page_title: Croix de Guerre
section_title: French Croix de Guerre
hierarchical_section_title: Croix de Guerre / French Croix de Guerre
caption_attribution_description: Croix de guerre des théatres d'opérations extérieurs
context_page_description: The Croix de Guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts. The Croix de Guerre was also commonly bestowed on foreign military forces allied to France.
  The Croix de Guerre may be awarded either as an individual award or as a unit award to those soldiers who distinguish themselves by acts of heroism involving combat with the enemy. The medal is awarded to those who have been "mentioned in dispatches", meaning a heroic deed or deeds were performed meriting a citation from an individual's headquarters unit. The unit award of the Croix de Guerre with palm was issued to military units whose members performed heroic deeds in combat and were subsequently recognized by headquarters.
context_section_description: There are three distinct Croix de Guerre medals in the French system of honours:
  Furthermore, the French collaborationist government created two croix during World War II. These croix are now illegal under French law and wearing them is outlawed:
  The Croix was created by a law of April 2, 1915, proposed by French deputy Émile Briant. The Croix reinstated an older system of mentions in dispatches, which were only administrative honours with no medal. The sculptor Paul-André Bartholomé created the medal, a bronze cross with swords, showing the effigy of the republic.
  The French Croix represents a mention in dispatches awarded by a commanding officer, at least a regimental commander. Depending on the officer who issued the mention, the ribbon of the Croix is marked with extra pins.
  Mentioned in Despatches:
  a bronze star for those who had been mentioned at the regiment or brigade level.
  a silver star, for those who had been mentioned at the division level.
  a silver-gilt (gold) star for those who had been mentioned at the corps level.
  a bronze palm for those who had been mentioned at the army level.
  a silver palm stands for five bronze ones.
  a silver-gilt (gold) palm for those who had been mentioned at the Free French Forces level (World War II only).
  The French Croix de guerre des TOE was created in 1921 for wars fought in theatres of operation outside France. It was awarded during the Indochina War, Korean War, and other wars up to the Kosovo War in 1999.
  When World War II broke out in 1939, a new Croix de Guerre was created by Édouard Daladier. It was abolished by Vichy Government in 1941, which created a new Croix de Guerre. In 1943 General Giraud in Algiers created another Croix de Guerre. Both the Vichy and Giraud Croix were abolished by General de Gaulle in 1944, who reinstated the 1939 Croix.
  The Croix de Guerre takes precedence between the Ordre national du Mérite and the Croix de la Valeur Militaire, the World War I Croix being senior to the World War II one, itself senior to the TOE Croix.
caption: French Croix de guerre des TOE
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