The Ottoman War Medal (Turkish: Harp Madalyası) is a military decoration awarded by the Ottoman Empire. It was commonly known in English as the Gallipoli Star and in German as the Eiserner Halbmond (Iron Crescent, in allusion to the Iron Cross). It was instituted by Sultan Mehmed V on 1 March 1915 for gallantry in battle. This decoration was awarded for the duration of World War I to Ottoman and other Central Powers troops, primarily in Ottoman areas of engagement.
Gallipoli Star Harp Madalyası | |
---|---|
Type | Decoration |
Awarded for | Gallantry in battle |
Country | Ottoman Empire |
Eligibility | Troops from the Central Powers |
Campaign(s) | Ottoman areas of engagement |
Status | Obsolete |
Established | 1 March 1915 |
Design and composition
editThe award includes a badge, ribbon and campaign bar.
The medal, made of nickel-plated brass, has a vaulted star-shaped badge, 56 mm across the diagonal span of the arms. The tips of the star are capped by ball finials and enclosed in a raised silver edge with the field in red lacquer or enamel. A raised crescent, open at the top, encircles the center of the badge. Inside the crescent is the Tughra or cipher of the decoration's creator, Sultan Mehmed V Reşâd, over the date 1333 AH (AD 1915). The reverse is flat, unadorned and has a straight pin.
Along with the badge came a ribbon with red and white stripes. The dimensions of the ribbon for combatants are: red 2.5 mm; white, 5 mm.; red, 29 mm.; white, 5 mm.; red 2.5 mm. For non-combatant awardees, the colors are reversed.
The campaign bar is a right-pointing parabola of white at 56mm in length and 7mm in height. In the field is red Arabic script denoting the specific campaign:
Wear
editWhen in formal dress, the badge was worn at the center, below the right breast pocket. Wear of the badge was exclusive; in everyday wear was substituted by the ribbon. The ribbon was worn from the second hole in the tunic button.
For Austrian and German awardees (often members of the Asienkorps), the award took lower precedence to their own Iron Cross 2nd class, and the ribbon of the Iron Crescent was placed beneath that of the Iron Cross.
The ribbon could also be fashioned into a chest riband for placement on a ribbon bar when in undress.
The campaign bar was usually not worn.
Notable recipients
editOttomans
edit- Şehzade Abdurrahim Hayri
- Şehzade Ahmed Nihad
- Şehzade Mehmed Abdülhalim
- Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin
- Şehzade Mehmed Ziyaeddin
- Şehzade Yusuf Izzeddin
- Şehzade Ömer Faruk
- Şehzade Ömer Hilmi
- Şehzade Osman Fuad
- Halit Akmansü
- Mehmet Ali Bey
- Mehmet Arif Bey
- Mehmet Atıf Ateşdağlı
- Aşir Atlı
- Hüseyin Avni Bey
- Bigalı Mehmet Çavuş
- Cemil Conk
- İbrahim Çolak
- Ahmet Derviş
- Mehmet Emin Yazgan
- Mustafa Fevzi Çakmak
- Sadullah Güney
- İsmail Hakkı Bey
- Mehmet Hayri Bey
- Ethem Necdet Karabudak
- Nazif Kayacık
- Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
- Ömer Lütfi Argeşo
- Mihran Mesrobian
- Mustafa Mümin Aksoy
- Mahmut Nedim Hendek
- Arif Örgüç
- Veysel Özgür
- Ludomił Rayski
- Rüştü Pasha
- Rüştü Sakarya
- Mehmet Sabri Erçetin
- Süleyman Sabri Pasha
- Kâzım Sevüktekin
- İhsan Sökmen
- Mehmed Şefik Aker
- Mehmet Suphi Kula
- Sarkis Torossian
- Huseyn Turgut
- Münip Uzsoy
- Şerif Yaçağaz
Austro-Hungarians
edit- Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria
- Leopold Graf Berchtold von und zu Ungarschitz, Frättling und Püllütz
- Kasper Blond
- Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli
- Friedrich Freiherr von Georgi
- Johann Freiherr Haas von Haagenfels
- Baron Samu Hazai
- Miklós Horthy
- Alfred Jansa von Tannenau
- Gusztáv Jány
- Karl Freiherr von Pflanzer-Baltin
- Bogusław Shashkevych
- Rudolf Stöger-Steiner Freiherr von Steinstätten
- Viktor Weber Edler von Webenau
Bulgarians
editGermans
edit- Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
- Prince Franz of Bavaria
- Prince Leopold of Bavaria
- Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg
- Joachim von Amsberg
- Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière
- Karl Bodenschatz
- Felix Graf von Bothmer
- Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp
- Rolf Carls
- Carl Clewing
- Theodor Croneiss
- Karl Dönitz
- Hans Ehelolf
- Waldemar Erfurth
- Alexander Freiherr von Falkenhausen
- Erich Fellgiebel
- Walter Gladisch
- Jakob Grimminger
- Hermann von Hanneken
- Ernst-Eberhard Hell
- Waldemar Henrici
- Otto Hersing
- Wilhelm Heye
- Paul von Hindenburg
- Erich Hippke
- Johannes Hoffmann
- Rudolf Höss
- Max Immelmann
- Rudolf Koch-Erpach
- Robert Kosch
- Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
- Ernst Lindemann
- Otto von Lossow
- Erich Lüdke
- Emil Meinecke
- Walter Model
- Otto von Moser
- Vincenz Müller
- Erich Prigge
- Erich Raeder
- Walther Reinhardt
- Lothar Freiherr von Richthofen
- Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen
- Willy Rohr
- Gerd von Rundstedt
- Gustav Schneidewind
- Otto von Schrader
- Otto Schultze
- Hans von Seeckt
- Walter von Unruh
- Alfred Wiener
- Helmuth Wilberg
- Ludwig Wolff
Others
editGallery
edit-
Gallipoli Star badge with ribbon
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Gallipoli Star riband
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Gallipoli Star – Turkish manufacture
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Gallipoli Star badge – B.B. & Co.
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Gallipoli Star badge – Godet
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Gallipoli Star badge – J.H. Werner
References
edit- Klietmann, Dr. Kurt-Gerhard, (1971): Deutsche Auszeichnungen: Ein Geschichte der Ehrenzeichen und Medaillen, Erinnerungs- und Verdienstabzeichen des Deutschen Reiches, der deutschen Staaten sowie staatlicher Dienststellen, Organisationen, Verbande usw. Vom 18. - 20. Jahrhundert. 2 Band. Deutsches Reich 1871- 1945. Berlin: Ordenssammlung.
- ERMAN, M.Demir, (2012) Harp Madalyası - The Turkish War Medal - ISBN 978-605-125-484-5 - http://demirerman.wix.com/turkish-war-medal
- ERMAN, M.Demir, (2023) Osmanlı-Türk Madalya ve Nişanları 1801-1923 The Ottoman-Turkish Medals and Orders- ISBN 978-605-87186-0-9 - http://demirerman.wix.com/turkish-war-medal