Haig, Foch and Pershing brooch

[steve parlanti]

Hi. I’m hoping that someone might be able to shed some light on a WWI brooch that I acquired with some other items. I’ve tried searching online but cannot find anything like it. My guess is that it would have been produced during WWI sometime to show support for the allied forces. As you can see from the photos, it has the names of the 3 allied forces commanders set into the brooch, Haig, Foch and Pershing. It measures 20mm diameter and has some markings on the back. But who made it, when, where, how many were produced, what was the thinking behind them? Any information would be great, thanks

[FROGSMILE]

21 hours ago, steve parlanti said:

Hi. I’m hoping that someone might be able to shed some light on a WWI brooch that I acquired with some other items. I’ve tried searching online but cannot find anything like it. My guess is that it would have been produced during WWI sometime to show support for the allied forces. As you can see from the photos, it has the names of the 3 allied forces commanders set into the brooch, Haig, Foch and Pershing. It measures 20mm diameter and has some markings on the back. But who made it, when, where, how many were produced, what was the thinking behind them? Any information would be great, thanks

I think it probably relates to a significant moment in WW1 following the successful initial phases of the massive German offensive mounted in France in March 1918, after many German Divisions were released from the erstwhile Eastern Front following the collapse of Imperialist Russia after the September Revolution there.  They were thus able to reinforce the West and launch an all out effort there, hopefully before all the inbound American forces could arrive and tip the balance, as was otherwise felt to be inevitable.

There were lots of reasons why the German Offensive was so successful, but a key one was the absence of a centralised command to coordinate all of the Entente Armies in France as one force.  Following crisis talks this was resolved when the British government proposed that General Foch of France should become supreme commander, or ‘generalissimo’, using the language of the time.  Ergo on 3rd April 1918, the Allied Supreme War Council formally conferred the post of commander-in-chief on the Western Front to General Ferdinand Foch.

I assume that the symbology of the brooch refers to a ‘throwing of the dice’ creating a winning partnership between the French, British and the American commander, who incidentally, had resisted all calls to integrate with either of the other two Armies, as had been proposed due to a perceived lack of experience, but instead to retain his (Pershing’s) independence and create his own command.

The whole poker dice style of the brooch suggests to me an American influenced design. 

Edited 29 March by FROGSMILE

[steve parlanti]

11 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

I think it probably relates to a significant moment in WW1 following the successful initial phases of the massive German offensive mounted in France in March 1918, after many German Divisions were released from the erstwhile Eastern Front following the collapse of Imperialist Russia after the September Revolution there.  They were thus able to reinforce the West and launch an all out effort there, hopefully before all the inbound American forces could arrive and tip the balance, as was otherwise felt to be inevitable.

There were lots of reasons why the German Offensive was so successful, but a key one was the absence of a centralised command to coordinate all of the Entente Armies in France as one force.  Following crisis talks this was resolved when the British government proposed that General Foch of France should become supreme commander, or ‘generalissimo’, using the language of the time.  Ergo on 3rd April 1918, the Allied Supreme War Council formally conferred the post of commander-in-chief on the Western Front to General Ferdinand Foch.

I assume that the symbology of the brooch refers to a ‘throwing of the dice’ creating a winning partnership between the French, British and American command who incidentally, had resisted all calls to join either of the other two Armies, as had been proposed due to a perceived lack of experience, but instead to retain his independence and create his own command.

The whole poker dice style of the brooch suggests to me an American influenced design. 

Thank you so much for the information. This gives much more meaning to the brooch. I love the fact that something so small and delicate can carry so much meaning. I'll continue trying to find out more about it, and will post here if any more information comes to light.

[FROGSMILE]

16 minutes ago, steve parlanti said:

Thank you so much for the information. This gives much more meaning to the brooch. I love the fact that something so small and delicate can carry so much meaning. I'll continue trying to find out more about it, and will post here if any more information comes to light.

It will be interesting to learn anything more that you find 👍

[steve parlanti]

On 28/03/2024 at 19:05, FROGSMILE said:

It will be interesting to learn anything more that you find 👍

I've been on an American WWI forum, and thoughts there are that the brooch is probably American given the marks. It's a pity that the marks are so small/worn, as they would be a huge help. I hadn't made the link, but the 3 pairs of dice, each pair showing a 5 and a 6, must be to commemorate the signing of the Armistice, 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. So, must have been made shortly after the Armistice. It appears that a high number of fairly cheap, mass produced, items were made to commemorate the Armistice, but this piece is of a quality well above the norm, therefore I'm thinking maybe it was a commission for a particular person? I think trying to find a photo of a person of note wearing it will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, not only that but given it's small size it would have to be a very close up shot of anyone wearing it. Anyhow, it's a great journey researching it, once I've exhausted all possible avenues I'll probably put it on eBay so that someone with a keen interest in WWI memorabilia specifically can add it to their collection.

[FROGSMILE]

2 hours ago, steve parlanti said:

I've been on an American WWI forum, and thoughts there are that the brooch is probably American given the marks. It's a pity that the marks are so small/worn, as they would be a huge help. I hadn't made the link, but the 3 pairs of dice, each pair showing a 5 and a 6, must be to commemorate the signing of the Armistice, 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. So, must have been made shortly after the Armistice. It appears that a high number of fairly cheap, mass produced, items were made to commemorate the Armistice, but this piece is of a quality well above the norm, therefore I'm thinking maybe it was a commission for a particular person? I think trying to find a photo of a person of note wearing it will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, not only that but given it's small size it would have to be a very close up shot of anyone wearing it. Anyhow, it's a great journey researching it, once I've exhausted all possible avenues I'll probably put it on eBay so that someone with a keen interest in WWI memorabilia specifically can add it to their collection.

Thank you for the update and reference to 11/11.  I wonder if a corporate body, or concern, rather than an individual commissioned it.  Perhaps some business or some place to do with gambling, such as, e.g. Las Vegas.  WW1 made the USA and it’s businessmen very wealthy indeed, especially the ‘high rollers’.

Edited 10 April by FROGSMILE