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The ceremonial baton is a short, thick stick-like object, typically in wood or metal, that is traditionally the sign of a field marshal or a similar high-ranking military officer, and carried as a piece of their uniform. The baton is distinguished from the swagger stick in being thicker and effectively without any practical function. A staff of office is rested on the ground; a baton is not. Unlike a royal sceptre that is crowned on one end with an eagle or globe, a baton is typically flat-ended.
The baton can most likely be traced back to the mace, with ancient kings and pharaohs often being buried with ceremonial maces.[2] With the advent of primitive body armor, the mace went out of fashion, but made a comeback as an effective weapon against full plate armour during the Late Middle Ages.[3] During this time, the staff of office also became a prominent symbol of power.[4]
By the time of Louis X of France, it was common for sergeants-at-arms to carry highly ornamented ceremonial maces.[5] By the 16th century, the war mace had once again been phased out, solely replaced by an ornamented ceremonial version, used as a sign of wealth and power.[6] As such, only army commanders would carry these devices, transforming the maces into symbols of power on the battlefield.[7]
UseEdit
FranceEdit
In France, the baton emerged as a sign of high command during the late Middle Ages. Marshals of France were among the most prominent holders of batons, but until the 18th century they were not the only ones. The model of the baton was not regulated until 1758, when a design based upon the traditional heraldic emblem of the marshals was introduced by Marshal de Belle-Île.
This design, a cylindric object made in wood and covered in blue velvet with gold ornaments, was retained in later regimes. The ornaments, however, changed: fleurs-de-lys during the Bourbon monarchy. Eagles were inserted for the Marshalls of Napoleon Bonaparte, which he gave away batons in ceremonies as well as medals as propaganda means, and stars during the July monarchy and Republican periods.[8]
16 March 1941 starting second from left: three high-ranking German officers with their batons (left to right: Erich Raeder; Walther von Brauchitsch; Wilhelm Keitel).Field Marshall Keitel in May 1945 with his Interimstab or field service baton.
In Nazi Germany, Generalfeldmarschalls and Großadmirals carried ceremonial batons, specially manufactured by German jewellers. Seven styles of batons were awarded to 25 individuals. Hermann Göring earned two different-style batons for his Generalfeldmarschall and Reichsmarschall promotions.
All the batons, except Erich Raeder's, were designed in a similar way: a shaft decorated with Iron Crosses and Wehrmacht eagles. Luftwaffe (air force) shafts showed the Balkenkreuz ("beam cross"), whereas Kriegsmarine (navy) shafts had fouled anchors. The ends of the batons were decorated with ornate caps.
The first air force baton awarded was to Hermann Göring after his promotion to field marshal. Though it was designed similarly to the Blomberg baton with a light blue velvet shaft covering, it incorporated the air force Balkenkreuz symbols. Additionally, the end caps were inlaid with many small diamonds. It is now kept in the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia.
The next baton awarded was to Grand Admiral Erich Raeder. This baton's shaft had a dark blue velvet covering. This baton differed from other batons by having a chain link pattern sewn over the crosses, eagles and anchors. At the end of the war, the baton was reportedly disassembled and sold in pieces.
Nine army batons were awarded in the summer of 1940 to newly promoted field marshals. The batons' shafts had red velvet coverings and differed only in identifying inscriptions on the end caps. Eight more batons of this style were later awarded to other field marshals upon their promotions. The first group was manufactured for 6,000 RM (about US$30,000 in 2012) each. Most of the batons are now in museums or private collections.
Three air force batons were awarded in the summer of 1940. They had blue velvet covering and the Balkenkreuz design, differing only in individual end cap inscriptions. One more baton of this style was awarded in 1943. The 1940 air force batons were slightly more expensive to manufacture than the 1940 army batons.
The only other navy baton was awarded to Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz. It had a blue velvet shaft covering and incorporated a U-boat symbol on one of the end caps. It is now in the Shropshire Regimental Museum, Shrewsbury, UK, and was donated by Major General J. B. Churcher, who captured Dönitz at war's end and took the baton.
