The Medal for the War of 1941–1945 was established on 2 March 1946 and awarded to members of the Royal Hellenic Armed Forces who had seen action. It was created as a star for land operations.
The medal was bestowed upon Royal Hellenic Armed Forces personnel for operational services to the Army in North Africa, the South Aegean Sea and Italy. Several thousands of Army personnel, the majority of the Fleet and the remaining airplanes escaped to Turkey or were evacuated to Egypt after the capitulation of the Continental Greece and the battle of Crete respectively. At the British controlled Middle East the Hellenic Armed Forces were reorganized and reequipped (with British assistance) while more personnel either from Greece or from the existing Greek population in Egypt joined their ranks.
Soon the Hellenic Armed Forces of the Middle East were able to form 2 Brigades, a Special Forces Unit (Sacred Band or Sacred Company in Greek) attached to 1st SAS. The Hellenic Royal Navy with 44 ships and over 8,500 men, became the second-largest Allied Navy in the Mediterranean after the RN, accounting for 80% of all non-RN operations.
The Hellenic Royal Air Force formed 3 Squadrons (the 335 and 336 Fighter Squadrons – equipped with Hurricanes and later with Spitfires – and the 13th Naval Cooperation Squadron which operated with Blenheims and later with Batimores).
The Hellenic Armed Forces participated to the Battle of El Alamein, to the Operations for Liberation of several Greek islands of the Aegean Sea after the capitulation of Italy, to the operation in Sicily and South Italy while several ships of the Hellenic Royal Navy supported the landing in Normany.
The Medal for the War of 1941–1945 Design
The ribbon shows what appears to be water / storage damage.
