__NOTOC__{{refimprove|date=April 2017}} {{Use shortened footnotes|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox military award | name = Brunswick War Merit Cross<br/>''Braunschweigisches Kriegsverdienstkreuz'' | image = War Merit Cross, 1st class (Brunswick).png | image_size = 85px | caption = War Merit Cross, 1st class | presenter = Duchy of Brunswick | country = | type = Military decoration | eligibility = | awarded_for = Distinction in war | campaign = World War I | status = No longer awarded | description = | motto = | clasps = | post-nominals = | established = 23 October 1914 | firstawarded = | lastawarded = 1918 | total_awarded = | total_awarded_posthumously = | total_recipients = | precedence_label = | individual = | higher = | same = | lower = | related = | image2 = <!---130px---> | caption2 = }}
The '''Brunswick War Merit Cross''' ({{langx|de|Braunschweigisches Kriegsverdienstkreuz}}){{sfn|Miller|2015|p=569}} also known as the ''Ernst-Augustkreuz'', was a military decoration of the Duchy of Brunswick. The Cross was established 23 October 1914 by Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick. The cross was awarded to all ranks for distinction in war. On 20 March 1918, a first class of the Cross was created in pinback form, with the existing Cross becoming the second class. This brought the Cross in line with awards of other German States like Prussia with the Iron Cross. The cross was awarded on a blue ribbon with yellow stripes for combatants and on a yellow ribbon with blue stripes for non-combatants.
The Brunswick War Merit Cross is a bronze cross pattée. At the center of the Cross on the obverse are the letters ''EA'' for Duke Ernest Augustus. On the horizontal arms of the cross are sprays of oak leaves. The top arm of the cross bears the Brunswick crown, with the date ''1914'' on the lower arm of the cross. On the reverse is the inscription in three lines ''Für'', ''Verdienst im'', ''Kriege'' (For Merit in War) on the top, horizontal and lower arms of the cross, respectively.
==Notable recipients== *Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=569}}
==References== {{reflist}} * {{cite book | last = Miller | first = Michael | title = Leaders Of The Storm Troops Volume 1 | publisher = Helion & Company | location = England| year = 2015 | isbn = 978-1-909982-87-1 }}
Category:Orders, decorations, and medals of the Duchy of Brunswick Category:1914 establishments in Germany Category:1918 disestablishments in Germany Category:Awards established in 1914