Senior Awards
Medals at the Throat
Some very high ranking awards, such as the Prussian Pour-le-Mérite, Grand Cross of the Iron Cross and Order of the Red Eagle first and second classes, were worn at the throat on a ribbon around the neck. They did not then appear on a recipients medal bar.

Badges on the Lower Left Breast
Some high ranking medals, such as the Prussian Iron Cross, first class (and some equivalent German state medals such as the Mecklenburg-Schwerin Military Merit Cross, first class) and some foreign awards such as the Ottoman War Medal (or Gallipoli Star) and the Georgian Order of St Tamara were usually worn as a badge without ribbon on the lower left breast or left pocket. Again, they did not then appear on a recipients medal bar.

Medal Ribbons in the Buttonhole
Some medals, usually wartime distinction or bravery awards (such as the Iron Cross Second Class, the Bavarian Military Order of Max Joseph and the Ottoman War Medal or Gallipoli Star) could be worn as a ribbon in the second button hole from the top of the tunic. This was usually done with the ribbon alone although some photographs show the medal or combatants swords also worn in this position. Occasional period photographs show two medal ribbons worn in the same position. Again, medals worn this way did not appear again on a recipients medal bar.

Medals Hung on the Upper Left Breast
Most medals were worn simply as the medal itself hung from its ribbon on the upper left breast, above the breast pocket. Ribbons could be folded in several different ways- straight down (most common on individual awards), folded into a trapezoid shape (as was common prior to the First World War in Prussia and the North German states), folded to double width (South German style), or in the case of Austria-Hungary, folded into a point-down triangle. Sometimes full size folded ribbons were worn without the medal itself.

Miniature medal bars were also worn. These simply had the ribbon alone sometimes with the addition of miniature campaign clasps or crossed swords where applicable. Post-war veterans sometimes wore their medals in the from of buttonhole miniature bow tie badges.

Order of Seniority on Medal Bars
When more than one medal was worn on the breast (either full size or miniature versions) they were usually worn as a fixed medal bar. The medals were worn in order of seniority from the wearer's right (next to his buttons) to his left (next to his sleeve).

German Imperial Forces (such as the Schutztruppe, Navy, Marine Infantry and East Asian Occupation Brigade) wore their medals in the order of seniority as regulated for the Prussian army. These regulations did however change from time to time, were sometimes (deliberately or accidentally) ignored and were different for the armies of some other German states. This makes the order of seniority an extremely complex topic. In a very simplified form the Order of Seniority was-

Prussian Iron Cross Second Class
As the Pour-Le-Mérite was worn at the throat and the Iron Cross First Class was worn on the breast, the most senior medal on a bar was the Prussian Iron Cross First Class and when awarded was almost always seen at the front of a bar.

Senior Prussian Combatant Orders
The Iron Cross was followed in order of seniority by the Knight of the Royal House of Hohenzollern with swords, Order of the Red Eagle (third and fourth class- higher awards were on the breast or at the throat) with swords and the Crown Order with swords. The "with swords" for each award meant that it was awarded for active service rather than "without swords" medals awarded for non-combatant service which ranked lower in order of seniority.

Other Prussian Medals
Other Prussian awards were worn next such as Warrior's Merit Medal, the Military Honour Award, the Life Saving Medal and Red Cross Service awards. Lower classes and non-combatant awards of the Red Eagle and Crown Medal were also worn in this section.

Prussian Long Service Awards
The long service awards for NCOs and officers were worn next from 1913 onwards. Prior to then they had been worn as clasps lower on the left breast.

Campaign Medals
This included awards from the Franco-Prussian and the Austro-Prussian Wars as well as for overseas campaigns such as the China, South West Africa and the Colonial Service Medals. From 1935 the regulations changed and veterans then wore these campaign medals ahead of their long service awards.

Awards from Other German States
After all Prussian awards came awards from other German states (such as Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg), even if they technically out-ranked the Prussian medals worn. This order only applied if the wearer was in Prussian or Imperial (Navy, Marine Infantry, Schutztruppe or East Asian Occupation Brigade) service. If the wearer was later in the service of their home states service or retired, then their home states medals could be worn ahead of their Prussian or Imperial awards.

