The Colonial Medal, officially the Colonial Commemorative Medal (), was a medal of the German Empire established on 13 June 1912 by Kaiser Wilhelm II. It was awarded retroactively for participation in military operations in the German colonial empire, beginning with campaigns that took place as early as 1884.

Eligibility The medal was instituted to recognize the contribution of Imperial German Army and Imperial German Navy personnel, as well as both German and indigenous members of the Schutztruppe (protection force) and police forces who had participated in one or more military campaigns against indigenous insurgents in the various German colonies. Individuals who took part in combat outside the colonies, in defense of German nationals or German interests, were also eligible. Exceptions were participants in the Boxer Rebellion during 1900 and 1901, and the Herero and Nama War in the years 1904–1908. Participants in those large conflicts had already been awarded their own specific commemorative medals, the China Commemorative Medal and the South West Africa Commemorative Medal, respectively. A total of 4,222 Colonial Medals were awarded, of which 3,057 were issued to members of the navy.Kolonialdenkmunze in the Ehrenzeichen-Orden website

Description The medal was produced by the royal mint, and consisted of a nearly round bronze disc that tapered to a point at the top featuring a hole, through which passed a small, elongated ring that attached to a larger round suspension ring. There were two variants: the one for German combatants was 32-mm-wide, and the one for indigenous personnel measured 28-mm-wide. Apart from the difference in size, they were identical in their construction and embossing.

The obverse depicted a right-facing bust-length image of Wilhelm II in military uniform by the Viennese sculptor Rudolf Marschall. On the right side was a small image of the kaiser's imperial monogram "W II", surmounted by an image of the German State Crown with a fluttering ribbon on each side. All were encircled by a decorative edging.

The reverse contained a larger depiction of the crown and ribbons in the upper center. Below this was an inscription in capital letters on six lines, with one word on each: DEN TAPFEREN STREITERN FÜR DEUTSCHLANDS EHRE (To the brave warriors for Germany's honor). This was encircled by a branch of oak leaves on the right and laurel leaves on the left.

Ribbon and placement The medal was won on the left breast, suspended from a ribbon. For German recipients, the white ribbon was 30 mm wide with four central red stripes, each 1.5-mm-wide, spaced 2 mm apart from one another and 4 mm from a black stripe on each edge. For indigenous recipients, the color scheme was the same but the ribbon was only 28 mm wide, with a corresponding reduction in the width of the stripes.

Medal bars Any of 89 official medal bars could be awarded with the medal, providing the name and year(s) of the campaign in which the recipient had participated. For combatants who had taken part in multiple campaigns, the bars were affixed one below the other in chronological order. The bars had to be purchased at the expense of the recipient. They were made of gilt brass and were attached to the ribbon by means of two soldered pins on the back. They measured 7 mm in height and 33 mm in width, were bordered by a narrow, raised, polished edge, and bore the inscriptions in raised capital Latin script against a stippled background. The names are as follows:

DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1893 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1897 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1899 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1900 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1901 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1902 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1903 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1904 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1905 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1906 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1907 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1908 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1909 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1910 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1911 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1912 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1913 DEUTSCH-NEUGUINEA 1913/14 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1888/89 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1889/90 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1889/91 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1892 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1893 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1894 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1895 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1896 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1897 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1898 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1899 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1900 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1901 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1902 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1903 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1905/07 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1911 DEUTSCH-OSTAFRIKA 1912 KAMERUN 1884 KAMERUN 1886/91 KAMERUN 1889 KAMERUN 1890 KAMERUN 1891 KAMERUN 1891/94 KAMERUN 1893 KAMERUN 1895/96 KAMERUN 1897 KAMERUN 1898 KAMERUN 1898/99 KAMERUN 1899 KAMERUN 1899/1900 KAMERUN 1900 KAMERUN 1900/01 KAMERUN 1901 KAMERUN 1901/02 KAMERUN 1902 KAMERUN 1902/03 KAMERUN 1903 KAMERUN 1904 KAMERUN 1904/05 KAMERUN 1905 KAMERUN 1906 KAMERUN 1905/07 KAMERUN 1906/07 KAMERUN 1907/08 KAMERUN 1909/09 KAMERUN 1911 KAMERUN 1912 PONAPE 1910/11 SAMOA 1888 SÜDWEST-AFRIKA 1893/95 SÜDWEST-AFRIKA 1896 SÜDWEST-AFRIKA 1897 SÜDWEST-AFRIKA 1897/98 SÜDWEST-AFRIKA 1901 SÜDWEST-AFRIKA 1903/04 TOGO 1894/95 TOGO 1895 TOGO 1896 TOGO 1896/97 TOGO 1897 TOGO 1897/98 TOGO 1898 TOGO 1898/99 TOGO 1899 TOGO 1900 TOGO 1900/01 TOGO 1901 TOGO 1902 TOGO 1903 VENEZUELA 1902/03

Selected recipients Friedrich Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau Max Looff

References

Sources

André Hüsken: Katalog der Orden, Ehrenzeichen und Auszeichnungen des Kurfürstentums Brandenburg, der Markgrafschaften Brandenburg-Ansbach und Brandenburg-Bayreuth, des Königreiches Preußen, der Republik Preußen unter Berücksichtigung des Deutschen Reiches, Band 3, Hamburg 2001, Kolonialdenkmunze in the Ehrenzeichen-Orden website

External links Imperial German Colonial Medal – SAMOA 1888 , 15 May 2008. Ebay Reviews and Guides, date accessed 24 February 2011.