Belgium: Croix de Guerre 1940-1945, with cypher of Leopold III, with the numerals. Scarce.
Condition: Good Very Fine.
The Cross was instituted on 20 July 1941 by the Belgian government in exile based in London to reward military virtue on the field of battle. It was awarded to military and also to active civilian members of the Resistance. The cross resembles that for World War I but has the royal cipher of King Leopold III rather than King Albert I and a different ribbon. The speed of German victory in 1940 and the occupation of both Belgium and France by German forces meant that the 1940-1945 cross is much rarer than its earlier counterpart.