A campaign medal is a

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a med ...

which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

. Campaign medals are very similar to

service medal A service medal is an award to individuals who participated in designated wars, campaigns, or expeditions, or who have fulfilled specific service requirements in a creditable manner. Service medals are sometimes also Campaign medals. Examples of ...

s but carry a higher status as the award usually involves deployment to a foreign region or service in a combat zone.

History

Campaign medals were first invented to recognize general military service in war, in contrast to meritorious decorations which were only issued on a small scale for acts of heroism and bravery. The campaign were first issued by the British military with the medal awarded for the defeat of the

Invincible Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Habsburg Spain, Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Alonso Pérez d ...

, with the 1815

Waterloo Medal The Waterloo Medal is a military decoration that was conferred upon every officer, non-commissioned officer and soldier of the British Army (including members of the King's German Legion) who took part in one or more of the following battles: Ba ...

being the first awarded to all men present and the 1847

Military General Service Medal __NOTOC__ The Military General Service Medal (MGSM) was a campaign medal approved in 1847 and issued to officers and men of the British Army in 1848.Including officers and men of the King's German Legion, Brunswick Oels and Chasseurs Britanniques ...

being the first "modern" campaign medal.Charles McDowell, "Military Decoration", ''World War II in Europe. An Encyclopedia'', Routledge, 2015 p. 1047-1048
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Campaign medals by country

Australian campaign medals Australian campaign medals are listed in order of precedence as defined in references below. Those campaign medals which have been independently issued by Australia to its armed forces are in bold. Second Boer War * Queen's South Africa Med ...

British campaign medals British campaign medals are awarded to members of the British Armed Forces, Allied forces and civilians participating in specified military campaigns. Examples include the ''Defence Medal'', for homeland defence in World War II, and the ''Atlanti ...

* Canadian campaign medals * Malaysian campaign medals * NATO Medal refers to a number of campaign medals * New Zealand campaign medals *

Philippines campaign medals Philippines Campaign medal include: *Anti-Dissidence Campaign medal * Luzon Anti-Dissidence Campaign medal * Mindanao Anti-Dissidence Campaign medal * Visayas Anti-Dissidence Campaign medal See also * Orders, decorations, and medals of the Phi ...

Polish campaign medals Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

* South African campaign medals * South Korean campaign medals * Soviet campaign medals *

Spanish campaign medals Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Sri Lankan campaign medals Prior to 1956 the Sri Lankan armed forces received honours of the United Kingdom, including military decorations and campaign medals. Since 1981, Sri Lanka has introduced its own honours system. This has resulted in a new system of Sri Lankan honou ...

United Nations Medal A United Nations Medal is an international decoration awarded by the United Nations (UN) to the various world countries members for participation in joint international military and police operations such as peacekeeping, humanitarian efforts, a ...

refers to a number of campaign medals * United States campaign medals are included in Awards and decorations of the United States military

Other campaign related items

Battle honour 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 ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

Campaign streamer Campaign streamers are decorations attached to military flags to recognize particular achievements or events of a military unit or service. Attached to the headpiece of the assigned flag, the streamer often is an inscribed ribbon with the n ...

Medal bar A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It most commonly indicates the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on th ...

/ Campaign clasp

References

{{Orders and phaleristics Military awards and decorations