Circular pierced silver miniature medal with loop for ribbon suspension; the face with a lateral tablet bearing the Spartan inscription ‘Either the shield or on the shield’ (meaning return victorious bearing your shield or carried dead upon it) supporting a circular laurel wreath, an upright sword imposed upon it; the reverse inscribed ‘ΕΛΛΑΣ’ (Greece) ‘1916-1917’; 16mm (⅝ inch high); on pale blue ribbon. The War Cross was instigated at Salonika on 28 February 1917 by Revolutionary Decree and confirmed by Royal Decree on 30 June 1917. The cross was awarded for bravery on the field of conflict in World War I and subsequently during the Ukraine campaign of 1920 and the Greco-Turkish war of 1919-1922. Miniature medals, such as this, are normally worn with formal evening wear.
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