France and Germany Star
| The France and Germany Star | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Awarded by the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India | |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Type | Military campaign medal |
| Eligibility | All Ranks |
| Awarded for | Entry into operational service |
| Campaign(s) | Northwest Europe 1944-1945 |
| Clasps | ATLANTIC |
| Statistics | |
| Established | May 1945 |
| Order of wear | |
| Next (higher) | Italy Star |
| Next (lower) | Defence Medal (United Kingdom) |
| Related | Atlantic Star |
  Ribbon bar without and with rosette |
|
The France and Germany Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to subjects of the British Commonwealth who served in the Second World War, specifically for service in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands or Germany and adjacent sea areas between 6 June 1944 and 8 May 1945.
One clasp, the Atlantic Clasp, was instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon.
Altogether eight campaign stars and nine clasps were initially instituted for campaign service during the Second World War. On 8 July 1943, the 1939–1945 Star and the Africa Star were the first two of these stars to be instituted. One more campaign star, the Arctic Star, and one more clasp, the Bomber Command Clasp, were belatedly added on 26 February 2013, more than sixty-seven years after the end of the war.
Only one of these campaign stars, the 1939–1945 Star, covered the full duration of the Second World War from its outbreak on 3 September 1939 to the victory over Japan on 2 September 1945.
No-one could be awarded more than five (now six) campaign stars and no-one could be awarded more than one clasp to any one campaign star. Five of the nine (now ten) clasps were the equivalents of their namesake campaign stars and were awarded for the same respective campaigns as those stars, to be worn on the ribbon of that campaign star of the applicable group which had been earned first. The maximum of six possible campaign stars are the following:
Since only the first of the Atlantic Star, Air Crew Europe Star and France and Germany Star to be earned could be awarded to any one individual, the possible star and clasp combinations for these three campaign stars are:
Concurrently to the campaigns in the Far East, the Allies launched their final campaign in Northwest Europe on D-Day on 6 June 1944, when British, American and Canadian forces landed on the beaches of Northern France. Over the following eleven months, these forces advanced across Western Europe and liberated German occupied France, Belgium and the Netherlands. At the same time, the Russians advanced towards Berlin from the East through German occupied Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria. Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945 when the Allies reached Berlin and the war in Europe was brought to an end.
The France and Germany Star was instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945, for award to those who had served in operations on land or in the air in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland or Germany from 6 June 1944 until the end of active hostilities in Europe on 8 May 1945, both dates inclusive, as well as for Naval and Merchant Navy service directly in support of these land operations.
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Wikipedia