The Colonial Medal (french: "Médaille Coloniale") was a French decoration created by the "loi de finances" of 26 July 1893 (article 75) to reward "military services in the

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

, resulting from participation in military operations, in a colony or a protectorate". A decree of 6 June 1962 changed the term "colonial" to "overseas" (see

Overseas Medal The Overseas Medal (french: Médaille d'Outre-Mer) is a commemorative or campaign medal issued to members of the French Armed Forces and other nations in assistance to French troops for participating in operations outside national territory. It rep ...

Medal

Introduced by the Finance Act of 23 July 1893, its implementing decree dated 6 March 1894 lists the military operations carried out by France in its colonies or protectorates (Algeria - Cochin - Gold Coast - Marquesas Islands - Nossi- Bé - New Caledonia - Senegal and Sudan - Society Islands - Tunisia). The scope of the decree was therefore a broad retroactive effect, since the first operations considered for the award of the Medal colonial dating back to 1827, at the very beginning of the conquest of Algeria. Since then, numerous other regulations were made which amend or supplement the award of this medal. The most recent include the decree of June 6, 1962 which transformed the Médaille Coloniale to

Médaille d'Outre-Mer The Overseas Medal (french: Médaille d'Outre-Mer) is a commemorative or campaign medal issued to members of the French Armed Forces and other nations in assistance to French troops for participating in operations outside national territory. It r ...

. The colonial medal is closely linked to the existence of the French colonial empire . Article 4 of the Decree of 1894 establishes the design of the medal. The it is 30mm diameter in silver. On the obverse there is the helmeted effigy of the Republic with "République française" engraved above. On the reverse, a world map occupies the central field, resting on an anchor across a trophy of arms . The ribbon, is white and blue with vertical stripes. Its length can vary this from 35 to 37 mm. The design of the medal is attributed to

Capitaine de frégate The rank insignia of the French Navy (french: Marine Nationale) are worn on shoulder straps of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels. Until 2005, only commissioned officers had an anchor on their insignia, but enl ...

Saulnier Pinellas, because the original award was for sailors. Its production had the distinction of being performed by the administration of the Paris Mint and a private company that was responsible for manufacturing the socket of the pendant ring leaves and clasps crimping indentations. The sets were to be delivered complete to the ministries of the Navy and War . The ribbon, the skewer assembly and assembly were also part of the supply. The two departments then presented the medals to the recipients, with some delay as they were not always immediately available. The monopoly of the Paris Mint and the sluggishness of its administration thus created a boom for the private market, forcing the administration to allow the manufacture in "parallel" under the set forth specifications. Nevertheless, some marginal versions appeared. In 1913, the

Monnaie de Paris The Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) is a government-owned institution responsible for producing France's coins. Founded in AD 864 with the Edict of Pistres, it is the world's oldest continuously running minting institution. In 1973, the mint reloc ...

decided to fully bear the manufacture of the Colonial Medal. The second type sees its official medal redrawn and engraved by G. Lindauer. The engraving of Georges Lemaire is recessed so that the first official type, it was relief. The foliage becomes single-sided pendant ring and the sleeve is formed of two truncated cones. For a very short period Hinged clips are rounded instead of being indented. There were many contemporary manufacturers.

Campaign Clasps

Campaign clasps which could be attached to medals awarded for service in overseas or colonial possessions include: *Algeria *Cochinchina *Maroc *Tonkin *Gold Coast (''Côte De L'or'') *Marquesas Islands (''Îles Marquises'') *Nossi-Be *New Caledonia (''Nouvelle-Caledonie'') *Madagascar *Senegal Sudan (''Senegal-Soudan''), created February 22, 1896 *

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the ...

(''Îles De La Socitie'') *French West Africa, created in 1900 *Tunisia (''Tunisie'') *Sahara *Bir-Hakiem, 1942 *Eritrea (''Erythree'') *Ethiopia (''Ethiopie'') *Fezzan *Fezzan Tripolitania (''Fezzan Tripolitanie'') *Kurfa (''Koufra'') *Libya (''Libye'') *Somalia (''Somalie'') *Tunisia (''Tunisie''), 1942–1943 * Free French Africa

Recipients

Medaille Coloniale certificate of 1894 for the participation in the 1881 Tunisia campaign of Military Doctor Jean Baptiste Doue

With campaign clasp, if applicable. *

Aarne Juutilainen Aarne Edward Juutilainen (; 18 October 1904 – 28 October 1976), nicknamed "The Terror of Morocco", was a Finnish army captain who served in the French Foreign Legion in Morocco between 1930 and 1935. After returning to Finland, he served ...

