Medals
On 18 June 1940, General Charles De Gaulle broadcasted an appeal on BBC radio for French men and women to join him and the British in the fight against Nazi Germany. The Free French forces were vital in the southern landing also playing an important role in Italy with the other allies.
Croix de Guerre
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). It was first created in 1915 in both countries and consists of a square-cross medal on 2 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. The Croix de Guerre was also commonly bestowed to foreign military forces allied to France and Belgium.
The French Croix de Guerre was established on 8 April 1915 to commemorate individual mentions in dispatches during WWI. The medal was again authorized, with changes indicated above, in 1939 for WWII. During WWI and WWII, the French Croix de Guerre was awarded to both U.S. Army units and to individuals. The Croix de Guerre may be awarded at different levels of command. The level of the awarding command determines the appurtenance worn on the ribbon. The bronze palm indicates awarded by the Army; a silver gilt star by a corps; a silver star by a division; and bronze star by a regiment or brigade.
Médaille du Patriotes Résistant à l’Occupation du Rhin et de la Moselle
Medal for the Resistant Patriots of the Rhine and Moselle. This medal was created on 27 December 1954 to be awarded to French residents of Alsace-Lorraine who resisted the annexation of the two departments by the German Third Reich in 1940.
Medaille des Blesses
Awarded for wounds received as a result of enemy action.
Médaille d’Honneur des Groupements de Résistants Combattants et Sanitaires de la Libération
The Medal of Honour of the Groupings of Combatant Resisters and Medics of the Liberation. The medal was awarded after the end of World War II by the Resistance Movement to those who had been active as combatants or front-line medics in the French Resistance in occupied France during the war. The medal is rare.
Ordre de la Libération
The Ordre de la Libération ("Order of the Liberation") is a French Order awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is an exceptional honor, the second highest after the Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honour) and only a small number of people and military units have received it, exclusively for deeds accomplished during World War II. The aim of the Order is to "reward people, or military or civilian communities, who will have distinguished themselves in the work of liberation France and her Empire".
La Médaille de la Résistance Française
Medal of the French Resistance. Authorized by Gen. Charles de Gaulle on Feb. 9, 1943 to recognize the courage of French resistance fighters and others who aided the French resistance. Around 45,000 were awarded. There were two classes, distinguished by a rosette on the ribbon.
Médaille des Évadés
The Médaille des Évadés, "medal of those who escaped", is a medal given by the government of France, to individuals who were prisoners of war and who escaped. The Médaille was created by a 1926 law, intended to honor combatants not only of the First World War, but also of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. It was later given to combatants of the Second World War as well. It was struck in bronze, being 3cm in diameter and depicting on the obverse a left-facing bust of Marianne wearing an oak-leaf wreath, and on the reverse a similar wreath encircling the legend "MÉDAILLE DES ÉVADÉS". The suspension ribbon is green watered silk with orange bands. To be eligible during WW2, one had to be a French citizen who successfully escaped from either a prisoner-of-war camp or an internment camp.