The 1939âÂÂ1945 (English: War Cross 1939âÂÂ1945) is a French military decoration, a version of the created on 26 September 1939 to honour people who fought with the Allies against the Axis forces at any time during World War II. After Germany invaded and overran mainland France in the Battle of France in May and June 1940, this was replaced by the pro-Axis Vichy French government with another Croix with a black-and-green ribbon, while the original was upheld by Free France. Since the triumph of the Free French side in World War II, this version is the only one officially recognized by the French government.
Due to the large extent of the war zone, recipients included those who fought during, with, at, or in the following:
The was designed by the sculptor Paul-Albert Bartholomé. The medal is in size and is in the shape of a Maltese cross with two swords criss-crossed through the center. In the center of the front is the profile of the French Republic crested by a Phrygian cap. Around this portrait, are the words République française ("French Republic"). On the reverse of the medal are the dates of the conflict : 1939âÂÂ1940, 1939âÂÂ1945, or simply 1940.
The suspension and service ribbon of the medal has a red background crossed with four green lines in its center.
On every medal and ribbon, there is at least one ribbon device, either in the shape of a palm or of a star, and fashioned from either bronze, silver, or silver-gilt (vermeil). The relative importance of the six possible combinations is detailed below. The total number of devices on a "Croix de Guerre" is not limited.
The lowest degree is represented by a bronze star while the highest degree is represented by a bronze palm:
The clasps are awarded for gallantry to any member of the French military or its allies and are, depending on the degree, roughly the equivalent to the U.S. Bronze Star and Silver Star or UK Military Cross and Military Medal.
The awarding of the Military Cross is carried out in a solemn ceremony with the presentation of the award. For example, the Soviet personnel of the Normandie-Niemen air regiment received their second Military Crosses 1939 (and Major S.D. Agavelyan received his third Military Cross 1939) in addition to the ones they had previously received in the USSR, personally from Charles de Gaulle.https://sammlung.ru/?p=96851
Following the German invasion and occupation of France in May 1940, the French collaborationist government (Vichy France; officially called ÃÂtat français, the "French State") created two croix during World War II, both utilizing a black-and-green ribbon pattern instead of the original red-and-green. These croix were both disavowed by the Free French government and the postwar French government, and wearing them is illegal in France. The Vichy employed the same tiered citations for the award as the officially-recognised version, excluding the added gilt palm.
The Vichy War Cross 1939-1940 (Croix de guerre 1939âÂÂ1940) was not prohibited as such, but it was suspended, and awards that did not fall under the provisions of Article 3 of the Decree of January 7, 1944, had to be reviewed separately. Those who received the "Vichy" Croix de guerre 1939-1940 for the campaigns in France and Norway in 1939-1940 (i.e., the first review of awards in 1940) automatically received the right to wear the Croix de guerre 1939 on a red-and-green ribbon.
However, according to specialized foreign phaleristics sources, no review of the awards has been carried out, and there is currently no information about such a review or its results, as well as no regulations on the procedure for replacing the ribbon or the cross itself.https://sammlung.ru/?p=96851