The medal was instituted by the French Government in May of 1946 to honor those having served in the armed forces of France. The medal itself is bronze and exhibiting a number of symbols relating to victory. The Gallic cock standing on the broken chain denoting liberation set against the Cross of Lorraine. As well as the familiar V for victory running down the center of the ribbon. the reverse showing a laurel branch and the dates of the conflict. At the base of the front of the medal two names appear when viewed through magnification. F. Josse on the left and G. Simon on the right. I would assume they were the designers of this simple yet bold design.
The attached photos show the medals in my own collection. Displaying a variety of Campaign bars. As you can see multiple bars could be combined for wear. This differing from British WW2 stars on which only one bar could or would be worn. Please correct this assumption if incorrect.
There are three different types of campaign bars from a manufacturing perspective. One type exhibits a solid raised outer border with a very narrow inner border. The second type has a series of (4) smaller lines forming the outer border and a series of dots forming the inner border. While a third style has (5) smaller lines forming the outer border with a thin line for the inner border. I am assuming that like bars for the French Colonial medal there were a number of different makers. In addition there are differing type styles and sizes corresponding to the different makers.
The different campaign bars the could be wornare thus.
Norvege: For the combined landings in Norway April 12- to June 17 1940
Mer du Nord: Maritime operations in the North sea.
Mediterranee. Maritime operation in the Mediterranean.
Manche: Maritime operation in the English channel
Afrique: Service in Libya, Egypt and the French African Colonies June 25 1940-May 13, 1943.
Atlantique: Maritime operation in the Atlantic Ocean.
Extreme Orient: Far East service. On land in Indochina and at sea in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Dec 7 1941- August 15 1945.
France:Service in France September 3, 1939 - June 25, 1940. As well as the Italian and German campaigns.
Grand Bretagne: Air operations from Great Britain November 25, 1942 - May 5, 1945.
Italie: Italian campaign and Elba. Dec 1, 1943 - August 15, 1945.
Liberation: To Resistance members June 25,1940 - May 5, 1945. In addition for the campaigns of France and Corsica.
Engage Volontaire: Unsure of use
URSS: Operation in Russia. Need more information on this one.
Defense Passive: Air raid protection service. Instituted later in 1949
If any of these dates and campaigns need to be corrected please let me know. Thanks Jack
