Franz Joseph I of Austria and Wilhelm II Reverse

The reverse inscription, “Ich hatt’einen Kam-eraden/ Einen bessern find’st du nit” (“I had a comrade, a better one you will never find”), are the first two lines of a traditional German military lament composed by Ludwig Uhland in 1809 and put to music by Friedrich Silcher in 1825. Typically sung at soldiers’ funerals (see no. 32), on this medal the verse underscores the tight bond felt between the two leaders and, presumably, the soldiers who served under them.

German and Austrian soldiers, walking and talking to right; oak leaves on their hel-mets; around: ICH . HATT’ EINEN . KAM-ERADEN—EINEN—BESSERN . FIND’ST . DV . NIT. (“I had a comrade, a better one you will never find”); in exergue: 1914