When the First World War broke out, the relationship between Serbia and the Austrian medal-making firms who manufactured so many of their best quality orders and medals was severed for good, and so production shifted to Switzerland and France for the duration. This example, of the Serbian Order of the White Eagle, was made by Huguenin Freres, in Switzerland. From its inception in 1883 and up to 28 May 1915, the Order of the White Eagle was awarded to both worthy civilians and military people for special service to the Serbian nation, state, or Crown. After that date, there were two divisions of this award, those of the older, existing design, which would continue to be awarded to civilians, and the newly-established military division, which had a pair of crossed-swords added between the top of the eagle’s heads and the crown. To recap, if awarded before 28 May 1915, this pictured version of the Order of the White Eagle may have been awarded to either a military or civilian recipient and, after that date, this type would have been awarded to civilians only. The white case for this medal has the Serbian Cyrillic text ‘БЕЛИ ОРАО’, which transliterates to ‘Beli Orao’, which translates to ‘White Eagle’, and the class, ‘V’ as a Roman numeral, indicates that this is a fifth class version of this award, which was awarded in five classes. Also shown is a miniature version of the award. Of possible interest also is a small miniatures set, showing the French Legion of Honour and Order of Academic Palms, plus a Serbian Order of the White Eagle. Of note are the 8 silver thread bars on the Serbian award, backing the central rosette on the ribbon, which denotes certain rank or achievement by the recipient. || Serbian Order of the White Eagle in original case, with miniature of the same. A French miniature medal set consisting of a French Legion of Honour and Order of Academic Palms, plus a Serbian Order of the White Eagle.

The Order of the Star of Karageorge was established by King Peter Karageorgevich of Serbia in 1904 to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the First Serbian Uprising of 1804 led by his grandfather, Kara George, against Ottoman Turkish forces, but also in part to replace the high-ranking Takovo and Milos the Great orders and awards of the defunct Obrenovic-era Serbian dynasty, whose unpopular King and Queen had been assassinated in a military coup of 1903, to be replaced by the Karageorgevich Royal Family. The high-ranking Karageorge Star award was for military or civilian recipients for services to the Serbian Crown and Nation, and which would also later be awarded to foreigners. A military-only division of the Star of Karageorge was established in October 1912, around the time of the First and Second Balkan Wars, of 1912 and 1913 respectively, and differed in appearance to the regular version in that the military one had crossed swords applied to the design. Awarded in four classes, this enamelled award was conferred to officers for deeds of bravery during war, for success and great effort or self-sacrifice on the battlefield, as well as distinguished military service. As the Serbian Army experienced heavy fighting from the outset, it became clear that there was a need to officially recognise the best fighting qualities of their NCO’s and enlisted men, and so, in May 1915, a related award for non-officers was established, and this was for the Military Order of the Star of Karageorge with Swords. There were two classes, gold and silver, which were gilded or silver-plated, respectively, and were awarded for personal gallantry by NCO’s and enlisted men. Shown here is a cased Order of the Star of Karageorge with Swords and also a Military Order of the Star of Karageorge with Swords. The former case has, on the outside, the Serbian coat of arms, with a Roman numeral ’IV’ to indicate it was fourth class, for officers of field units or staff, and a pair of crossed swords, and the inside lid has the name of the French makers, Arthus Bertrand. The latter has the Cyrillic text, ‘КАРАЋОРЋЕВА ЗВЕЗДА’, which transliterates to ‘Karadjordjeva Zvezda’, and translates as ‘Karageorge Star’, with the class of award, ‘IV’, shown in Roman numerals, though the gold lettering is badly worn, and the Swiss makers name, Huguenin Freres, inside the lid. Also shown is the miniature version of the officer version of the award. The gilding over the bronze base on the NCO's or enlisted men’s version show here is completely missing, having worn off or been polished away over the many years since it was awarded. The arms of the cross of the award are of equal length, with rays between the arms, and a pair of diagonal swords. The award is topped by the Serbian crown and the red ribbon indicates a war-time award. Red ribbons with white edges would signify a peace-time award. The officer's version of the award has the Serbian heraldic shield on one side with, surrounding it, the Old Church Slavonic text, 'ЗА ВЪРꙊ И СЛОБОДꙊ', which translates as 'For Faith and Liberty', and the year of the Serbian Uprising, '1804' below