned but intact and fully readable. No restoration, no replacement parts, no modern intervention is present.

The collector appeal of an attributed and physically documented Imperial German Eisernes Kreuz 1st and 2nd Class pair to a named soldier of one of the most famous Hanoverian Jäger battalions, accompanied by the original 1916 corps daily-order award document attributed to General Kosch, is substantial. Named EK1/EK2 pairs with their original WWI-period award documents are increasingly difficult to source on the open market and are particularly sought by collectors of Jäger-Bataillon material, of Goslarer Jäger lineage pieces, of Eastern Front and Romanian-campaign awards, and of general-officer-attributed corps orders. The biographical detail — a soldier of French-territorial Lorrainer origin serving in a Hanoverian Jäger battalion across the eastern theater and surviving to the armistice — adds personal-narrative weight beyond the standard Iron Cross group.