Croix de guerre

The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of both Belgium and France which was first created in 1915. The decoration was awarded throughout World War I and again during World War II. The Croix de guerre was also commonly bestowed to foreign military forces allied to France and Belgium.

Degrees

The Croix de guerre was awarded with various attachments, depending on the command level of the awarding authority. The basic Croix de guerre medal (both from Belgium and France) was awarded with a gold palm. This decoration was commonly referred to as the Croix de guerre with palm.

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The French Croix de guerre was also issued with a bronze star for those who had been cited at the regiment or brigade level. A silver star was presented for citation by a Division Commander and a silver gilt star was presented for those cited on the Corps level. The Belgian Croix de guerre was similar, but was upgraded to a bronze lion for citations by a regiment and a gold lion for citations by the commander of land forces.

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The various appurtenances of the Croix de guerre were intended as upgrades with a single device authorized for wear at any one time. The Croix de guerre would then be referred to with the highest device listed, such as the Croix de guerre with bronze star or the Croix de guerre with gold lion.

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