The Gallipolli Star is a military decoration awarded by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. It was known as the Ottoman War Medal ( tr, Harp Madalyası) or the Iron Crescent (from German ''Eiserner Halbmond'', in allusion to the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

). It was instituted by Sultan

Mehmed V Mehmed V Reşâd ( ota, محمد خامس, Meḥmed-i ḫâmis; tr, V. Mehmed or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) reigned as the 35th and penultimate Ottoman Sultan (). He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I. He succeeded his half-brother Ab ...

1 March Events Pre-1600 *509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. * 293 – Emperor Diocletian ...

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". * January ...

for gallantry in battle. This decoration was awarded for the duration of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

to Ottoman and other

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 W ...

troops, primarily in Ottoman areas of engagement.

Design and composition

The award includes a badge, ribbon and campaign bar. The medal, made of

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow t ...

-plated brass, has a vaulted star-shaped badge, 56 mm across the diagonal span of the arms. The tips of the star are capped by ball finials and enclosed in a raised silver edge with the field in red

lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be c ...

or enamel. A raised

crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

, open at the top, encircles the center of the badge. Inside the crescent is the

Tughra A tughra ( ota, طغرا, ṭuġrā) is a calligraphic monogram, seal or signature of a sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. Inspired by the tamgha, it was also carved on his seal and stamped on the coins minted ...

or cipher of the decoration's creator, Sultan Mehmed V Reşâd, over the date 1333 AH (AD 1915). The reverse is flat, unadorned and has a straight pin. Along with the badge came a ribbon with red and white stripes. The dimensions of the ribbon for combatants are: red 2.5 mm; white, 5 mm.; red, 29 mm.; white, 5 mm.; red 2.5 mm. For non-combatant awardees, the colors are reversed. The campaign bar is a right-pointing parabola of white at 56mm in length and 7mm in height. In the field is red

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used writing system in the world by number of countries using it or a script directly derived from it, and th ...

denoting the specific campaign: * Chanakkale/Chanak (Gallipoli) * Gaza * Kanal *

Kut-al-Amara Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people. It ...

Sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

Wear

When in formal dress, the badge was worn at the center, below the right breast pocket. Wear of the badge was exclusive; in everyday wear was substituted by the ribbon. The ribbon was worn from the second hole in the tunic button. For Austrian and German awardees (usually members of the Asienkorps), the award took lower precedence to their own

2nd class, and the ribbon of the Iron Crescent was placed beneath that of the Iron Cross. The ribbon could also be fashioned into a chest riband for placement on a ribbon bar when in undress. The campaign bar was usually not worn.

Gallery

Image:Gallipoli-star.jpg, Gallipoli Star badge with ribbon Image:Gallipoli-star-ribband.jpg, Gallipoli Star riband Image:Gallipoli-star-turkish.jpg, Gallipoli Star – Turkish manufacture Image:Gallipoli-star-BBen Co..jpg, Gallipoli Star badge – B.B. & Co. Image:Gallipoli-star-german Godet.jpg, Gallipoli Star badge – Godet Image:Gallipoli-star-jhwerner.jpg, Gallipoli Star badge – J.H. Werner

References

*Klietmann, Dr. Kurt-Gerhard, (1971): ''Deutsche Auszeichnungen: Ein Geschichte der Ehrenzeichen und Medaillen, Erinnerungs- und Verdienstabzeichen des Deutschen Reiches, der deutschen Staaten sowie staatlicher Dienststellen, Organisationen, Verbande usw. Vom 18. - 20. Jahrhundert. 2 Band. Deutsches Reich 1871- 1945''. Berlin: Ordenssammlung. *ERMAN, M.Demir, (2012) Harp Madalyası - The Turkish War Medal - {{ISBN, 978-605-125-484-5 - http://demirerman.wix.com/turkish-war-medal Military awards and decorations of the Ottoman Empire Military awards and decorations of World War I Awards established in 1915