Dardanelles Medal
Médaille Commémorative des Dardanelles

Instituted jointly with the Orient medal, 15th June 1926. The Dardanelles medal was awarded to French participants of  the Gallipoli campaign ( 1915 - 1916 ) during the Great War. The French Expeditionary Force at Gallipoli  numbered 42,000 men at its peak with 15,000 of these killed. The Imperial War Museum has a good summary of the French involvement   (PDF)
     The medal; bronze, of 30mm diameter, the obverse depicting the helmeted figure of la Repubique and the inscription REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE with the engravers signature "Georges Lemaire" at 8 o'clock. Reverse; the view of a landscape framed by palm trees, with flags, gun barrel and an anchor in the foreground - this scene under the inscription "DARDANELLES". Also the nearest flag in the scene bears the inscription HONNEUR ET PATRIE 1915 1918. The suspension is formed from two palm fronds and a crescent. The medal is occasionally found with the bar DARDANELLES which is of decorative function only.
 Ribbon: white with five green vertical stripes.