campaign medals

campaign medals. Besides decorations and orders awarded to service and civilian personnel for gallantry and outstanding services to their countries, most combatant countries awarded medals to those taking part in certain campaigns or those who served for a certain amount of time in one of the services, perhaps in a particular area. It is only possible to list here some of the campaign medals of the major powers involved in the war.

Belgium

Escaper's Cross, Medal for Volunteers, War Commemorative Medal, African War Medal, Medal for Civil Resistance, Medal for Defaulters (from German forced labour or military service), Medal for the Military Fighter of the War.

France

Colonial Medal (bars to this medal were awarded for various African battles and campaigns), Medal for Voluntary Service in the Free French Forces, War Commemorative Medal, and two medals for those deported or interned for resistance activities. The Vichy French government also awarded a Colonial Medal and a Medal of Merit for Black Africa.

Germany

Medal for the Winter Campaign in the east, Medal for the Italo-German North African campaign (Afrika Korps Medal), Bravery and Commemorative Medal of the Spanish Blue Division. Cuff titles—bands worn on the left forearm embroidered with the name of certain campaigns—were also awarded, as were war badges and shields to combatant troops of every category, to civilians, and to Nazi Party members.

Italy

Medal for the campaign against France, 1940; War Commemorative Medal, 1940–3, Medal for the War of Liberation, 1943–5; and Medal for the Italo-German campaign in North Africa.

UK

Eight campaign stars and two medals were issued for the war. The maximum number of stars that could be worn was five. Any additional stars for which an individual qualified were added as bars (represented by a heraldic rose in undress uniform ribbons) to the five already worn, but no star could have more than one bar. The stars were: 1939–45 Star (battle of Britain air crew were authorized to wear the bar ‘Battle of Britain’ on it); Atlantic Star; Air Crew Europe; Africa Star (two bars, ‘First Army’ and ‘Eighth Army’, represented by the figures 1 and 8 in silver, were authorized for this star, as well as one, ‘North Africa 1942–3’, for the Royal Navy, Merchant Navy, and RAF); Pacific Star; Burma Star; Italy Star; and France and Germany Star. The two medals were the Defence Medal and 1939–45 War Medal.

British Commonwealth countries and colonies had the same system, but additionally awarded the Australia Service Medal, the Canadian Voluntary Service Medal, the New Zealand War Service Medal, and the (South) Africa Service Medal.

USA

American Defense Service Medal, 1939–41, awarded to US armed forces personnel serving between 8 September 1939 and 7 December 1941; American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; Women's Army Corps Service Medal; World War II Victory Medal; and Merchant Marine Victory Medal.

The Mariner's Medal, the Combat Bar, the Merchant Marine Defense Bar, Merchant Marine Victory Medal, and Bars for the three war zones, Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific, were all awarded to members of the US Merchant Marine.

USSR

Campaign medals were issued for the defence of Leningrad, Moscow, Odessa, Sevastopol, Stalingrad, the Caucasus, and the Soviet Arctic. There were also campaign medals for the capture of certain cities—Budapest, Kaliningrad, Vienna, and Berlin—and for the liberation of Belgrade, Warsaw, and Prague. Also issued were the Medal for Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War (see German–Soviet war), the Medal for Victory over Japan, and the Medal for Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War.

Like the Germans, the Soviet forces also issued metal badges for certain specialist troops.

Bibliography

Purves, A. , The Medals, Decorations, and Orders of World War Two (Polstead, Suffolk, 1986).