Hi to All.,
I share other Portuguese War Cross medal 3rd Class 1949 model in Silver. This amazing medal with the reliefs, it's my favorite type and variant.
This model variant are based in the classic type graced to the recipients in the beginning years of the Portuguese overseas (colonial) war.
The Portuguese War Cross 1949 model received notoriety during the Portuguese Overseas (colonial) War between 1961 until 1970.
For those who do not know, the overseas (colonial) war consisted of a confrontation between the Portuguese Armed Forces and the forces organized by the liberation movements of the former overseas provinces of Angola, Guinea and Mozambique, between 1961 and 1974.
The drawing of the medal (since 1949 until 1970) is the following:
With respect to the obverse is a Templar cross, in gold, silver or bronze, having superimposed, in the center, a National Emblem.
The Portuguese Nacional Emblem on the Portuguese war cross it's composed by: - The armillary sphere that was an astronomical and navigational instrument for the Portuguese sailors during the Age of Discoveries; - The Portuguese shield that is over the armillary sphere. That contain five shields that represent the five moorish kings of the Seville, Badajoz, Elvas, Évora and Beja killed in battle by Dom Afonso Henriques (the Potuguese king), and the small shields that represent the five wounds of Christ when crucified and that is associated with the "Miracle of Ourique". The seven castles considered a symbol of the Portuguese victories over the Moorish under Dom Afonso III (the Portuguese king), who supposedly captured seven enemy fortresses in the course of his conquest of the Algarve.
The reverse has, in the center, a Portuguese stone pattern column with the Portuguese shield laden with two old swords passed by a blade. The stone patterns columns with Portuguese shield intended to affirm Portuguese sovereignty in the place where they were deposed.
About the use of the Templar cross, is associated with the Crusader order and the Templar Knights. This type of cross is particularly associated with Christian countries. The cross in the Portuguese war cross is with the ends of the arms convex and curved, and this type of cross it’s sometimes called "Alisee" (Croix Pattée Alésée Arrondie).
The Portuguese war cross ribbon it's composed by: Green and red colors. The green represented the hope of the Portuguese people, while the red represented the blood of those who died serving the nation.
Best Regards.,
Von River
Last edited by VonRiver; 04-24-2017 at 01:21 AM.
Last edited by VonRiver; 05-04-2017 at 10:54 PM.
The comparison between the French War Cross and the Portuguese War Cross:
The Portuguese War Cross was established by Decree 2870 of November 30 1916, to reward bravery and acts committed in the campaign during war time. The Portuguese War Cross was inspired by the French Croix de Guerre that was created in 1915.
With a comparison between the central figure of the Republic on the French and Portuguese War Crosses, the differences between them can be verified and we can come to the conclusion that one was inspired by the other.
The central figure of the Republic:
Both medals share the same ribbon colors, the green and red pattern. But the Portuguese ribbon colors was inspired by the Portuguese national flag.
Best Regards.,
Von River
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