Awards from Kingdoms (such as Bavaria and Saxony) were worn before awards from Grand Duchies (such as Baden or Hessen), which in turn were worn before bars from Duchies, Principalities and smaller states.

Awards from Foreign Countries
After all German awards came awards from countries outside of Germany, even if they technically out-ranked the German medals worn. Foreign medals were worn in alphabetical order (with German spelling of course) of the country which awarded them. An exception sometimes seen was when medals were awarded while in a country's service were worn ahead of medals awarded by a country whose service they had not been in.

For example, an East African askari who had previously served in the Egyptian army and been awarded the Egyptian Khedive's Star would wear it behind any German medals when he was in German service yet ahead of the British Egypt medal which he might also have been awarded although he had never been directly in British service. In this case Egypt ("Ägypten") would come ahead of Great Britain ("Großbritannien") alphabetically as well.

Again exceptions did occur among veterans and some surviving German medal bars show foreign medals worn ahead of junior German awards.

Exceptions to the Order of Seniority
The Other German State Armies
The non-Prussian Kingdoms of Germany (Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg) and some of the smaller states (for example the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin) had their own regulations for orders of seniority. They were usually quite similar to the Prussian system described above but naturally gave precedence to their own medals over Prussian ones.

These state systems are described in some detail at Gentlemen's Military Interest Club, (a small membership fee is required for access to some parts of the GMIC).

When in imperial service (such as in the Imperial Navy, Marine Infantry, Schutztruppe and East Asian Occupation Brigade) Prussian order of seniority was correct, when in army service (such as the East Asian Expeditionary Corps, the Pascha I and II Expeditions and the largely Bavarian Georgian Legion) state orders of precedence were correct.

In the decades following the First World War it was common to see Schutztruppe and overseas veterans wearing their old uniforms but with the order of their medals in their own state's order of Seniority rather than adhering to old Prussian rules. 

Later Changes to Order of Seniority
As mentioned this is only a simplified version of the Order of Seniority worn by the Prussian Army (and therefore the overseas imperial forces) prior to the First World War. Prussian regulations changed before, during and also after the war.

These later changes in 1935 included putting pre-1914 campaign medals ahead of long service awards, putting medals awarded for the First World War ahead of any awarded prior to the war and putting awards from other German states (including Austria after 1938) on a level with Prussian awards. The Prussian Iron Cross Second class remained superior to all other medals on a bar.

Reverse Order Bars
Sloped bars with the medals in reverse order of seniority ("Frackspange") were made for wear when the bar was to follow a folded lapel, such as on tuxedoes for evening wear. Reversing the seniority right to left made the most senior medal at the top of the bar.

Unofficial Exceptions
It should be noted that exceptions to these rules of seniority were relatively common, even more so after the fall of the Imperial Order in 1918. Some may simply have done so by mistake, as the rules of seniority were confusing, full of exceptions and liable to change from time to time. Others may have promoted a medal on their bar due to special pride in that particular award.
Recommended External Link - Mistakes in Medal Bar Wear at the Gentlemen's Military Interest Club

More Notes on the Wearing of Medals
Multiple Awards of the Same Medal
When the same medal was awarded more than once (in different classes) to the same soldier, this was displayed in different ways depending on the type of medal.

With some medals a newer award of a higher class replaced the pervious medal on the bar (for example the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, except when a lower class medal had been awarded with a distinction such as a crown or swords).

With other awards (such as the German Warriors Merit Medal and the Bavarian Military Merit Order) more than one medal of different classes could be worn either next to each other.

Some medals were worn in different styles for different classes and therefore could easily be worn together (such as the the Prussian Iron Cross or the Mecklenburg-Schwerin Military Merit Cross which could both be worn as second class awards on the medal bar but only as lower breast badges in the first class).

Non-Combatant Medals
Non-combatant medals were awarded to officials such as doctors, paymasters and transport staff in the colonies but also for staff officers based back in Germany yet involved in the command, supply and organisation of troops in these conflicts were also eligible for awards. The Ottoman War medal was also awarded to large numbers of German officers of high rank or those with tenuous connections to the conflict in the Middle East.

