The 1915-1918 War Medal

• Time Period: The Great War
• Institution: 29 July 1920
• Country: Italy

The War Medal 1915-1918 (or Commemorative Medal for the Italo-Austrian War 1915–1918) is an Italian medal instituted on 29 July 1920 and awarded for participation in WW1 – or service during and immediately after World War I in the national territory of Italy, in the Dodecanese, in Albania, Syria, and Palestine.

The medal replaced a previous ribbon bar that had been introduced on 21 May 1916 and was awarded for one year of service in a war zone. When the medal replaced the ribbon bar, a number of new bars were attached to the ribbon according to the recipient’s service. The bars were covered in laurel leaves and could be:

• 1915
• 1916
• 1917
• 1918
• Albania 1919
• Albania 1920

Approximately 1,800,000 War Medal 1915-1918 medals were awarded.

The War Medal 1915-1918 Design

The medal is circular and struck in bronze.

The obverse shows the helmeted head of King Victor Emanuel II. Around the rim is the inscription “GVERRA PER L’VNITA D’ITALIA 1915 1918” (“War for the Unity of Italy“). The reverse bears the figure of an upright Victory standing on shields born by two soldiers. Around the rim is the inscription “CONIATA ‘NEL BRONZO NEMICO” (“Made from enemy bronze“).

The ribbon has alternating thin stripes of green, white, and red.