The only Reichsmarschall baton was presented to Hermann Göring in 1940. While similar looking to the other 1940 batons, it incorporated exceptional materials. The shaft was white elephant ivory, not velvet-covered metal. The end caps incorporated platinum in the inscription banding and over 600 small diamonds. The baton was manufactured for 22,750 RM (about US$130,000 in 2012). It is now in the U.S. Army's West Point Museum, Highland Falls, New York.
German field service batons
German field marshals often carried an Interimstab while on active service, a lighter and thinner baton resembling a swagger stick.[9]
RussiaEdit
An epaulette of a general-field marshal of the Russian Empire, c. 1912.
The first [Russian] Field Marshal's baton, the emblem of this high military rank, was given to Count Fedor Golovin in 1700. In the 19th century, during the reign of Alexander I of Russia (1801-1825), only four Russian Generals and the Duke of Wellington received the coveted baton. Six were awarded during the reign of Nicholas I of Russia (1825-1855), and a further six were issued under Alexander II of Russia (1855-1881). No Field Marshals were appointed during the reign of Alexander III of Russia (1881-1894) and only four batons were awarded during the reign of Nicholas II of Russia (1894-1917), the last being to His Royal Highness King Carol I of Romania in 1912.
The Duke of Wellington possessed multiple batons, since he held the rank of field marshal or equivalent in eight European armies each of which presented him with a baton. In addition to his English baton he was presented with two British batons.[10][failed verification] Nine of the batons (along with some staffs of office) are displayed at his former home, Apsley House (the Russian baton was stolen on 9 December 1965 and has not been recovered).[1][11][12]
In heraldry and cultureEdit
A baton appears occasionally in heraldry as an armorial achievement by field marshals upon achieving substantive or honorary rank. In England and Wales, batons are usually represented as behind the coat of arms crossed in saltire although the sole holder of this achievement in practice is the Duke of Norfolk in his capacity as Earl Marshal.
^François Lagrange, « Signes du pouvoir militaire : de l’épée de connétable au bâton de maréchal », Bulletin du Centre de recherche du château de Versailles [En ligne], | 2005, mis en ligne le 24 janvier 2012, consulté le 02 septembre 2021. URL : ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/crcv.11815
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marshal's batons.
Hedegaard, E. O. A. (1979). Den militære feltmarskalstavs historie: En våben- og krigshistorisk studie [The History of the Field Marshal's Baton: A Study of the History of Weapons] (in Danish). Forlaget ZAC.
SR staff (10 December 1965). "2 Robbers Beat Guard, Take Priceless Jewels". The Spokesman-Review. p. 2.
Staff at Christie's (19 October 2004). "An extremely rare jeweled, enamel and gold Russian field marshal's baton marked Keibel, St. Petersburg, circa 1878 (Lot 121 / Sale 1458)". Christie's.
October 21, 2023
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You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German January 2021 Click show for important translation instructions View a machine translated version of the German article Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate rather than simply copy pasting machine translated text into the English Wikipedia Consider adding a topic to this template there are already 8 913 articles in the main category and specifying topic will aid in categorization Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low quality If possible verify the text with references provided in the foreign language article You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at de Marschallstab see its history for attribution You should also add the template Translated de Marschallstab to the talk page For more guidance see Wikipedia Translation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Baton military news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message For other uses see Baton The ceremonial baton is a short thick stick like object typically in wood or metal that is traditionally the sign of a field marshal or a similar high ranking military officer and carried as a piece of their uniform The baton is distinguished from the swagger stick in being thicker and effectively without any practical function A staff of office is rested on the ground a baton is not Unlike a royal sceptre that is crowned on one end with an eagle or globe a baton is typically flat ended Jean Baptiste Jourdan with his marshal s baton In 1813 his baton was captured by British forces following the Battle of Vitoria 1 Contents 1 Origins 2 Use 2 1 France 2 2 Germany 2 2 1 1935 1945 2 3 Russia 2 4 United Kingdom 3 In heraldry and culture 4 See also 5 ReferencesOrigins Edit nbsp 20th century French Marshal s batonThe baton can most likely be traced back to the mace with ancient kings and pharaohs often being buried with ceremonial maces 2 With the advent of primitive body armor the mace went out of fashion but made a comeback as an effective weapon against full plate armour during the Late Middle Ages 3 During this time the staff of office also became a prominent symbol of power 4 By the time of Louis X of France it was common for sergeants at arms to carry highly ornamented ceremonial maces 5 By the 16th century the war mace had once again been phased out solely replaced by an ornamented ceremonial version used as a sign of wealth and power 6 As such only army commanders would carry these devices transforming the maces into symbols of power on the battlefield 7 Use EditFrance Edit In France the baton emerged as a sign of high command during the late Middle Ages Marshals of France were among the most prominent holders of batons but until the 18th century they were not the only ones The model of the baton was not regulated until 1758 when a design based upon the traditional heraldic emblem of the marshals was introduced by Marshal de Belle Ile This design a cylindric object made in wood and covered in blue velvet with gold ornaments was retained in later regimes The ornaments however changed fleurs de lys during the Bourbon monarchy Eagles were inserted for the Marshalls of Napoleon Bonaparte which he gave away batons in ceremonies as well as medals as propaganda means and stars during the July monarchy and Republican periods 8 Germany Edit nbsp Coat of arms of Hermann Moritz Count of Saxony with batons placed behind his arms as insigniaImperial Generals Reichsgenerale but especially Imperial Field Marshals Reichsgeneralfeldmarschalle of the Army of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation carried commando batons Kommandostabe and later Marshal batons Marschallstabe Also the supreme commander of the Imperial Army Generalissimus Albrecht von Wallenstein but also Prince Eugene of Savoy carried such batons as symbols of their authority The Field Marshals of other German states also received a Marschallstab famous for this tradition was the German Kingdom of Prussia As Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington also a Generalfeldmarschall of the Prussian Army died 1852 the Prussian king sent him a special baton 30 cm long which was put in his coffin alongside his English Marshal baton Well known are the beautiful batons of the Imperial German Army between 1871 and 1918 1935 1945 Edit nbsp 16 March 1941 starting second from left three high ranking German officers with their batons left to right Erich Raeder Walther von Brauchitsch Wilhelm Keitel nbsp Field Marshall Keitel in May 1945 with his Interimstab or field service baton In Nazi Germany Generalfeldmarschalls and Grossadmirals carried ceremonial batons specially manufactured by German jewellers Seven styles of batons were awarded to 25 individuals Hermann Goring earned two different style batons for his Generalfeldmarschall and Reichsmarschall promotions All the batons except Erich Raeder s were designed in a similar way a shaft decorated with Iron Crosses and Wehrmacht eagles Luftwaffe air force shafts showed the Balkenkreuz beam cross whereas Kriegsmarine navy shafts had fouled anchors The ends of the batons were decorated with ornate caps The seven styles of Nazi era batonsThe first baton awarded was to Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg This baton s shaft had a light blue velvet covering material It is now in the National Museum of American History in Washington DC The first air force baton awarded was to Hermann Goring after his promotion to field marshal Though it was designed similarly to the Blomberg baton with a light blue velvet shaft covering it incorporated the air force Balkenkreuz symbols Additionally the end caps were inlaid with many small diamonds It is now kept in the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning Georgia The next baton awarded was to Grand Admiral Erich Raeder This baton s shaft had a dark blue velvet covering This baton differed from other batons by having a chain link pattern sewn over the crosses eagles and anchors At the end of the war the baton was reportedly disassembled and sold in pieces Nine army batons were awarded in the summer of 1940 to newly promoted field marshals The batons shafts had red velvet coverings and differed only in identifying inscriptions on the end caps Eight more batons of this style were later awarded to other field marshals upon their promotions The first group was manufactured for 6 000 RM about US 30 000 in 2012 each Most of the batons are now in museums or private collections Three air force batons were awarded in the summer of 1940 They had blue velvet covering and the Balkenkreuz design differing only in individual end cap inscriptions One more baton of this style was awarded in 1943 The 1940 air force batons were slightly more expensive to manufacture than the 1940 army batons The only other navy baton was awarded to Grand Admiral Karl Donitz It had a blue velvet shaft covering and incorporated a U boat symbol on one of the end caps It is now in the Shropshire Regimental Museum Shrewsbury UK and was donated by Major General J B Churcher who captured Donitz at war s end and took the baton The only Reichsmarschall baton was presented to Hermann Goring in 1940 While similar looking to the other 1940 batons it incorporated exceptional materials The shaft was white elephant ivory not velvet covered metal The end caps incorporated platinum in the inscription banding and over 600 small diamonds The baton was manufactured for 22 750 RM about US 130 000 in 2012 It is now in the U S Army s West Point Museum Highland Falls New York German field service batonsGerman field marshals often carried an Interimstab while on active service a lighter and thinner baton resembling a swagger stick 9 Russia Edit nbsp An epaulette of a general field marshal of the Russian Empire c 1912 The first Russian Field Marshal s baton the emblem of this high military rank was given to Count Fedor Golovin in 1700 In the 19th century during the reign of Alexander I of Russia 1801 1825 only four Russian Generals and the Duke of Wellington received the coveted baton Six were awarded during the reign of Nicholas I of Russia 1825 1855 and a further six were issued under Alexander II of Russia 1855 1881 No Field Marshals were appointed during the reign of Alexander III of Russia 1881 1894 and only four batons were awarded during the reign of Nicholas II of Russia 1894 1917 the last being to His Royal Highness King Carol I of Romania in 1912 Staff at Christie s 2004 United Kingdom Edit The Duke of Wellington possessed multiple batons since he held the rank of field marshal or equivalent in eight European armies each of which presented him with a baton In addition to his English baton he was presented with two British batons 10 failed verification Nine of the batons along with some staffs of office are displayed at his former home Apsley House the Russian baton was stolen on 9 December 1965 and has not been recovered 1 11 12 In heraldry and culture EditA baton appears occasionally in heraldry as an armorial achievement by field marshals upon achieving substantive or honorary rank In England and Wales batons are usually represented as behind the coat of arms crossed in saltire although the sole holder of this achievement in practice is the Duke of Norfolk in his capacity as Earl Marshal See also EditBulawa Ceremonial weapon Gunbai Saihai Swagger stick Vine staffReferences EditCitations a b Howe Malcolm 2000 Wellington s Batons British Historical Society of Portugal 27 13 22 Hedegaard 1979 p 10 Hedegaard 1979 pp 12 14 Hedegaard 1979 p 15 Hedegaard 1979 p 17 Hedegaard 1979 p 22 Hedegaard 1979 p 25 Francois Lagrange Signes du pouvoir militaire de l epee de connetable au baton de marechal Bulletin du Centre de recherche du chateau de Versailles En ligne 2005 mis en ligne le 24 janvier 2012 consulte le 02 septembre 2021 URL DOI https doi org 10 4000 crcv 11815 Zabecki David T 2019 The German War Machine in World War II An Encyclopedia Santa Barbara CA ABC CLIO p 337 ISBN 978 1440869174 Batons of the Late Duke of Wellington The Illustrated London News No 532 11 December 1852 Retrieved 8 June 2011 Duke of Wellington s batons English Heritage Archived from the original on 15 March 2012 Retrieved 8 June 2011 SR staff 1965 p 2 Bibliography nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marshal s batons Hedegaard E O A 1979 Den militaere feltmarskalstavs historie En vaben og krigshistorisk studie The History of the Field Marshal s Baton A Study of the History of Weapons in Danish Forlaget ZAC SR staff 10 December 1965 2 Robbers Beat Guard Take Priceless Jewels The Spokesman Review p 2 Staff at Christie s 19 October 2004 An extremely rare jeweled enamel and gold Russian field marshal s baton marked Keibel St Petersburg circa 1878 Lot 121 Sale 1458 Christie s Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Baton military amp oldid 1180324596, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
