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A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of the military who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a higher status as the award usually involves deployment to a foreign region or service in a combat zone.
History
Campaign medals were first invented to recognize general military service in war, in contrast to meritorious decorations which were only issued on a small scale for acts of heroism and bravery. The first widespread use of campaign medals dates to the era of the Napoleonic Wars when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered a large number of ribbons and medals for issue to the soldiers serving under his command. Observing the soldiers pride at the receipt of such decorations, and their desire to receive more such awards, Napoleon was quoted as saying: "With a handful of ribbons I can conquer all of Europe".
Campaign medals by country
- Australian campaign medals
- British campaign medals
- Canadian campaign medals
- Malaysian campaign medals
- NATO Medal refers to a number of campaign medals
- New Zealand campaign medals
- Philippines campaign medals
- Polish campaign medals
- South African campaign medals
- South Korean campaign medals
- Soviet campaign medals
- Sri Lankan campaign medals
- United Nations Medal refers to a number of campaign medals
- United States campaign medals are included in Awards and decorations of the United States military
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