![Louis Franchet D'Esperey](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Louis_Franchet_D%27Esperey.jpg)
The Orient campaign medal (french: "Médaille commémorative d'Orient") was a French military medal bestowed for participation in the battles against the
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
by the
Allied Eastern Army between 1915 and 1918.
These battles culminated in the 1918 successful offensive under French general
Louis Franchet d'Espèrey
Louis Félix Marie François Franchet d'Espèrey (25 May 1856 – 8 July 1942) was a French general during World War I. As commander of the large Allied army based at Salonika, he conducted the successful Macedonian campaign, which caused t ...
in
Macedonia knocking
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
out of the war and the overrunning of much of the Balkans.
Award history
First proposed as a new clasp on the
Colonial Medal
The Colonial Medal (french: "Médaille Coloniale") was a French decoration created by the "loi de finances" of 26 July 1893 (article 75) to reward "military services in the colonies, resulting from participation in military operations, in a colon ...
, and then as a distinct medal in June 1917, it is finally and only on 15 June 1926 that this award will be officially established. The creation of the
"1914-1918 war commemorative medal" (french: Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1914–1918) in 1920 and of the 1914-1918
"Interallied Victory Medal" (french: Médaille Interalliée de la Victoire 1914–1918) in 1922 will have placed enough pressure on the French Government to concede, even against the will of its defence minister, the need for official recognition of service in this theatre of operations.
The new medal is officially called the "Orient and Dardanelles' campaign medal" (french: "Médaille Commémorative d'Orient et des Dardanelles"), the intent being for a single medal for both campaigns albeit with different ribbons, but it is actually produced with different reverse inscriptions for the two fronts "ORIENT" or "DARDANELLES" and will only bear the "ORIENT" designation when bestowed for that front.
Award statute
The Orient campaign medal is awarded to military and civilian personnel embarked prior to 11 November 1918 for service with the French Army of the Orient; to French personnel having served in the headquarters staff of the commandant of the Allied Eastern Army; to French sailors having served East of the 21st degree of longitude in operations related to those of the Allied Eastern Army.
No minimum time of service is mentioned in the award statute.
Award description
The Orient campaign medal is a 30mm in diameter circular medal struck from bronze. The
obverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...
bears the relief image of the "warrior republic" in the form of the left profile of a helmeted woman's bust, the helmet being adorned by a crown of oak leaves. On either side, the relief inscription along the circumference "FRENCH REPUBLIC" (french: RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE).
The reverse, representing both the army and navy, bears the relief image of an infantry rifle crossed with a naval anchor below two military banners and lances surmounted by the relief inscription "ORIENT". On some variants, the relief inscription "HONNEUR ET PATRIE 1915 1918" (HONOUR AND COUNTRY 1915 1918) can be found on one of the banners, other variants lack the anchor.
The medal hangs from a ribbon through a ring passing through the medal's suspension loop. The ring is adorned by a 24mm in diameter bronze laurel wreath and half crescent. The ribbon is 37mm wide and is light blue with a yellow central 7mm wide and 2mm wide stripes 2mm from the edges.
Notable recipients (partial list)
* Maréchal de France Louis Franchet d'Espèrey
* Commandant Georges Cartier
See also
*
Ribbons of the French military and civil awards This is a list of the ribbons of the French military and civil awards.
French national orders
French ministerial orders
French military decorations
Medals of Honor
French commemorative awards
Other awards
Order of precedence
Official ...
*
Marne Medal: WWI French campaign medal for the First and Second Battles of the Marne
*
Dardanelles campaign medal: WWI French campaign medal for the Gallipoli campaign
*
1914–1918 Inter-Allied Victory medal: WWI French victory medal
References
Sources
* http://www.france-phaleristique.com/accueil.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orient campaign medal
Awards established in 1926
1926 establishments in France
French campaign medals
Macedonian front
France in World War I
Military awards and decorations of World War I