Italian medal for participants of the Italo-Austrian War of 1915-1918

The original medal is in excellent collectible condition. Bronze, stamping, patination. The medal consists of a slightly depressed bronze disk, on the obverse of which the face of Victor Emmanuel III is depicted, facing left, in Adrian's helmet and uniform, surrounded by the inscription "GUERRA — PER L'UNITA' — D'ITALIA 1915 — 1918", alternating with intertwined laurel branches. On the reverse, the Nickname is carried triumphantly by Italian soldiers on a pedestal formed by trench shields. Around it is an inscription: "CONIATA*NEL*BRONZO*NEMICO". Guarantee of authenticity.

Medal "In memory of the Italo-Austrian War of 1915-1918" (ital. Medaglia memorativa della guerra italo-austriaca 1915-1918) was a medal of the Kingdom of Italy, awarded to all those who served at least 4 months in the combat zone during the First World War. It is also called simply "The Bronze Medal of the enemy" (Ital. Medaglia Bronzo Nemico). The issue of the commemorative medal of the Great War was postponed by the king until the summer of 1920, when the commitments of the Italian troops in Albania were coming to an end. By Decree of Victor Emmanuel III No. 1241 of July 29, 1920, the medal "In memory of the Italo-Austrian War of 1915-1918 for the completion of the unification of Italy" was established.

This medal was primarily intended to celebrate the victory in the First World War, as well as the completion of the unification of Italy and the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the revolutionary movements that led to the First Italian War of Independence in 1848. The peculiarity of this medal (as evidenced by the inscription on the back "minted from enemy bronze") is that the decree provided that it had to be "cast from the bronze of artillery taken from the enemy."

The decree established that all participants of paramilitary formations and personnel of auxiliary bodies and departments who took part in hostilities in both Italian and South-Croatian, Albanian, Syrian and Palestinian territories for at least four months were awarded. The chronological framework of the campaign was designated from May 24, 1915 to November 4, 1918, while for the soldiers of the contingent sent to Albania, the award period was extended until August 2, 1920 — the date of the signing of the Italo-Albanian agreement. A small part of the medals were also awarded to non-Italian soldiers, in particular the French and some Austrians who distinguished themselves in battle, who became Italian citizens after the annexation of Trento.

The ribbon is an inverted Italian tricolor (green, white and red stripes), repeated six times on the surface of the ribbon. Can go with bronze ribbons in memory of the years of military service awarded with numbers "1915", "1916", "1917", "1918", Later, the circular of 1921 also installed ribbons with the inscription "Albania 1919" and "Albania 1920" for the time spent serving in the troops based in Albania after the armistice on November 4, 1918. The ribbon was supplemented with a small silver star for each year of the campaign.