Prussian medal commemorating the final phase of the wars against Napoleon (1813 - 1814). The loop ring and the ribbon are modern replacements. Click on the pictures to enlarge. ^
Prussian medal commemorating the Franco-Prussian War (1870 - 1871) ^
French medal commemorating the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). It was only instituted in 1911. ^
Belgian medal for mobilization against France, 1870-1871. The Belgians were worried that the French army might invade Belgium during the Franco-Prussian war. The monarch between 1865 and 1909 was Leopold II, but the medal was only instituted in 1912, i.e. during the reign of King Albert I, hence the "A".
Austrian medal and cross commemorating the 50th and 60th anniversary of emperor Franz Joseph's reign, respectively. The 1898 medal had a white-and-red ribbon for civilians, a red ribbon for army personnel. As for the 1908 cross, however, it was the other way round!
Belgian medal for the battle at the Flemish river Yser (Erste Flandernschlacht) in Oct.-Nov. 1914 ^
Belgian Medal to the defenders of Liège, a city in the East of Belgium that was under siege in 1914 ^
The Belgian Cross of Fire, awarded in 1934 for active service during 1914-18. There are several types of this medal. 1) with a large cannon on the obverse and stripes intersecting the text on the reverse; 2) with a small cannon on the obverse and "square" letters on the reverse. There are no longer stripes intersecting the text on the reverse; 3) with a small cannon on the obverse and "round" letters on the reverse. The medal itself is also a bit narrower than the previous two types; 3b) another example of the third type. It has a modern-looking ribbon and the medal itself also looks relatively new. Presumably this is a post-1945 replacement. It's less wide than the second type, but not as narrow as the third type. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE INFO: http://www.dcollect.net/collection/B001firecross.html
Italian War Merit Cross and Service Medal. ^
British WW1 medals: 1) 1914 - 15 Star, 2) Commemoration medal, 3) Victory medal. British WW1 medals are named but these ones belonged to three different soldiers. ^
German Iron Cross 1939 2nd Class. The ribbon no longer has the black and white colours of the state of Prussia (as it had in 1813, 1870 and 1914) , but the black-red-and-white colours of the German Reich, indicating that from 1939 on it was a national German award. ^
German Iron Cross 1939 1st class, maker marked "20" (= Zimmermann) ^
German Eastern Front medal, for service in Russia during the winter 1941-42. This medal is of historical significance since it marks a major turning point in the war. As many historians (e.g. Volker Ullrich and Max Hastings) note, Germany already lost the war during this first winter in Russia and was so badly mauled that it would never recover, although it took the defeat in Stalingrad one year later to open most Germans' eyes. I am confident that the educated viewer will understand that the WW2 German medals on this page are being shown for educational purposes only. More info: https://www.ostmedaille-database.com
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, USA, WW2. More info and better pictures will follow.
US Army Medal for occupation of Germany and Japan in and after 1945. The obverse shows the abutments of the Remagen Bridge (or Ludendorff Bridge) across the Rhine.
POSTWAR PERIOD, 1945 -
Belgian medal for military personnell who served during the reign of King Albert I (1909-1934). Instituted as late as 17 February 1962. This one was my first medal ever. I bought it on a flea market in 1998.
USA Medal For Humane Action - The Berlin Airlift (1948-1949). One of the earlier examples, 1940's - 1950's. I like this medal because it just screams "Cold War". In 1948, the Soviet occupiers cut off West Berlin's food, water and electricity supplies; surface traffic was blockaded. During the Berlin Airlift (26 June 1948 – 30 September 1949) the western Allies provided the West Berliners with almost 9,000 tons of necessities each day.
Vietnam war service medal, USA ^
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal USA 2003-2005. When I bought it, this was a recent medal for a war that was still going on. But in the meantime, it's almost 20 years old. ^
Above you can see some of my favourite USA medals. They are not mine, but I'm planning to add them to my collection. ^ 1) European - African - Middle Eastern Campaign (WW2) 2) Armed Forces Service medal (created in 1996) 3) Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Established in 1961)
These are the medals of two Flemish WW1 veterans who were the grandfathers of the person I obtained the medals from. The first picture shows Edouard Deboysere, the soldier in the second photo is Hippoliet Coudeville. Unfortunately the medals got mixed up many decades ago so I cannot say which belonged to which veteran. I have divided both crosses of fire, both commemoration medals and both victory medals into two groups arbitrarily. The last medal commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1918 armistice. Click on the pictures to enlarge ^