French medal for Serbian prisoners-of-war
This is a French medal to commemorate Serbian prisoners-of-war. One one side is an image of, on the left, King Peter, and his son, the Prince Regent Alexander. French versions of their names appear, respectively, as 'Pierre I' and 'Alexandre'. Beneath this is the bilingual, French-Serbian text 'GLORIEUX DEFENSEURS DE LA LIBERTE SERBE' and, in Cyrillic 'СЛАВНИ ЗАТОЦНИЦИ СРПСКЕ СЛОБОДЕ' (translating as 'Honour to the Defenders of Serbian Freedom'), followed by the years 1914-1915. The other side of the medal features the Serbian heraldic shield with the years 1389, the year of the Battle of Kosovo, and 1817, the conclusion of the Second Serbian Uprising, when Serbia became a principality. The year of issue, 1917, is shown at the top, and was the centenary of the Second Serbian Uprising, and there is also French text 'OEUVRE DES PRISONNIERS SERBES' (translating as 'The Work of Serbian Prisoners'). The ribbon has the same colour scheme as the French tricolour: blue, white, and red.
French medal for Serbian prisoners-of-war.
CONTRIBUTOR
Špiro Vranješ
DATE
/
LANGUAGE
eng
ITEMS
6
INSTITUTION
Europeana 1914-1918
PROGRESS
METADATA
Discover Similar Stories
Serbian Medal for Good Marksman
2 Items
Serbian Medal for Good Marksman || This medal was originally established in 1883 as a reward for good marksmanship. On one side is a shooting target with a crown above it over of a pair of crossed rifles, surrounded by a pair of laurel and oak leaf branches. The other side has the Serbian Cyrillic text 'ДОБРОМ СТРЕЛЦУ', which transliterates as 'Dobrom Strelcu', and which translates to 'Good Marksman'. It would be awarded to NCO's and enlisted men who achieved the necessary criteria in sharpshooting. After the First World War, the award continued to be given, but the design changed slightly to also include the text in Latin type as well as Cyrillic, to reflect the inclusiveness towards the other peoples of the newly-established Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which would later become the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
Serbian Medal for Military Virtues
4 Items
This medal was instituted in 1883, a year after Serbia became a Kingdom and was originally given for meritorious military service during peace time. However, the legislation regarding this award was changed at a later point so that it could also be awarded during war. One side of the medal has the Serbian Cyrillic text 'ЗА ВОЈНИЧКЕ ВРЛИНЕ', which transliterates to 'Za Vojnicke Vrline', and translates to 'For Military Virtues', with a wreath surrounding the text. The other side of the medal has a national, heraldic Serbian eagle motif. The medal was also awarded during the First World War and was manufactured in France and Switzerland after the outbreak of the war. Shown here is the full size medal, as well as a miniature version of the same. || Serbian Medal for Military Virtues, full size medal, as well as miniature version.