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The Croix de Guerre (sometimes lowercase in French, Croix de guerre, meaning "Cross of War") is a military decoration of both France and Belgium, where it is also known as Oorlogskruis (Dutch). This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those It was first created in 1915 in both countries and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Croix de Guerre was also commonly bestowed to foreign military forces allied to France and Belgium.

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The Croix de Guerre may either be bestowed as a unit award or to individuals who distinguish themselves by acts of heroism involving combat with enemy forces. The medal is also awarded to those who have been "mentioned in despatches", meaning a heroic deed was performed meriting a citation from an individual's headquarters unit. Mentioned in Despatches (MID is a Military award for gallantry or otherwise commendable service The unit award of the Croix de Guerre was issued to military commands who performed heroic deeds in combat and were subsequently recognized by headquarters.

Appearance

The Croix de Guerre medal varies depending on which country is bestowing the award and for what conflict. Separate French medals exist for the First and Second World War, and the French medals are different in appearance from the Belgian design.

For the unit decoration of the Croix de Guerre, a fourragère is awarded which is suspended from the shoulder of an individual's uniform. The fourragère is a military award distinguishing military units as a whole

Because the Croix de Guerre is issued as several different medals, and as a unit decoration, situations typically arose where an individual was awarded the decoration several times, for different actions, and from different sources. Regulations also permitted the wearing of multiple Croix de Guerre, meaning that such medals were differentiated in service records by specifying French Croix de Guerre, Belgian Croix de Guerre, French Croix de Guerre (WWI), etc.

French Croix de Guerre

A 1914-1918 Croix de Guerre. Only the ribbon differs with other Croix
A 1914-1918 Croix de Guerre. Only the ribbon differs with other Croix

There are three distinct Croix de Guerre medals in the French system of honours :

Ribbon Awards
Croix de guerre 1914-1918 (for World War I service)
Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (for World War II service)
Croix de guerre des Théatres d'Opérations Exterieures (TOE) for wars other than World War I and World War II not fought on French soil[1]

The Croix was created by a law of April 2, 1915, proposed by deputy Émile Briant. The Croix de guerre 1914-1918 (French for "Cross of War") is a French military decoration World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (French for "Cross of War") is a French military decoration created in September 26 1939, to honour people World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Croix de guerre des Théatres d'Opérations Exterieures is a French medal rewarded for military service in foreign countries World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The croix reinstated an older system of mentions in dispatches, which were only administrative honours with no medal. The sculptor Paul-André Bartholomé created the medal, a bronze cross with swords, showing the effigy of the republic.

The French croix represents a mention in dispatches awarded by a commanding officer, at least a regimental commander. Depending on the officer who issued the mention, the ribbon of the croix is marked with extra pins.

The croix des guerres des TOE was created in 1921 for overseas wars. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar It was awarded during Indochina War, Korean War, and up to Kosovo War in 1999. The First Indochina War (also known as the French Indochina War, the The Anti-French War, the Franco-Vietnamese War, the Franco-Vietminh War, The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts in Kosovo: 1996–1999 Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar)

In 1939 a new croix de guerre was created by PM Édouard Daladier. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Édouard Daladier (18 June 1884 - 10 October 1970 was a French Radical politician and Prime Minister of France at the start of the Second World It was abolished by Vichy Government in 1941, which created a new croix de guerre. Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In 1943 general Giraud in Algiers created another croix de guerre. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Henri Honoré Giraud ( 18 January 1879 &ndash 13 March 1949) was a French general who fought in World War I and World Algiers (الجزائر Algerian Arabic: Dzayer ( (From kabyle pronunciation Kabyle: Ledzayer, Alger) is the Capital and largest Both Vichy and Giraud croix were abolished by general de Gaulle in 1944, who reinstated the 1939 croix. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

The croix de guerre takes precedence between the ordre national du Mérite and the croix de la valeur militaire, the World War I croix being senior to the World War II one, itself senior to TOE croix. The The National Order of Merit (in French Ordre national du Mérite) is an Order of Chivalry awarded by the President of the French Republic.

  1. ^ At the time of the Algerian War, Algeria was considered part of France and war actions labelled "law enforcement operations", so soldiers were awarded the croix de la valeur militaire instead of the Croix de Guerre des TOE. The Algerian War ( French: Guerre d'Algérie; 1954-1962 also known as Algerian War of Independence, led to Algeria 's independence from

Belgian Croix de Guerre or Oorlogskruis

Belgian Croix de Guerre (WWII), or Oorlogskruis
Belgian Croix de Guerre (WWII), or Oorlogskruis

The Belgian Croix de Guerre also included attachments, pinned into the ribbon, to designate the degree of citation:

The Croix de Guerre or Oorlogskruis would be referred with the different type of attachment, such as the Croix de Guerre avec palme et étoile (War cross with palm and star) or the Croix de guerre avec palme et lion (with palm and lion).

