- Time Period: The Great War
- Institution: 2 April 1915
- Country: France
The War Cross 1914-1918 (or Croix de guerre 1914–1918) is a French military decoration created to recognize French and allied soldiers who were cited for valorous service during World War I, similar to the British mentioned in dispatches but with multiple degrees equivalent to other nations’ decorations for courage.
Soon after the outbreak of World War I, French military officials felt that a new military award had to be created. At that time, the Citation du jour (“Daily Citation”) already existed to acknowledge soldiers, but it was just a sheet of paper. At the end of 1914, General Boëlle, Commandant in Chief of the French 4th Army Corps, tried to convince the French administration to create a formal military award. Maurice Barrès, the noted writer and parliamentarian for Paris, gave Boëlle support in his efforts.
Every Croix de guerre awarded carries at least one citation for gallantry or courage to a member of any rank of the French military or of an allied army. Ribbon devices indicate the importance or degree of the soldier’s role during the action cited.
The Croix de guerre 1914-1918 was attributed to:
- French and allied soldiers individually cited for a wartime act of gallantry;
- Civilians and militarized personnel individually cited for a wartime act of gallantry;
- Automatically to soldiers and civilians not specifically cited for a Croix de guerre but awarded the Légion d’honneur or Médaille militaire for the highest acts of wartime valour and gazetted in the Official Journal of the French Republic;
- Collectively, to army units, ships or air squadrons;
- To cities and villages, martyrs of war, destroyed, ravaged or bombed by the enemy (2952 towns received the Croix de guerre 1914-1918, in this case, always awarded with palm).
The War Cross 1914-1018 Design
The cross was designed by the sculptor Paul-Albert Bartholomé. It is 37 mm wide, Florentine bronze cross pattée, with two crossed swords pointing up between the arms.
The obverse center medallion bears the relief image of the French Republic in the form of the bust of a young woman wearing a Phrygian cap surrounded by the circular relief inscription RÉPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE (FRENCH REPUBLIC). Not knowing how long the war would last, the reverse centre medallion bears the dates 1914–1915, 1914–1916, 1914–1917 and finally 1914–1918.
The cross is suspended by a ring through a suspension loop cast atop the upper cross arm. It hangs from a 37 mm wide green silk moiré ribbon with seven narrow 1,5 mm wide vertical red stripes evenly spaced and two 1 mm red edge stripes.
