History

The Tyrolean Eagle was instituted in memory of volunteer Baum from Breslau, at the time a student in the region of Tyrol, who died in the fighting in Upper Silesia. A company of Freikorps Oberland that was made up of volunteers from Tyrol instituted the award in his honour.

The Freikorps or Bund Oberland was established during the tumultuous post-war period in 1919 in Bavaria and fought against communist uprisings. When Polish insurgents invaded Upper Silesia in May of 1921, the Freikorps Oberland was sent to support the local Freikorps and militias.

The award was designed by Hauptmann (Captain) Gröger-Panie. It was manufactured by the company of M. Reich, Breslau.

The award is gilded and in the form of a red enamelled eagle, with the exception of the beak and tallons. On the eagle's chest are two curved ribbons with the inscriptions "IM KAMPFE FÜR" and "OBERSCHLESIEN" (in the fight for Upper Silesia). Behind the eagle's head is a gilded (or sometimes green enamelled) open laurel wreath.

A 1970s reissuing of the award had a somewhat different design, with the surface being completely flat and eagle, wreath, and ribbons in red with gilt highlights.

The ribbon of the award is green/white/green, the traditional colours of the Tyrol region.

Approximately 70 awards were handed out.

At a later date, a Grand Eagle was introduced, which was only awarded four times: to Oberleutnant Draxler, Hauptmann Gröger-Panie, Leutnant Cassio Castelpietra, and Hauptmann Oestreicher.
No information on the appearance of the Grand Eagle were available at the time of writing.