Fourragère

The "fourragère" is a military award, distinguishing military units as a whole. The award has been firstly adopted by France, followed by other nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal.

France

History

The "fourragère" was instituted by Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, but actually has prior historic significance: after a hasty retreat from battle by a unit of Flemish troops, the Duke of Alba 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.

Refer to Croix de guerre.

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:

If a unit is mentioned in both First and Second World Wars, its "fourragère" bears two olives, one for each conflict it earned mentions. These olives are different:

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 June 18, 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, if it were mentioned in both a world war and an overseas war. For example, the famous Foreign Legion regiment the 3^rd Foreign Infantry wears a double fourragère red and green with red stripes (9 mentions during WW1), with an olive red with green stripes (3 mentions during WW2) and a fourragère yellow with green stripes, with an olive red and blue (5 mentions during Overseas Wars).

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
*13e DBLE (13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade) - Ordre de la Libération

Units awarded the "fourragère"

* The 5th Marine Regiment and the 6th Marine Regiment of the United States Marine Corps were awarded the fourragère for having earned the Croix de Guerre with palm leaf three times during World War I.
* The 23rd Infantry Regiment (United States), Second Division, U.S. A.E.F., was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Palm three times, and awarded the French fourragère for service during the following WWI campaigns: CHATEAU THIERRY, AISNE-MARNE, and MEUSE-ARGONNE. In addition, because several U.S. soldiers were present in front-line action during each and every battle for which the 23rd Infantry was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the French Government and U.S. Army Adjutant General were allowed to wear the "fourragère" as an individual decoration regardless of future unit assignment—a very rare honor. (In total, 434 A.E.F. officers and men were certified to wear the French "fourragère" as an individual decoration, per the Final Report of the Secretary of War, 1922.)
* During WWI, the 5th S.S.U. was awarded the "fourragère aux couleurs du ruban de la médaille militaire".
* During WWII, the 16th, 18th and 26th Infantry Regiments U.S., the 5th and 7th Field Artillery Battalions U.S., the 1st Engineer Battalion U.S. and the 1st Signal Company U.S. were awarded the "fourragère aux couleurs du ruban de la médaille militaire".
* 17 French military units wear the "fourragère" of the "Ordre de la Libération" (see article for the list).
* U.S. 370th Infantry Regiment (World War I) [http://afrigeneas.com/forum-military/index.cgi?noframes;read=2494]
* BEF Units of World War I [http://1914–1918.invasionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=49221]
* Active members of the National Society of Pershing Rifles are authorized to wear the fourragère of the Society, which is distinct in being one of only two fourragères with an organization-specific metal tip (the other being the Air Force Honor Guard). (Reference: Vanguard Industries, Inc. [http://www.vanguardmil.com] )
* Active members of Arnold Air Society in uniform wear the blue and gold fourragère of the society. (Reference: Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, 20th edition p. VII-17)
*U.S. 82nd Airborne Division during the battle of Normandy in June 1944.
*The US Third Infantry Division (Marne Division) was awarded the "Fourragere aux couleurs de la Croix de guerre" for service to France in WWII.

Personal wear of the "fourragère"

The "fourragère" is normally worn by members of a unit awarded the decoration. When they leave the unit, they have to relinquish the "fourragère". However members who took part personally in the actions leading to the award of the "fourragère" can continue to wear the "fourragère", even after leaving the unit. They can only wear a "fourragère" corresponding to the number of actions they actually took part in. Thus, if a member of a 5-mentions regiment leaves but took part in only two mentioned actions, he can only wear the "croix de guerre fourragère" and not the "médaille militaire fourragère".

Pictures

Dutch orange lanyard

Belgian fourragère

The Belgian "fourragère" of 1940 was created by Prince Charles of Belgium, Regent of the Kingdom to honour certain military formations that distinguished themselves during the Second World War. It consists of three cords terminated by a knot and a metal tag, and is braided in red and green; the colours of the Belgian Croix de Guerre of 1940. The "fourragère" is in cotton for non-commissioned officers and soldiers and in silk for officers.

Portuguese fourragères

Portugal has three fourragères: the War Cross (red and blue), the Medal of Military Valour (blue and white) and the Order of the Tower and Sword (solid blue).

outh Vietnamese fourragère

The Vietnam Gallantry Cross is the equivalent of the French Croix de Guerre. It was created by Decree No 74-b/Qt dated 15 August 1950 and Decree No 96/DQT/HC dated 2 May 1952. Both individuals (denoted by a star) and formations (denoted by a palm) cited for gallantry were awarded the decoration. Formations that were awarded the Gallantry Cross for two or more occasions were initially authorised to wear a fourragère.

Decorative fourragères

Fourragères are often worn as decorative items to liven up ceremonial uniforms in military, police, and cadet organisations. Members of the United States and Canadian 1st Special Service Force wore a red, white, and blue fourragère made out of parachute shroud lines. [ [http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/mediawiki-1.5.5/index.php?title=First_Special_Service_Force First Special Service Force - www.canadiansoldiers.com ] ]

See also

* Aiguillette

References