This non-combatant distinction could be shown on medals in different ways such as by having the colours of the medal ribbon reversed (as on the Prussian Iron Cross and the 1914-18 Honour Cross), by not having the crossed swords of the combatant medal (as on the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle and the 1914-18 Honour Cross) or by having the medal itself in steel rather than bronze (as on the China and South West Africa Campaign Medals).

Receipt of Medals
It should also be remembered that most medals could only actually be worn after they had been sent out by ship from Germany or when the recipient returned to Germany after the campaign. The colonies themselves did not usually have large supplies of medals for instant decorations.

So for example, very few medals are seen worn by officers of the East African Schutztruppe during the First World War.

The Colonial Service Medal was only instituted in 1912 and was therefore usually awarded retrospectively for campaigns dating back to the previous decade or century.

Medals not Worn
For practical reasons awards were often not worn in the field, or were kept to miniature ribbon bars. Highly decorated officers usually only wore their most senior or relevant medals except on parade.

During the First World War, servicemen who had previously been decorated by Entente countries stopped wearing their enemy medals.

Clasps
Campaign medals (such as the China Campaign Medal, the South West Africa Campaign Medal and the Colonial Service Medal) could be worn with one or more clasps on the ribbon bearing the names of particular campaigns or battles on them. For example "Taku", "Waterberg" and "Ponape 1910/11" for each of the medals respectively.

These clasps were were privately purchased and therefore even when applicable were not always worn. The clasps were made of the same metal as the medals with which they were awarded.

Medals for Africans in the Schutztruppe
African soldiers in the Schutztruppe and Polizeitruppe were not eligible for Campaign Medals or  Long Service Awards.

The German Warriors Merit Medal (see Prussian Medals) was instituted in several classes especially to reward African soldiers.

In addition photographs show that medals such as the Prussian Crown Medal, the Prussian Prussian Military Honour Decoration and the Mecklenburg-Schwerin Africa medal were also sometimes awarded to Africans.

German Medals Awarded to Foreigners
German medals could also be awarded to foreign troops serving as allies in campaigns as was the purpose of the Prussian Warriors Merit Medal and as commonly happened the during the First World War with the Prussian Iron Cross.

On two occasions German colonial campaign medals were awarded to foreign troops. The South West African Campaign Medal with a bar for "Kalahari 1907" was awarded to members of the South African Cape Mounted Police and Cape Mounted Riflemen who had assisted the Schutztruppe by tracking down and killing Jacob Marenga, when he and his Nama warriors evaded German capture by entering Cape Colony. Their commanding officer, Major Elliot also received the Prussian Crown Order, Second Class.

Similarly the South West African Campaign Medal with a bar for "Kalahari 1908" was awarded to members of the British Bechuanaland Protectorate Police Force for their help in tracking down Simon Koper, when he and his Nama warriors evaded German capture by entering Bechuanaland.

Recommended Reading - "German Medals, British Soldiers and the Kalahari Desert" by Gordon McGregor
Recommended External Link - The South African Military History Society

During the Boxer Rebellion the armies of the Eight Nation Alliance occasionally awarded medals to each others soldiers. German medals were awarded to officers and men of other allied armies and navies. For example Captain John Jellicoe of the British Royal Navy received the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, second class with swords for his actions in the Boxer Rebellion.

Sources and Further Reading
The subject of Imperial German medals and awards is a massive one. This page only intends to give an overview of the medals most commonly worn by Germany's colonial and overseas troops and veterans. For a more in depth view of German medals please see the following recommended links-

Decorations of the States of the German Empire - currently off-line, we hope it returns soon!
Medal Net - Imperial German Orders Medals and Decorations
Guide to German Ribbon Bars 1914-45
Ehrenzeichen und Orden
WW1 Medals
Liste der deutschen Odern und Ehrenzeichen at Wikipedia.de
The Medal Hound
Red Cross Medals
Woeschler-Orden German Medals for Sale
Orden Sammler more German Medals for Sale
Digger History pages on German Medals including colonial medal bars
Traditionsverband click on "Schutztruppe" then see the medals noted at the bottom of the new page

The following two forums are very highly recommended. Much of what I have learned on this topic and the help I have received has been from their members. What they don't know about German medals is really not worth knowing.

Gentlemen's Military Interest Club
Wehrmacht Awards Forum

Thanks to Karsten Hezogenrath, the JW Collection, Glenn Jewison, Peter Klein, Joe Robinson and Captain George Albert for their help on this page.

