Identified WWI Imperial German Generalleutnant Uniform Tunic of Lieutenant General Otto Von Der Decken

The uniform is tailored in a very fine, high quality field gray wool with slip on Generalleutnant shoulder boards and bullion collar tabs, and with the tunic fly, collar, cuffs, and tail skirt piped in red. The upper left breast has eight loops for a very long ribbon bar, while the lower left breast has sets of loops for the wear of four orders and decorations. These are comprised of three sets of three vertical loops, while one is a set of five loops in a cross configuration, and which was clearly intended for the wear of a large breast star. The tunic is in superb condition, without stains or holes and showing only signs of light wear. The interior of the tunic is fully lined, with a large military tailor’s label.

The tunic does not contain a name, but it was identified as the uniform of Generalleutnant Otto Von Der Decken as a result of the extraordinary research abilities of the late Rick Lundstrom. There are countless collectors around the world who know of Rick’s remarkable research work from his thousands of posts under the name “Rick Research” on both the Wehrmacht Awards Forum and on the Gentleman’s Military Interest Club (Indeed, the GMIC renamed its Imperial German research section in honor of Rick, and it became the “Rick (Research) Lundstrom Forum for Documentation and Photographs” of the Imperial German era. Rick was able to identify this uniform tunic as having been worn by Von Der Decken by virtue of the placement of loops for a particularly long ribbon bar in conjunction with the fact that the owner of the tunic had loops for four breast decorations, something that was unique to General Von Der Decken. In his research and analysis of the tunic, Rick noted as follows:

Otto Von Der Decken, born Verden, Hannover 17 August 1858, alive 1926. Oberstleutnant 20.3.08, Oberst 23.9.11, Generalmajor August 1914, Generalletnant, April-May 1918, retired in that rank. Commander of Saxon Hussar regiment, 1914. Commander of the Saxon 23rd Cavalry Brigade, summer-fall, 1917. Commanding officer of Cavalry Division “North” on the Duna, Baltic Front, and ending his World War I front line service as Commander of the45th Landwehr Division.

Rick wrote that Von Der Decken held at least eight ribboned awards. In the pre-war period he held the Saxon Civil Merit Order-Knight 1st class; the Saxon XXV Years Service Cross; the Austr0 Hungarian Franz Joseph Order, Knight class; Prussian Red Eagle Order 3rd Class with bow (the “bow” reflected the award of the next lower degree as well, being the Prussian Red Eagle Order 4th Class with Crown); the Prussian Crown Order 4th Class with Crown; and the Prussian Crown Order 3rd Class. In addition to these 6 awards, he would have also worn the ribbons on his ribbon bar for the wartime awards of the 1914 Iron Cross, second class, and to the St. Henry Order, Knight Class. Rick determined from his research that Von Der Decken also had for pre-war neck orders and that “he was unique in holding THREE pinback officer grade orders- Bavarian Military Merit Order – Officer, Wurtemberg Crown Order – Honor Cross, and Oldenburg House Order – Officer. Adding his WWI Iron Cross 1st Class – bingo – four same-sized pinback awards. No one else had this combination.” A copy of Rick’s complete analysis and identification is included with this extraordinary uniform tunic.