Bronze cross pattée with stippled arms, with crossed swords between the arms, on scroll and laterally-pierced ball suspension; the face with a circular central medallion bearing a female head facing right representing the French Republic within a ring inscribed ‘REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE’ and decorated with laurel leaves below; the reverse with a circular central medallion inscribed ‘THÉÂTRES D’OPÉRATIONS EXTÉRIEURS’; on original age-faded ribbon with star citation.
The award was created on 30 April 1921 to be attributed to military personnel who received an individual citation for feats of arms in territories other than metropolitan France after 11 November 1918.
The cross was awarded mainly from 1918 to 1939 for actions in the Middle East and North Africa and from 1945 to 1954 for operations in Indo-China.
Stars were for citations at corps, divisional, brigade or regimental level.
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