- Time Period: World War I
- Institution: 1919
- Country: Romania
The Allied Victory Medal was recommended by an inter-allied committee in March 1919. Fourteen victorious countries finally awarded the medal after World War I, and each allied nation would design a ‘Victory Medal’ for award to their own nationals. Certain features were to be shared: a winged figure of Victory on the obverse and the same ribbon.
To qualify for the Romanian Victory Medal, recipients of any rank had to be mobilized for war service and to have taken part in a battle between 28 August 1916 and 31 March 1921, or to have served as an army medic. Also included were the combatants from the Hungarian–Romanian War.
The Romania Inter-Allied Victory Medal Design
The Victory Medal measures 36 millimetres (1.4 in) in diameter and was designed by William McMillan. The design and ribbon was also adopted by Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Romania, Siam, Union of South Africa and the USA. Each allied nation would design a ‘Victory Medal’ for award to their own nationals, all issues having certain common features, including a winged figure of victory on the obverse and the same ribbon.
The obverse of the Romanian medal was selected from a set of proposals submitted to an international jury. The jury selected the design of Lt. Col. Constantin Kristescu, who was also put in charge of its sculpting. The medal was manufactured in Paris, where Kristescu used to work with La Maison Arthus-Bertrand.
The reverse shows the words ‘THE GREAT / WAR FOR / CIVILISATION / 1914-1919’ surrounded by a laurel wreath.
The 39 millimeters (1.5 in) wide watered ribbon has an iridescent color scheme, with the violet moving through to a central red stripe where both schemes meet. It attaches to the medal through a ring suspender. The recipient’s name, rank, service number and unit were impressed on the edge of the medal. The name of the regiment or corps was omitted on medals awarded to Army officers.
All the Inter-Allied Victory Medal Variations
Although each country designed its own version of the Inter-Allied Victory Medal, all of them shared some common elements, such as a winged victory figure on the obverse and a similar ribbon with rainbow colors symbolizing unity among the Allies. Here are the versions for all countries:
