page_title: Battle honour
section_title: France
hierarchical_section_title: Battle honour / France
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: photo du drapeau du 1er rima
context_page_description: A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags, uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible.
  In European military tradition, military units may be acknowledged for their achievements in specific wars or operations of a military campaign. In Great Britain and those countries of the Commonwealth which share a common military legacy with the British, battle honours are awarded to selected military units as official acknowledgement for their achievements in specific wars or operations of a military campaign. These honours usually take the form of a place and a date.
  Theatre honours, a type of recognition in the British tradition closely allied to battle honours, were introduced to honour units which provided sterling service in a campaign but were not part of specific battles for which separate battle honours were awarded. Theatre honours could be listed and displayed on regimental property but not emblazoned on the colours.
context_section_description: In France, Battle honours, known officially as inscriptions des noms de batailles au drapeau, were created during the Wars of the French Revolution. The first honour such awarded is  Valmy, 1792 , the last one to date is  Koweït, 1991 . The honours are sewn in gold letters on the regiment's flag or standard under the form <battle name>, <date> (such as  Austerlitz, 1805 ). In some cases, the honour refers to a whole conflict and take the form <Geographical designation>, <date> (such as  AFN, 1952-1962 ) or simply <war>, <date> (such as  Grande guerre, 1914-1918 ). Some military schools and academies have their motto sewn on their flags as a battle honour, such as École polytechnique's  Pour la Patrie, les sciences et la gloire  (for Fatherland, Sciences and Glory) in addition to the "true" battle honour  Paris, 1814 .
  During the 19th century, honours were limited to eight on a regiment's flag, leading to erase some honours in order to make room for newer ones. This limitation was upped to twelve honours after the Second World War. Some units, such as the 2 RIMA, have been awarded more than twelve honours, but their flag displays only the twelve considered the most important in the history of the regiment. Other units, such as the 1 RIMA, have been granted a dispensation allowing them to emblazon all their battle honours, regardless of their number.
  In addition to battle honours, military units can be awarded collective military decorations and collective mentions in dispatches, leading eventually to the fourragère award.
caption: Flag of the 1 RIMA. The regiment has been awarded fifteen battle honours.
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