Fregattenkapitän Max Looff
Reichsmarine 1928
Looff was commander of the SMS Königsberg during the East African Campaign of the First World War. In this photograph he wears the uniform of the post-war Reichsmarine. His medal bar shows the Prussian Iron Cross second class (his first class is presumably out of shot lower down his chest), the next two medals are both the Prussian Life Saving Medal showing he saved two lives. The second award is more senior and is in the from of 4th class cross of the Prussian Order of the Crown on the ribbon of the Life Saving Medal, while the first award is the standard life Saving medal. The next medals are the Prussian Red Eagle fourth class peacetime award, Prussian Officers Long Service Cross, Hamburg Hanseatic Cross, China Campaign Medal and the Prussian Wilhelm I Centenary Medal. Later photographs of Looff show him wearing several unexplained clasps on his China Campaign Medal (see Medal Net).
Photo from Wikipedia originally printed in "Unsere Marine im Weltkrieg 1914-18" by E Mantey

Vizefeldwebel Buschan
 South West African Schutztruppe NCO 1906
He wears a Schutztruppe 1897 grey home uniform with ribbons for the Prussian Military Honour Award Second Class and the Wilhelm I Centenary Medal (the yellow ribbon of which appears a darker shade due to the orthochromatic photography of the time) and below them, the Prussian Long Service Award for 21 years (although his colonial service would have counted double towards his service years). Note that the ribbons are folded into Trapezoid shape as was common prior to the First World War. Photo © Karsten Herzogenrath

Hauptmann von Loßnitzer
formerly of the South West  African Schutztruppe 1933
He wears a Schutztruppe 1897 grey home uniform with the Südwester hat. His medal bar shows the Saxon Knights Cross of St Henry, followed by the Iron Cross second class (note that as a proud Saxon wears his Saxon medal ahead of the Prussian one), the Saxe-Ernestine Knights Cross first class with swords, the Hamburg Hanseatic Cross and another unidentified medal that may be a semi-official colonial commemorative medal. Below the medal bar he wears the Prussian Iron Cross, first class and the post-war Lion Order.
Photo © Christophe Deruelle

Feldwebel of the II. Seebataillon
He wears the dark blue home uniform with peaked cap. His sword and double rank lace on the cuffs show him to be a Feldwebel. He wears  a marksmanship lanyard on the right chest and several medals on the left- the Prussian Military Honour Award, the South West African Medal with clasp, the Prussian Wilhelm I Centenary Medal and below it the Prussian other ranks Long Service Award third class.
Photo © Peter Klein

South West African Schutztruppe NCO
He wears an 1896 Schutztruppe khaki uniform piped in blue with a Südwester hat also piped in blue. Note the arm chevrons of a Feldwebel. On his left breast he wears three medals, the Prussian Military Honour Award, second class, the Prussian Long Service Award, first class and the South-West-Africa Campaign Medal. On his right breast he wears a marksmanship lanyard in the imperial colours.
Photo © Peter Klein 

Askari Feldwebel ("Sol")
7. FK East African Schutztruppe cMid 1890s
He wears the khaki uniform with Tarbush. Note the company number showing him to be from the 7. Feldkompagnie based at Bukoba and the four large rank chevrons. On his left breast he wears the German Warriors Merit Medal for African troops.
Photo © Frankfurt University Koloniales Bildarchiv

Admiral John Jellicoe
 He wears the uniform of a British Royal Navy officer with many decorations including the Prussian Red Eagle second class with swords at his throat. This medal was awarded for service as a Captain in China during the Boxer Rebellion alongside the German and other allied fleets. Jellicoe later commanded the British Grand Fleet in 1916 at the Battle of Jutland against the German High Seas Fleet. He did not wear this German award during the First World War.
Photo from Wikimedia

German Army Unteroffizier c1914-16
This NCO serving in Europe during the First World War was a veteran of the Herero and Boxer Rebellions. He wears the 1910 field grey uniform, note the shortened NCO lace on the collar. On his breast is a medal bar with the Prussian Military Honour Award second class, the Prussian Long Service Award third class, the South West Africa medal with a campaign clasp and the China medal.
Photo © JW Collection