Information AboutFourragere |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT FOURRAGèRE | |
| military awards and decorations of france | |
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HISTORY The ''Fourragère'' was instituted by Napoleon, but actually has prior historic significance: after a hasty retreat from battle by a unit of Flemish troops, the Duke of Alva ordered that any further misconduct in that unit be punished by hanging, regardless of rank. Those Flemish troops then wore a cord tied into a hangman's noose on their shoulder going into their next battle, and fought so valiantly that the cord became a mark of distinction. The fourragère is awarded to all members of military unit which, as a whole, was awarded a Mention In Dispatches . It should not be confused with unit awards of particular decorations, where the medal itself is hung on the flag of the unit. For example, there are many units wearing the ''fourragère'' of the '' Médaille Militaire '', whereas only six units wore the medal on their flags. During the First World War , the French Ministry of War awarded the Fourragère to units which distinguished themselves more than once in the orders of the Army. There were then six fourragères, depending on the numbers of mentions in Dispatches awarded to the unit :
and WWII, and light blue and red for the '' Croix De Guerre Théâtres D'Opérations Extérieurs '' (Overseas War Cross).
In addition, further distinction awards to units wearing fourragères may be worn as barrel-shaped slides on the fourragère cords, resting on the decorative metal finial tip. These ''olives'' indicate the war in which the unit were mentioned : for WWII the ''olive'' is green and red, and for an overseas conflict the ''olive'' is light blue and red. Some units wear two half-''olives'' because they were mentioned in many conflicts. During the Second World War , the medal of the '' Ordre De La Libération '' was awarded to the flags of 17 military units, whose members now wear a fourragère since the 18th of June 1996 . This ''fourragère'' is considered the top unit award in the french military, as the ''ordre de la Libération'' award is seen to be more important than any mention in Dispatches. Certain French military units wear combinations of fourragères. Fourragères used by the French Foreign Legion are:- 2e REI (2nd Foreign Legion Infantry) - Croix de Guerre TOE 2e REP (2nd Foreign Legion Paratroops) - Légion d'Honneur 1er REC (1st Foreign Legion Cavalry - Croix de Guerre (WW2); Médaille Militaire 3e REI (3rd Foreign Legion Infantry)- Légion d'Honneur, Médaille Militaire, Croix de Guerre UNITS AWARDED THE FOURRAGèRE
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