The multiple attached pins can also designate the number of Croix de Guerre citations earned, but displayed with only one medal. Some soldiers earned more than 10 or 20 Croix de Guerre citations.

Unit Award

The coat of arms of Leuven, featuring a French Croix de Guerre, presumably to commemorate the sack of Leuven by the Germans in 1914.
The coat of arms of Leuven, featuring a French Croix de Guerre, presumably to commemorate the sack of Leuven by the Germans in 1914.

The Croix can be awarded to military units, as a manifestation of a collective Mention in Despatches. Mentioned in Despatches (MID is a Military award for gallantry or otherwise commendable service It is then displayed on the unit's flag. A unit, usually a regiment or a battalion, is always mentioned at the army level. A regiment is a Military unit, composed of a variable number of Battalions – commanded by a Colonel. A battalion is a Military unit of around 500-1500 men usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel The croix is then a croix de guerre with palm. Other communities, such as cities or companies can be also awarded the croix.

When a unit is mentioned twice, it is awarded the fourragère of the Croix de Guerre. The fourragère is a military award distinguishing military units as a whole This fourragère is worn by all men in the unit, but it can be worn on a personal basis: those permanently assigned to a unit, at the time of the mentions, were entitled to wear the fourragère for the remainder of service in the military.

Temporary personnel, or those who had joined a unit after the actions which had been mentioned, were authorized to wear the award while a member of the unit but would surrender the decoration upon transfer. This temporary wearing of the fourragère only applied to the French version of the Croix de Guerre.

United States issuance

In the United States military, the Croix de Guerre was commonly accepted as a foreign decoration. The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States In the modern age, however, it remains one of the most difficult foreign awards to verify entitlement. This is since the Croix de Guerre was often presented with original orders, only, and rarely entered into a permanent service record. The unit award was virtually never entered into U. S. records, especially since in most cases it was considered a temporary decoration which was surrendered when an individual departed a unit. An added complication is that the 1973 National Archives Fire destroyed a large number of World War II personnel records, meaning that there are very few sources from which to verify a veteran's entitlement to the Croix de Guerre. The 1973 National Archives Fire, a severe blow to the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States, was a disastrous fire that occurred at the

Today, members of United States 5th Marine Regiment or 6th Marine Regiments, the Army's 2nd Infantry Division, the Army's 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, and the 1st BN U.S. 28th Infantry Regiment, are authorized to wear a fourragère signifying that brigade's award of three Croix de Guerre during the First World War, but only while that individual is assigned to the unit. The 5th Marine Regiment is an infantry Regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The 6th Marine Regiment is an infantry Regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina The 2nd Infantry Division is a formation of the United States Army. The 4th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army Cavalry Regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century Since the establishment of the United States Army in 1775 three regiments have held the designation 28th Infantry Regiment. The fourragère is a military award distinguishing military units as a whole The wearing of the decoration is considered ceremonial and the fourragère is not entered as an official military award in permanent service records.

Luxembourg War Cross

During the Second World War, a decoration known as the Luxembourg War Cross was issued to those members of the Allied forces who had performed combat duty in Luxembourg during the liberation of Europe. The Luxembourg War Cross is a military decoration of Luxembourg which was first created on 17 April 1945 by the Grand Duchess Charlotte Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by The decoration was frequently referred to as the Luxembourg Croix de guerre or simply as the Croix de Guerre. This was, however, a separate award from the French and Belgian versions of the Croix de Guerre with different criteria for issuance.

Also, in World War II two African-Americans were awarded this medal for heroism, becoming the first Americans to receive such a distinction. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Notable recipients

Humans

Col. Jimmy Stewart being awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm, in 1944. USAF photo.
Col. Jimmy Stewart being awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm, in 1944. James Maitland Stewart (20 May 1908 – 2 July 1997 popularly known as Jimmy Stewart, was an American Film and stage Actor USAF photo.

Animals

See also

External links

Awards and decorations of the United States military are Military decorations which recognize service and personal accomplishments while a member of the United States armed The Ordre de la Libération (“Order of the Liberation” is a French Order awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during the Second World War.
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