With intack pin Marker marked B. During WWI, British and Commonwealth Forces called this The Gallipoli Star. The Germans and Austrians called it the Der Eisner Halbmond (The Iron Crescent). When the Sultan Mehmed V created this decoration in March 1915, he named it simply the Harp Madalysi (War Medal). Its likely that this decoration was inspired by the Iron Cross, awarded by the Ottoman Empires German Allies. Like the Iron Cross First Class, It was worn on the breast pocket. Unlike the Iron Cross, it had only one class. By the Sultans decree, it was bestowed upon those persons who show gallantry and sacrifice, without differentiating any rank and position/title. These persons can be either nationals of the Sublime Ottoman State or allied forces and navies and voluntary nursing units and public servants and employees within the armies and navies. At the center is the Sultans Tughra a sort of royal cypher and below it the Islamic year 1333 (1915). In April of 1915 The Allies launched an invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula. By the time it was over in January 1916, both sides had suffered heavily; Over 141,000 Allied casualties and 251,000 Turks. It was during this period that the decoration became associated with Gallipoli. Actually, it could be awarded for actions occurring from the start of the war, and continued to be awarded until the end of the war. These were highly sought after by Australian and New Zealand troops in the middle east generally taken from POW or the dead as souvenirs. Becoming hard to find these days in this condition. Photo’s form part of. The item “WW1 Turkish war medal (Gallipoli Star), maker marked BB & Co -Enamel version” is in sale since Sunday, March 18, 2018. This item is in the category “Collectables\Militaria\1914 – 1918 (WWI)”. The seller is “anzacrr” and is located in St Leonards. This item can be shipped to Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand.
- Authenticity: Original
- Country: Australia
- Campaign: World War I
- Product Type: Badges
- Era: 1910s