this. The text on the NCO's and enlisted men's version has the Cyrillic text, 'ЗА ХРАБРОСТ', which translates as 'For Bravery'. The other side, for both versions of this award, show the Serbian eagle emblem and the Christian name of King Peter the First, of Serbia in Cyrillic, thus, 'ПЕТАР I', and the year that the award was established, '1904'. Of interest is that the NCO's or enlisted men’s version also shows the year that the decoration was awarded to the individual recipient. Looking at a close-up, you can see the year’s ‘1914-17’, which indicates that this particular example was awarded in 1917. Also pictured are a 1935 booklet with regulations for wearing the Order, plus an Award-holder identification card and photograph, valid to the end of 1939, for a Ljubica Savic, entitling the holder to free rail travel. Also shown is a miniature of the NCO or enlisted men's version of the Karageorge Star, with the date on it showing that it was awarded in 1916. || Serbian Order of the Star of Karageorge with Swords, for officers, in original case, plus a miniature of the same. Military Serbian Order of the Star of Karageorge with Swords, in original case, for NCO's and enlisted men. A booklet of regulations for holder of the Order of the Star of Karageorge with Swords, and a photo identification pass entitling the holder of the Order of the Star of Karageorge with Swords to free railway travel. Miniature of the NCO or enlisted men's version of the Karageorge Star.

Order of the White Eagle with Swords (fourth class) with case from French maker, Arthus Bertrand. Miniature Order of the White Eagle with Swords. French medal set consisting mainly of French awards (1914-1918 War Cross with a palm and two stars, Combatant's Cross, 1914-1918 Inter-Allied Victory medal, 1914-1918 Commemorative war medal, Orient Campaign medal, and Order of Academic Palms), as well as an Order of the Serbian White Eagle with Swords - with a rosette on the ribbon and silver bars typical of French awards of this nature - and a Serbian 1914-1918 Commemorative medal. Lapel badge for a member of the post-war 'Association of the Holders of the Order of the White Eagle with Swords'. Award certificate for the Order of White Eagle with Swords, fourth class. || The Serbian Order of the White Eagle was first instituted in 1883 for special achievements in service of the Serbian nation, state, or Crown, and was available in 5 classes. Until 1898, the Order of the White Eagle was the highest award in Serbia. On 28 May 1915, a War Merit Division of the Order of the White Eagle was instituted and the design would remain the same as the White Eagle except for the addition of two, crossed swords above the eagle. The '1882' on the reverse of the medal is to commemorate the year that Serbia was established as a Kingdom. The Order was awarded only to officers, Serbian and Allied forces, as a sign of acknowledgement of services rendered in wartime. When the war broke out, and in the period just before, relations between Serbia and Austria worsened, and this also included regarding the sale and supply of medals, where Austrian medal makers, who had hitherto made many of the Serbian awards until then, ceased supplying Serbia with manufactured medals and orders, and so supply was switched to French and Swiss makers. The award pictured here with its presentation case, was made by the French firm of Arthus Bertrand, is fourth class, which meant that it was to be worn from the second-from-top uniform jacket button-hole. This particular award is from before 1918 because, in that year, the company logo printed inside the lid of the case was changed to 'Arthus Bertrand at Cie'. Also shown in this set is a miniature Order of the White Eagle with Swords alongside the regular version, and also a set of French medals, which also features an Order of the White Eagle with Swords. After the war, the 'Association of the Holders of the Order of the White Eagle with swords' was formed, and their membership lapel badge is shown here. Finally, an award certificate for an Order of the White Eagle with Swords, fourth class. This example was given to Serbian Infantry Lieutenant-Colonel Stevan R. Petrovic. This was for meritorious effort in 1915, though this certificate, written in Serbian Cyrillic, was only finally awarded in 1926, but this wasn't untypical, with those awarded orders or medals sometimes receiving their certificates many years after the end of the war. Items of note include that the award was in the name of Serbian King Peter I, leader of the Serbian Nation and Army in the First World War, but who had died in 1921, before this certificate was awarded, and described as the King of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which was the name of the country formed after the end of the war and that was later changed, in 1929, to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Also mentioned in the award titling, after the King, is his successor to the throne, his son, Alexander. The certificate was produced by the Army Geographical Institute, in Belgrade.