Croix de Guerre
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The Croix de guerre (French for War cross) is a military decoration of both France and Belgium, where it is also known as Oorlogskruis (Dutch). It was first created in 1915 in both countries. The decoration was awarded throughout World War I and again during World War II. The Croix de guerre was also commonly bestowed to foreign military forces allied to France and Belgium.
The Croix de guerre may either be bestowed as an individual medal or as a unit award. The Croix de guerre medal is awarded to those 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 dispatches", meaning a heroic deed was performed meriting a citation from an individual's headquarters unit. 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.
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 specifing French Croix de guerre, Belgian Croix de guerre, French Croix de guerre (WWI), etc.
Degrees
The Croix de guerre was awarded with various attachments, depending on the command level of the awarding authority.For French Croix :
- a bronze star for those who had been cited at the regiment or brigade level.
- a silver star, for those who had been cited at the division level.
- a silver gilt star for those who had been cited at the corps level.
- a bronze palm for those who had been cited at the army level.
- a silver gilt palm for those who had been cited at the Free French Forces level (WWII only).
- a bronze lion for those who had been cited at the regiment level
- a silver lion for those who had been cited at the brigade level
- a gold lion for those who had been cited at the division level
- a bronze palm for those who had been cited at the army level. A silver palm is used for five bronze ones and a gold one for five silver ones.
Unit Award
The Croix can be awarded to military units, as a manifestation of a collective Mention in Dispatches. It is then displayed on the unit's flag.
When a unit is mentioned twice, it is awarded the fourragère of the Croix de Guerre. This fourragère is worn by all men in the unit, but it can be worn in a personnal 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 mentionned, were authorized to wear the award while a member of the unit but would surrender the decoration upon transfer.
This temporary wear 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. 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.
Today, members of United States 5th or 6th Marine Regiments and the Army's 1st BN 28th infanty 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 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 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.
Though in World War I two blacks in the were awarded this medal for heroism. They were the first americans to be awarded this medal.
Notable Recipients
- Sir William Birdwood was awarded 1st de Guerre on the 22 February 1916 by the French Presdient, 2nd by HM the King of Belgium on the 11th March 1918.
- Jean Mayer, future president of Tufts University, awarded for his courage and bravery during World War II.
- Cher Ami, a homing pigeon was awarded the Croix de Guerre in the first World War.
- Henry Lincoln Johnson, African-American awarded the Croix de Guerre in the first World War.
- Samuel Beckett was awarded the Croix de Guerre by Gen. Charles de Gaulle in March, 1945.
- Actor Jimmy Stewart was awarded the Croix de guerre with palm in 1944 by Lt. Gen. Henri Valin, Chief of Staff of the French Air Force, for his role in the liberation of France.
- Josephine Baker, American-born dancer, actress, and singer, for her work in the French Resistance during World War II.
- Guy de Rothschild was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his military valor during World War II.
- Philippe de Rothschild was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his service with the Free French Forces during World War II.
- Alvin C. York was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palme en bronze for his valor in the Battle of Meuse River-Argonne Forest near the town of Verdun, France during World War I.
- Col. David E. Pergrin was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his help in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.
- Audie Murphy the most decorated soldier in the history of the U.S. Army. Murphy received the French Croix de Guerre twice and the Belgian Croix de Guerre once, as well as the Medal of Honor.
- John Howard (American actor) was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1944 for his valor in World War II. When his ship struck a mine off the French coast, killing the captain, Howard took over command and fought valiantly to save his ship and crew, even jumping into the sea to rescue wounded sailors.
- Władysław Anders Polish general
- Avery Robert Cardinal Dulles, S.J. was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his liaison work with the French navy during World War II.
See also
- Croix-de-Feu - a French far right group in the Interwar period mainly comprising veterans decorated with the Croix de guerre.
- Awards and decorations of the United States military
External links
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