John Shaw Posted 4 January , 2005 Share Posted 4 January , 2005 Hi all I have several of these medals and wondered why some are dated 14/15 others 14/16 or even14/18 John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkristof Posted 4 January , 2005 Share Posted 4 January , 2005 because they didn't knew when the war would end. 14/15 are given in 1915 14/16 in 1916 14/17 in 1917 14/18 in 1918 and after the war... I was told they exist but i never saw one, the 1914 dated war cross... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Shaw Posted 4 January , 2005 Author Share Posted 4 January , 2005 Thanks Bkristof Was it as simple as that, how and why where the medals issued? John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkristof Posted 4 January , 2005 Share Posted 4 January , 2005 The croix de guerre or war cross was given for acts of bravery in the face of the enemy specifically mentioned in despatches. Some say there are a few examples given in 1914 but most sources say the croix was only instituted in april 1915. As i never saw a 1914 one, I believe the 1915 version. It was given to soldiers, sailors and airmen of all ranks, and of any Allied army, various types of Croix de Guerre were available: bronze (awarded by the army), silver (awarded by a division), silver-gilt (awarded by a corps), silver star (awarded by a division) and bronze star (awarded by a regiment or brigade). For subsequent acts of bravery, the recipient was awarded a palm leaf for Army citations, a gold star for Corps citations, a silver star for Division citations or a bronze star for Brigade and Regimental citations. A lot of allies recieved it too, Brits, Americans, Belgians, Italian, Russians, Australians, Canadian,... Some famous people: Willy Coppens, Belgian ace René Fonck, French ace Georges Guynemer, French ace Eddy Rickenbakker, USA James Mc cudden, Brit ace Raymond collishaw, Canadian ace Keith Rodney Park, NZ ace i hope this helped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 4 January , 2005 Share Posted 4 January , 2005 And just to complete the set, there are also the ones dated "1939", "1939-40" (the "Vichy" issued one with a green and black ribbon) and "1939-45". Not forgetting the undated ones such as the one issued for overseas operations, (inscribed "Theatres d'Operations Exterieurs" )issued from the 1920's (but could be backdated for actions in,for example, Gallipoli) and still issued today, an undated Free French (FFI) Croix de guerre and ,the rarest of the lot, the Vichy issued one to the volunteers in Russia 1941-44. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Shaw Posted 5 January , 2005 Author Share Posted 5 January , 2005 Thanks guys this is very helpful. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrB Posted 5 January , 2005 Share Posted 5 January , 2005 The year "1914: is consistently found. The other date bears the year in which it was struck and/or awarded. It was instituted on 8 April, 1915. DrB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chip Minx Posted 7 January , 2005 Share Posted 7 January , 2005 All, Is it true that the 1914/15 example is the least plentiful? Regards, Chip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shenkursk Posted 7 January , 2005 Share Posted 7 January , 2005 Hey Chip: Those are the ones that always bring the most $$. Always looking for them hidden in the display cases of (Nazi) dealers who don't know the difference. When you find one for $15 from one of those guys, it feels like a 'special' kind of victory! I hope the ice storm did not slow you down too much! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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