Verwundetenmedaille
The Wound Medal (Verwundetenmedaille) was established on 12 August 1917 by Emperor Karl I, becoming the last decoration officially instituted by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was awarded to members of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces, as well as civilians attached to the military, who were wounded as a direct result of combat operations. The decoration could also be awarded to those who suffered permanent disability or serious impairment of health in connection with military service.
The medal, struck in zinc and measuring 38 mm in diameter, features a portrait of Emperor Karl on the obverse. Above the bust appears his name in Latin, CAROLUS, while a laurel wreath frames the lower portion. Beneath the portrait is the signature of the designer, Richard Placht (1880–1962), one of the leading Austrian medalists of his time.
The reverse bears the inscription LAESO MILITI ("To the Wounded Soldier") together with the date MCMXVII (1917), commemorating the year in which the decoration was instituted.
The medal is suspended from the characteristic Austrian-style triangular ribbon, 39 mm wide, in gray-green with 4 mm red edge stripes. The recipient's number of combat wounds was indicated by narrow 2 mm red stripes edged in black and placed in the center of the ribbon. One stripe denoted a single wound, two stripes two wounds, and so forth. A ribbon without stripes signified an award for permanent disability or serious injury incurred during military service rather than a specific combat wound.
As the final military decoration created by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Wound Medal stands as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by those who suffered physical wounds in the service of the Monarchy during the First World War.
