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The Three Great Decorations of 14-18 War

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The Three Great Decorations of 14-18 War FICHE H 8 The three great decorations of 14-18 war • La Légion d’honneur (The Legion of Honour) • La Médaille militaire (The Military Medal) • La Croix de Guerre (The War Cross) (here with a bronze palm) The awarding of these decorations during or after the war was made on the basis of a military unit's "summons" (“to the order of”) A number of Croix de Guerre holders have seen their photos and quotes published by l’Illustration. Holders of the Legion of Honour have their files accessible on the Léonore base (see below) The Croix de Guerre This is the most frequently awarded Cross, numbering 2,065,000. Created by a law of April 8, 1915, it was intended to reward “exceptional conduct in front of enemy". But it could be attributed to civilians and, later, to towns (the first was Dunkirk). The award of the 14-18 War Cross, strictly limited to the duration of the war, ceased on Oct. 18, 1921. The gradation of stars and palms worn by the Croix de Guerre is as follows, depending on the nature of the quote: • to the order of the regiment or brigade, Cross with a bronze star • to the order of division, Cross with a silver star • to the order of the army corps, Cross with a vermeil star • to the order of the army, Cross with a bronze palm • a silver palm replaced 5 bronze palms The newspaper l'Illustration drew up a list of those decorated with the Croix de Guerre from the photos and copies of the quotes that the decorated, their family or their friends provided to it, which allowed it to publish an Honour Roll of l’Illustration, which thus highlights 16,000 decorated items. The center of the cross bears on the reverse a double date 1914 and 1916, 1917 or 1918. The second date reflects the year of its award (1918 relates to all crosses awarded from the beginning of 1918 until the end of Oct.r 1921). Combatant units received the Croix de Guerre after 2 or 3 citations “to the order of the army” : in this case, all officers and men of the unit wear the "fourragere" in the green color dotted with red of the Cross, during the time of their membership in the regiment. Tour ESSOR, 14 rue Scandicci, 93508 Pantin Cedex - Tél. : 01 57 42 90 82 Courriel : [email protected] Site Internet : http://www.genefede.eu Fédération Française de Généalogie, Histoire des Familles – Héraldique – Sigillographie Association selon la loi de 1901 reconnue d’utilité publique par décret du 21 avril 2017 SIRET 322 548 652 00047 2019 FICHE H 8 The Military Medal Along with the Legion of Honour, it is the most prestigious of French decorations, awarded by decree of the President of the Republic, published in the “Official Journal”. Since its creation (in 1862), it has been reserved for enlisted men and non-commissioned officers. The only exception is that of Generals, Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, having commanded in chief before the enemy (or who rendered exceptional services to national defense), to whom it may be "granted" by decree in the Council of Ministers. Under these conditions it is often worn alone, as here by Marshal JOFFRE Combined ribbon with Croix de Guerrer Non-commissioned officers and soldiers, decorated with both the Military Medal and the Croix de Guerre and who, in addition, had been wounded, could wear the Croix de Guerre with the triple ribbon, incorporating the insignia of the wounded, striped blue, white and yellow, with a central blood red streak. Here the Croix de Guerre wear a bronze star. The Legion of Honour Highest honorary distinction of France, it was created by Napoleon I. It is normally the subject of an annual quota decided by the President of the Republic, to retain its character as an exceptional reward. This quota was, of course, lifted throughout the war. For combatants, its attribution required an indicative citation “to the order of the army”, which, of course, made its attribution quite exceptional to non-commissioned officers and enlisted men. Conversely, there is no general, having commanded on the front, who has not received it. On the Leonore base, http://www.culture.gouv.fr/documentation/leonore/leonore.htm , you will find the list of all the people decorated with the Legion of Honour, with a small file attached for each one including a copy of various papers such as birth certificate, statement of services (and justification for the allocation) and pension vouchers. Normally this database should be complete since each decoration results from a decree of the President of the Republic, published in the Official Journal. But there are a few shortcomings. In addition, the protection of private life prohibits making accessible the files of people who have recently been decorated. Fighting units saw their flag decorated with the Legion of Honour, simultaneously with the right for their members to wear the red “fourragere”. Tour ESSOR, 14 rue Scandicci, 93508 Pantin Cedex - Tél. : 01 57 42 90 82 Courriel : [email protected] Site Internet : http://www.genefede.eu Fédération Française de Généalogie, Histoire des Familles – Héraldique – Sigillographie Association selon la loi de 1901 reconnue d’utilité publique par décret du 21 avril 2017 SIRET 322 548 652 00047 2019 FICHE H 8 Georges GUYNEMER (1894-1917) Hero (53 victories) of the 14-18 war aviation, he was awarded Croix de Guerre, Military Medal and Legion of Honour. He was appointed a sergeant in June 1915 with his first commission of the army and the Croix de Guerre. On July 21, 1915, as a non-commissioned officer, he received the Military Medal. Decorated with the Legion of Honour on December 24, 1915 (officer on June 11, 1917), he was appointed lieutenant in March 1916. On this photo taken probably in April 1916, the decorations of Georges GUYNEMER, in full officer's uniform, are interpreted as follows : he is still only a knight of the Legion of Honour (no “rosette” on the ribbon) and he received the Military Medal while he was a sergeant. His Croix de Guerre has 5 bronze palms, which represent the 5 citations received at the end of March 1916, while the 6th will be received at the end of April. The insignia above them is that of the “Les Ciggnes” (Storks) squadron. Fourrageres Succeeding the "aiguilettes" of the Ancien Regime gendarmerie (which today are white), they constitute a distinction of the regiment whose members are authorized to wear it, as long as they belong to the assigned regiment. What we saw for the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'Honneur. The only exception concerns the member present in the regiment at the time of the citation. He is then authorized to carry the “fourragere”, even if he changes units. For that, the regiment (or in some cases, the battalion) had to have been cited to the order of the army on 6 to 8 different occasions. Among these regiments a majority were “Zouaves” and “Tirailleurs”. Some units have exceeded this quota of citations to the order of the army and are seeing the addition of “fourrageres”. 2 to 3 quotes = Croix de guerre / 4 to 5 citations = Military medal / 6 to 8 citations = Legion of Honour 9 to 11 citations = Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre 12 to 14 citations = Legion of Honour and Military Medal The RCIM (Regiment d´Infanterie-Chars de Marine), the most decorated regiment in France, has a total of 18 citations, including 10 during the 14-18 war. (see illustration). Tour ESSOR, 14 rue Scandicci, 93508 Pantin Cedex - Tél. : 01 57 42 90 82 Courriel : [email protected] Site Internet : http://www.genefede.eu Fédération Française de Généalogie, Histoire des Familles – Héraldique – Sigillographie Association selon la loi de 1901 reconnue d’utilité publique par décret du 21 avril 2017 SIRET 322 548 652 00047 2019 .
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