Austria, Imperial. A Military Merit Cross Document & Official Award Requests To Captain And Machine Gun Battalion Leader Voit 1914

The award certificate for the Military Merit Cross with War Decoration is made out to Hauptmann (Captain) Rudolf Voit. The document is dated to Vienna on November 12, 1914. Measuring 236 mm (w) x 386 mm (h), presenting two folding creases, and light creasing and fraying of the edges, remains very fine.

The certificate is accompanied by twelve pages (some duplicates) of official award requests for Voit. The awards in question include the War Merit Cross 3rd Class with War Decoration (it is stated that Voit already owned the War Merit Cross on the red ribbon), the Bronze War Merit Medal on the ribbon of the War Merit Cross, and the Swords for the ribbon of the War Merit Cross 3rd Class with War Decoration.

Voit served as Battalion Leader of the Machine Gun detachment of the 1st Battalion of Infantry Regiment 37. During the crossing of the Drina river near Bujuklic ada (Balkans) on September 8, 1914 Voit and his detachment held their position for five hours against superior forces after most of the Austrian forces had retreated. Voit distinguished himself again on February 3, 1915 near Dydiowa (present day southern Poland) by repelling Russian forces that had already broken through the Austrian lines.