Military Merit Cross (Mecklenburg-Schwerin)

Military Merit Cross
1914 Military Merit Cross 2nd Class
Type	Cross in two classes
Awarded for	Bravery or military merit in wartime
Description	Bronze gilt cross pattée; 1st Class is a pinback decoration, 2nd Class is worn from a ribbon
Presented by	Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Eligibility	Military decoration for all ranks
Campaign(s)	Several campaigns (see text)
Status	Obsolete
Established	August 5, 1848
Combatant ribbon (top), non-combatant ribbon (bottom)
Precedence
Next (higher)	1st Class ranks above 2nd Class
Related	Prussian Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd Class

The Military Merit Cross (Militärverdienstkreuz) was established by Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on August 5, 1848. Mecklenburg-Schwerin, a grand duchy located in northern Germany, was a member of the German Confederation and later the German Empire.

In several respects, Mecklenburg-Schwerin's Military Merit Cross was patterned after the Prussian Iron Cross. Both came in two classes, a pinback 1st Class and a 2nd Class worn from a ribbon, both were awarded without regard to rank (most other orders and medals of both states were awarded in different classes based on the rank or status of the recipient), and both were awarded for specific campaigns, as indicated by a date on the bottom arm of the cross. However, there were more versions of the Mecklenburg cross than of the Prussian cross (which was only awarded by Prussia in the Napoleonic Wars, the Franco-Prussian War and World War I, and by Nazi Germany in World War II).