Editing Iron Cross (section)

==Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross==
[[File:BmBlücherstern.jpg|thumb|right|Star of the Grand Cross (1813)]]
The Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (also called Iron Cross with Golden Rays) was pinned to the left breast, above the Iron Cross 1st Class. Like the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, it was for bestowal upon successful general officers.{{sfn|Dorling|1956|pp=210–211}}

The Star of the Grand Cross was awarded only twice, both to Field Marshals who already held the Grand Cross: in 1815 to [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher|Gebhard von Blücher]] for his part in the [[Battle of Waterloo]], and in March 1918 to [[Paul von Hindenburg]] for his conduct of the 1918 [[German Spring Offensive|Spring Offensive]] on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].{{sfn|Dorling|1956|pp=210–211}} It is often called the Blücher Star ''({{lang|de|Blücherstern}})'', after its first recipient.{{sfn|Zabecki|2014|p=1628}}

A Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was manufactured in World War II, but never formally instituted or awarded. The only known example, based on the World War I version but with the 1939 Iron Cross centerpiece, was found by Allied forces at the end of the war, and it is now in the museum at [[United States Military Academy|West Point]].{{sfn|Littlejohn|Dodkins|1968|p=120}} It is likely that ''{{lang|de|Reichsmarschall}}'' Göring was the intended eventual recipient. He was the only holder of the World War II Iron Cross Grand Cross, and both the previous recipients of the Star had already received the Grand Cross.