- Time Period: World War I
- Institution: 1917
- Country: France
Created in late 1916 and even before the end of the battle, the Medal of Verdun was made for soldiers who, for several months under intense pressure from infantry attacks and heavy artillery pounding, held their ground during the WW1 Battle of Verdun.
Around 70% of all the French soldiers that were engaged in World War I participated to the battle of Verdun. Six or seven different designs were put forward for the medal but none were approved by the French Government and all remained unofficial awards that could not be worn on military uniform.
Originally intended to be “awarded to those who served on the Verdun front between 21 February 1916 and 2 November 1916″, the medal was, in fact, awarded to those who served anywhere on the Argonne and St Mihiel sectors between 31 July 1914 and 11 November 1918.
The Battle of Verdun Medal Design
The obverse shows the head of the Republic (a symbol of the Third French Republic) and the famous sentence pronounced by Robert Nivelle: “Ils ne passeront pas”, translated as: “They will not break through”. The reverse bears a French soldier and the inscription “EN AVANT S. QU AU BOUT” (“Forward, always forward” or “Forward until the end.”) The “S” stands for “sans,” which means “without,” so it could be interpreted as “Forward, without stopping, until the end.” Another reverse shows a twin castle gate with the inscriptions “VERDUN” and “21 FEVRIER 1916”.
The medal is fitted with a loose ring suspender and a piece of 37 mm red ribbon that has blue-white-red edges.
The original, and most commonly found, version was by Vernier but since supplies of this medal were inadequate, others created Verdun medals and at least seven versions of varying rarity are known. It is relatively common medal to find but it was an immense measure of respect in the civil life. It was carried with pride to show that these soldiers participated in the biggest attack France had to suffer in its history.
