The Yser Medal & Yser Cross.
On the 16th October 1914 the German III reserve corps
began attacking the Belgian outposts east of the Yser. These were
the opening moves of a concerted effort by the Germans to break
through and turn the northern flank of the allied front held by the
Belgian army - which was positioned from the coast at Nieuport
to Ypres via Dixmude, along the line of the Yser canal. Bitter
fighting ensued along the whole front for many days but the Belgians
led by their King Albert held their ground -at a cost - 60,000 men
became casualties, one third their strength. This medal commemorates
the Belgian "Battle of the Yser."
The Medal was instituted on the 18th October 1918
for award to those who had fought along the Yser river between 17th
- 31st October 1914. The medal could be awarded posthumously, and to
Allied soldiers who would qualify under the same conditions as the
Belgians. A decree of 5th February 1934 gave the medal
the new title of "Yser Cross" and a further decree
of 22 August 1934 instituted the new design.
Yser Medal: 35mm diameter, bronze with an applied
patina. Obverse depicts the figure of a male barring the way with a
lance, and the dates 17 - 31 OCT 1914. Reverse shows the
Belgian lion, wounded in the flank, on the banks of the Yser, with
the word YSER under. A small integral circular suspension medallion
at 12 o'clock infilled with "river green" enamels bears the obverse
inscription YSER, with a crown and "A" for King Albert on the
Yser Cross: The same design as above
but with an cross pattée incorporated into the design,
effectively giving the medal four projections of cross arms to the
disk. (see illustration below)
Ribbon; black with a central orange stripe.