"The Bavarian Military Merit Order (German: Militär-Verdienstorden) was established on July 19, 1866 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It was the kingdom´s main decoration for bravery and military merit for officers and higher-ranking officials. Civilians acting in support of the army were also made eligible for the decoration. The Military Merit Order ranked below the Military Order of Max Joseph (Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden), which was Bavaria´s highest military honor for officers (and conferred a patent of non-hereditary nobility on officers who were not already nobles)." - (en.wikipedia.org 12.11.2019)
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