(Morocco) *

Anton Docher Anton Docher (1852–1928), born Antonin Jean Baptiste Docher (pronounced ɑ̃tɔnɛ̃ ʒɑ̃ batist dɔʃe), was a French Franciscan Roman Catholic priest, who served as a missionary to Native Americans in New Mexico, in the Southwest of t ...

Bernard Saint-Hillier Bernard Saint-Hillier (29 December 1911 – 28 July 2004) was a French general. Saint-Hillier graduated from Saint-Cyr in 1933 and was affected to the 11th Chasseurs alpins Battalion. In 1938, he joined the French Foreign Legion with the rank ...

(Eritrea, Libya, Bir Hakeim, Tunisia) * Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert (Morocco) * Pierre Jeanpierre *

Paul Arnaud de Foïard Paul Marie Félix Jacques René Arnaud de Foïard (9 September 1921 – 7 August 2005) was a général of the French Army who served primarily in the French Foreign Legion taking part in World War II and the conflicts of Indochina and Algeria. M ...

(Extrême-Orient) *

Pierre Garbay Pierre Garbay (4 October 1903 – 17 July 1980) was a French Army General. Biography Of modest origins, after completing high school, Garbay was admitted to Saint-Cyr military academy in 1921 and graduated as a sub-lieutenant in 1924. He then fo ...

(Morocco 1925, AFL, Eritrea, Libya, Tunisia) *

Louis Jules Trochu Louis-Jules Trochu (; 12 March 18157 October 1896) was a French military leader and politician. He served as President of the Government of National Defense—France's ''de facto'' head of state—from 4 September 1870 until his resignation on 2 ...

(Algeria) *

Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque Philippe François Marie Leclerc de Hauteclocque (22 November 1902 – 28 November 1947) was a Free-French general during the Second World War. He became Marshal of France posthumously in 1952, and is known in France simply as le maréchal ...

(bars, unknown campaigns) * Henri Gouraud (Senegal and Sudan, Morocco, Mauretania and Adrar) *

Charles Mangin Charles Emmanuel Marie Mangin (6 July 1866 – 12 May 1925) was a French general during World War I. Early career Charles Mangin was born on 6 July 1866 in Sarrebourg. After initially failing to gain entrance to Saint-Cyr, he joined the 77th ...

(Senegal and Sudan) *

André Lalande André Lalande (26 May 1913 – 19 October 1995) was a French Army officer and general in the Chasseurs Alpins and French Foreign Legion. He fought during the World War II at the heart of the Free French Forces, then in Indochina and Algeria. M ...

Peter Julien Ortiz Pierre (Peter) Julien Ortiz OBE (July 5, 1913 – May 16, 1988) was a United States Marine Corps colonel who received two Navy Crosses for extraordinary heroism as a major in World War II. He served in North Africa and Europe during the war, as a ...

Gaston Palewski Gaston Palewski (20 March 1901 – 3 September 1984), French politician, was a close associate of Charles de Gaulle during and after World War II. He is also remembered as the lover of the English novelist Nancy Mitford, and appears in a fiction ...

Philippe Ragueneau Philippe Ragueneau (19 November 1917 – 22 October 2003) was a French journalist and writer. He was born in Orléans (Loiret) and died in Gordes (Vaucluse). Ragueneau was a resistance and then military fighter during World War II, and friend of ...

Louis Archinard Louis Archinard (11 February 1850 – 8 May 1932) was a French Army general at the time of the Third Republic, who contributed to the colonial conquest of French West Africa. He was traditionally presented in French histories as the conqueror a ...

(Sudan) *

Olivier Mazel Olivier Charles Armand Adrien Mazel (16 September 1858 – 10 March 1940) was a French Army general during World War I. He commanded the First (25 March 1916 – 31 March 1916) and Fifth Armies (31 March 1916 - 22 May 1917) during the war. Dec ...

(Tunisia) *

Joseph Vuillemin General Joseph Vuillemin (14 March 1883 – 23 July 1963) was a French professional soldier whose early interest in aviation led him into increasingly responsible leadership positions in the '' Aeronautique Militaire'' during World War I. Ending t ...

(Sahara, Africa) *

Célestin Hennion Célestin Hennion CVO (8 September 1862 – 14 March 1915) was a French police officer who rose to head the Prefecture of Police (french: Préfecture de Police). He was responsible for the reorganisation of the Préfecture and the introductio ...

* Pham Van Dong (Barrette Extrême Orient: for operations and campaigns in

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...

)

External links

* http://www.france-phaleristique.com/accueil.htm * http://www.phaleristique.net {{French medals French campaign medals Awards disestablished in 1962 Awards established in 1893

Medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

Medal

Campaign Clasps

Recipients

See also

External links