Medal of the Armed Resistance 1940–1945

Resistance Medal 1940–1945
Resistance Medal 1940–1945
	Resistance Medal 1940–1945 (obverse)
Type	War medal
Awarded for	Service in the resistance or in undercover intelligence gathering
Presented by	Belgium
Eligibility	Belgian citizens
Status	No longer awarded
Established	16 February 1946
	Reverse of the medal; ; Ribbon bar

The Resistance Medal 1940–1945 (French: Médaille de la Résistance 1940–1945, Dutch: Medaille van de Weerstand 1940–1945) was a Belgian war medal established by royal decree of the Regent on 16 February 1946 and awarded to all members of the Belgian armed resistance during the Second World War and to members of the intelligence service who operated in occupied territories and participated in combat actions aimed at the liberation of Belgium.^[1]

Award description

The Resistance Medal 1940–1945 was a 39mm in diameter circular bronze medal. Its obverse bore the upper body of a young woman facing left in defiance with her right fist clenched. The reverse bore the relief inscription in Latin on three lines "1940 RESISTERE 1945" superimposed over a laurel wreath.^[1]

The medal was suspended by a ring through a suspension loop from a 37 mm wide black silk moiré ribbon with two central 1 mm wide red stripes 5 mm apart and 4 mm light green edge stripes. The colours of the ribbon were symbolic, the black denoting the dark days of the German occupation and/or the clandestine nature of the resistance, the green stood the hope of liberation and the red for the spilled blood of the resistance members.^[1]

Notable recipients (partial list)

The individuals listed below were awarded the Medal of the Armed Resistance:^[2]

Lieutenant General Ernest Engelen
Cavalry Major General Jules François Gaston Everaert
Lieutenant General Jules Joseph Pire
Lieutenant General Alphonse Verstraete
Lieutenant General Joseph Leroy
Cavalry Lieutenant General Jules De Boeck
Police Lieutenant General Louis Joseph Leroy
Achille van Acker
Edmond Leburton
Alfons Vranckx
Baron Albert Lilar
Count Harold d’Aspremont Lynden
Count Jean-Charles Snoy et d’Oppuers
Viscount Omer Vanaudenhove
Geraard van den Daele
Count Count Jean d’Ursel
Baron Pierre van Outryve d’Ydewalle
Count Charles of Limburg Stirum
Robberechts Henri
Marcel Verriest
Josephine Baker

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Royal Decree of the Regent of 16 February 1946 creating the 1940–1945 Resistance Medal, Belgian Defence Ministry, 1946-02-16
^ "Recipients of the Resistance medal compiled from the ARS MORIENDI web site" (in French). ARS MORIENDI. 2012-07-06. Archived from the original on 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2012-09-12.

Other sources

Quinot H., 1950, Recueil illustré des décorations belges et congolaises, 4e Edition. (Hasselt)
Cornet R., 1982, Recueil des dispositions légales et réglementaires régissant les ordres nationaux belges. 2e Ed. N.pl., (Brussels)
Borné A.C., 1985, Distinctions honorifiques de la Belgique, 1830–1985 (Brussels)

External links

Bibliothèque royale de Belgique (In French)
Les Ordres Nationaux Belges (In French)
ARS MORIENDI Notables from Belgian history Archived 2011-09-06 at the Wayback Machine (In French and Dutch)

[decree-1] Royal Decree of the Regent of 16 February 1946 creating the 1940–1945 Resistance Medal, Belgian Defence Ministry, 1946-02-16

[ARS-2] "Recipients of the Resistance medal compiled from the ARS MORIENDI web site" (in French). ARS MORIENDI. 2012-07-06. Archived from the original on 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2012-09-12.

[1]

[2]

v t e Orders, decorations, and medals of Belgium
National orders	Order of Leopold Order of the African Star Royal Order of the Lion Order of the Crown Order of Leopold II
Pre–1914	Civic Guard Merit Medal 1830 Star of Honour Iron Cross 1830 Volunteers' Commemorative Cross 1870–71 Commemorative Medal Service Star
World War I	War Cross 1914–18 Fire Cross 1914–1918 Yser Cross and Medal Volunteer Combatant's Medal 1914–1918 Commemorative Medal of the 1914–1918 War Commemorative Medal of the 1914–1917 African Campaigns Liège Medal Maritime Decoration 1914–1918 Political Prisoner's Medal 1914–1918 Deportees' Cross 1914–1918 1914–1918 Medal for National Restoration King Albert Medal Queen Elisabeth Medal Inter-Allied Victory Medal 1914–1918 Civic Decoration 1914–1918 Commemorative Medal of the National Committee for Aid and Food
World War II & Korean War	War Cross 1940–45 Maritime Medal 1940–1945 1940–1945 Military Combatant's Medal Volunteer's Medal 1940–1945 1940–1945 African War Medal 1940–1945 Colonial War Effort Medal Abyssinian Campaigns Commemorative Medal Resistance Medal 1940–1945 Civilian Resistance Medal Civilian Disobedience Medal Political Prisoner's Cross 1940–1945 Prisoner of War Medal 1940–1945 Escapees' Cross 1940–1945 Medal for Resistance against Nazism in the Annexed Territories Medal of the Recruiting Centers 1940 Medal of Belgian Gratitude 1940–1945 Commemorative Medal of the 1940–1945 War Foreign Operational Theatres Commemorative Medal
Current military awards	Military Decoration for exceptional service, bravery or exceptional devotion Military Cross Military Decoration for faithful service Cross of Honour for Military Service Abroad Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operations or Missions Commemorative medal for missions or operations regarding the operational defense of the territory Meritorious Service Medal
Current civilian awards	Civil decoration for acts of bravery, selfsacrifice and philanthropy Civil decoration for faithful service Labour Decoration Laureate of labour
Commemorative medals	Commemorative Decoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Creation of the Railroads Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Leopold II Commemorative Medal for the 75th Anniversary of the Belgian Postal Service Centenary of National Independence Commemorative Medal Commemorative Medal for the Centenary of the Telegraphic Service Commemorative Medal for the 100th Anniversary of the Belgian Postal Service Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Albert I Commemorative Medal for the "European March of Memory and Friendship" "Four Days of the Yser" Commemorative Medal
Belgian Red Cross	Order of the Belgian Red Cross Blood Donour's Medal 1940–1945 Cross of Honour of the Belgian Red Cross 1940–1945 Belgian Red Cross Decoration
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