France
In the French military, mentions in Despatches—or more precisely, mention in Orders (citation dans les ordres)—are made by senior commanders, from the position of regimental commanding officer to General-in-Chief, in the Orders they give to their unit, recognizing the gallantry of an action performed some time before. The mentions are awarded for gallantry to any member of the French military or its allies and are, depending on the degree, roughly the equivalent for U.S. Bronze Star Medal and Silver Star or UK Military Cross and Military Medal.
Mentions made during World War I, World War II or colonial conflicts were accompanied with awards of a Croix de guerre or a Croix de la Valeur Militaire, with attachments on the ribbon depending on the mention's degree : the lowest degree is represented by a bronze star while the highest degree is represented by a bronze palm
- 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 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 represents five bronze ones.
- a silver gilt palm for those who had been mentioned at the Free French Forces level (World War II only).
Nowadays, a mention with award of the Croix de la valeur militaire (the Croix de guerre is no longer awarded) is rare, and most mentions are awarded with a gold Médaille de la Défense nationale and the same attachments as the Croix de guerre.
A unit can be mentioned in Despatches. Its flag is then decorated with the corresponding Croix. After two mentions, the men of the unit are entitled to wear a fourragère.
Read more about this topic: Mentioned In Despatches
Famous quotes containing the word france:
“The bugle-call to arms again sounded in my war-trained ear, the bayonets gleamed, the sabres clashed, and the Prussian helmets and the eagles of France stood face to face on the borders of the Rhine.... I remembered our own armies, my own war-stricken country and its dead, its widows and orphans, and it nerved me to action for which the physical strength had long ceased to exist, and on the borrowed force of love and memory, I strove with might and main.”
—Clara Barton (1821–1912)
“France has lost a battle. But France has not lost the war!”
—Charles De Gaulle (1890–1970)