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Battalion commander(German) Major Bayer:
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More on Bayer can be found here:
http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/ ... ight=bayer
Max Bayer was the Baden Powell of Germany. He started the Pfadfinder (Boyscout) movement and translated and adapted Baden Powells scouting book for the German youth.
Like his father (General Major Stephen Bayer) he opted for a military career and joined the army in 1891. His career got off to a rapid start including prime appointments to the War academy in 1898, the general staff in 1903 and German South West Africa in 1904. Here he participated in crushing the Herero and Hottentot rebellions.
He had to return to Germany in 1905 due to illness and tok over the German South West Africa office of the Generalstaff. In this time he gave lectures about GSWA in over 50 German Cities and towns as well as writing a number of books about the colony. In 1908 he was posted to the Unterelsässischen Inf. Regt. 138 in Lorraine as a Company commander and went on sick leave soon after because of heart problems resulting from his time in GSWA.
Along with Stabsarzt Alexander Lion, who he met at a colonial office meeting, Bayer started to translate Baben Powells Scouting Fibel and took a years leave in 1911-12 to start up the German Pfadfinder movement.
When the war broke out Bayer went to the Western Front as commander of the II/IR27 and as such participated in the Attack on Luettich for which he was awarded the Iron Cross. Luettich was the first german objective of the war, the hub on which the Schlieffen plan would turn. The town was taken when Ludendorff himself led 2 battailions into Battle. On the 8th August Bayer was named Commander of Luettich, and then on the 30th of August -05 of January Commandant of Brussels. As Commandant of Brussels he succeeded in getting his "Pfadfinders" jobs as mesengers in the capital as a way of helping them to contribute to the war effort. Although on active service, Bayer essentially acted as head of the Boy scout movement into 1916.
In Febuary 1915 he was ordered back to Berlin to help develope a boyscout programm for the Turks, but was then right away rerouted to Hollstein where in the Lockstedter camp he was to train Finnish military volunteers until May 1916 when he took over command of the Koenigliche Preussische Jaeger Bataillons 27. He fought with them in Kurland until January 1917 on the Misse, on the Aa and in Libau.
In January he was supposed to take over the Inf. Regts. 453 but this for some reason did not happen and he was sent to the General Staff until the 15th of June 1917. At the end of June Bayer took over the RIR 259 which he commanded in the battles at the Chemin de Dames and Verdun. On the 22nd of October the regt was withdrawn from the line to St Juergen in Lorraine, and on the 25th of October 1917 Maximilian Bayer, Major in the German army and 1st Reichsfeldmeister of the german Pfadfinder movement was killed by a snipers bullet in the head in the area of Nomeny. His body was found and buried 6 months later.