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.

Unit Award

The unit award of the Croix de guerre was typically referred to as the Fourragère of the Croix de guerre. The unit award was authorized for both temporary and permanent wear, depending on when an individual was assigned to the particular unit which had earned the award. Typically, those permanently assigned to a unit, at the time of the Croix de guerre presentation, were entitled to wear the fourragère for the remainder of service in the military.

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Temporary personnel, or those who had joined a unit after the action which had earned the Croix de guerre, were authorized to wear the award while a member of the unit but would surrender the decoration upon transfer.

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This temporary wear of the fourragère only applied to the French version of the Croix de guerre.

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