thumb|Blue and red fourragère of the [[croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures|Croix de Guerre TOE worn by a soldier of the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2<sup>e</sup> REI). The fourragère is the braided cord passing under the medals and around the soldier's side.]]
thumb|The fourragère of the Order of the Legion of Honor
The fourragère (, from , "fodder") is a military award, distinguishing military units as a whole, in the form of a braided cord. The award was first adopted by France, followed by other nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Luxembourg. Fourragères have been awarded to units of both national and foreign militaries, except for that of Luxembourg, which has not been awarded to any foreign units.
The origin of the award is not entirely certain, but at least two conjectural stories have been posited. The first involves Flemish soldiers serving under the Duke of Alva who were reported as having been cowardly in battle. The Duke threatened them all with hanging if they did not perform better in future engagements, and the soldiers, so insulted by the insinuation, took to wearing cords tied to large nails around their shoulders, as if to say "Hang me by this cord and nail if you see me run from battle." Following this, the unit's members performed so well that the rope and nail became a badge of honor.
The other is that to the extent that an aiguillette is a form of fourragère, the wearing of armor by European knights required the use of ropes with metal tabs and a squire to cinch the armor into place—the squire would carry these cords over his shoulder, hence the association with aides de camp.
- 82nd Airborne Division during the Battle of Normandy in June 1944.
- The 3rd Division (Marne Division) was awarded the for service to France in WW II.
- The 79th Infantry Division was awarded the for its actions in helping liberate Paris from June 1944 through 27 August 1944 and helping liberate Baccarat, Phalsbourg and Saverne from 21–24 November 1944.
- The 12th Field Artillery Regiment was awarded the French fourragère in World War I and the Belgian fourragère in World War II.
- The 102nd Cavalry Regiment was awarded the French and Belgian Croix de Guuerre in World War II.
- The 104th Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division was awarded the French Croix de Guerre in World War I and World War II.
- The 121st Cavalry Squadron of the 106th Cavalry Group, XV Corps, was awarded the French Croix de Guerre and French fourragère for actions during World War II.
- The 143rd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, Texas Army National Guard, was awarded the French Croix de Guerre in connection with its action fought at Meuse-Argonne during World War I.
- The 4th Infantry Division, consisting of the 8th, 12th (both cited twice) and the 22nd Infantry Regiments were awarded the Belgian fourragère for action in the Battle of the Bulge. The 8th Infantry was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for the Beaches of Normandy, the 12th Infantry for Luxembourg (Battle of the Bulge) and the 22nd Infantry received three Presidential Unit Citations for Carentan (France), St. Gillis_Marigny (France), and the Hurtgen Forest (Battle of the Bulge).
- The 2nd Infantry Division, 9th Infantry Division, 30th Infantry Division, 101st Airborne Division, 2nd Armored Division, 3rd Armored Division and 7th Armored Division was awarded the Belgian fourragère on July 13th, 1950 for their action in the Battle of the Bulge.
World War I
{| class="wikitable" style="float:left;"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Unit
! Service
! Year awarded
! Campaign or battle
! Other notes
|-
||5th Marines<br>6th Marines<br>5th Machine Gun Battalion
||US Marines
||1918
||Battle of Belleau Wood, Western Front
||Awarded the with palm leaf three times
|-
||9th Infantry Regiment,<br>2nd Division
||US Army
||1919
||Chateau Thierry, Aisne-Marne, and Meuse-Argonne
||French fourragère in the colors of the Croix de Guerre, under General Order No. 156 F, August 29, 1919, GHQ, French Armies of the East.
|-
||23rd Infantry Regiment,<br>2nd Division
||US Army
||1918
||Chateau Thierry, Aisne-Marne, and Meuse-Argonne
||434 officers and men were certified to wear the French fourragère as an individual decoration, per the Final Report of the Secretary of War, 1922
|-
||2nd Division and its subordinates
||US Army
||1919
||Chateau Thierry, Aisne-Marne, and Meuse-Argonne
||Awarded the with palm leaf three times
|-
||370th Infantry Regiment,<br>93rd Infantry Division
||US Army
||1918
||Third Battle of the Aisne, Western Front
||
|-
|}
World War II
{| class="wikitable" style="float:left;"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Unit
! Service
! Year awarded
! Campaign or battle
! Other notes
|-
||1st Infantry Division
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Normandy
||Awarded the
|-
||16th Infantry,<br>18th Infantry<br> 26th Infantry,<br>5th Field Artillery,<br>7th Field Artillery Battalion,<br>1st Engineer Battalion,<br>1st Signal Company,<br> all of the 1st Infantry Division
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Normandy
||Awarded the
|-
||Division and 1st Brigade,<br>82nd Airborne Division
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Normandy
||Also awarded the Order of William by the Kingdom of the Netherlands for gallantry during Operation Market Garden in 1944
|-
|3rd Infantry Division
|U.S. Army
|1945
|Colmar
|Awarded the
|-
|| 26th Infantry Division
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Lorraine
||awarded the
|-
||79th Infantry Division
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Operation Overlord
||Awarded the
|-
||4th Armored Division
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Normandy
||Awarded the
|-
||478th Amphibious Truck Company Non Divisional
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Operation Overlord
||Awarded the
|-
||30th Infantry Division
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Battle of the Bulge
||Awarded the Belgian fourragère
|-
||12th Field Artillery Battalion,<br>99th Infantry Division,<br>8th Infantry Regiment,<br>12th Infantry Regiment,<br>22nd Infantry Regiment, three regiments from the 4th Division
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Battle of the Bulge
||Awarded the Belgian fourragère
|-
||3rd Armored Division
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Battle of the Bulge
||Awarded the Belgian fourragère
|-
||7th Armored Division
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Battle of the Bulge
||Awarded the Belgian fourragère and Presidential Unit Citation
|-
||9th Military Police Company, 9th Armored Division
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Rhineland Campaign
||Awarded the Belgian fourragère
|-
||2nd Infantry Division
||U.S. Army
||1944
||Battle of the Bulge
||Awarded the Belgian fourragère
Belgian fourragère
thumb|right|240px|US Army Class A tunic with Belgian fourragère on the left [[German Armed Forces Badge of Marksmanship (Schützenschnur) worn on the right]]
The Belgian fourragère of 1940 was created by Prince Charles of Belgium, Regent of the Kingdom to honor certain military formations that distinguished themselves during the Second World War. It consists of three cords terminated by a knot and a metal tag, and is braided in red and green; the colors of the Belgian Croix de guerre of 1940. The fourragère is in cotton for non-commissioned officers and soldiers and in silk for officers.
Luxembourg fourragère
The Luxembourg Army currently awards an orange and blue fourragère.
Portuguese fourragères
Portugal has three fourragères: the War Cross (red and green), the Military Valor Medal (blue and white) and the Order of the Tower and Sword (solid blue).
South Vietnamese fourragère
200px|thumb|Vietnam fourragère (Mixed colors of Gallantry Cross, Military Merit Medal, and National Order)
The Vietnam Gallantry Cross is the equivalent of the French Croix de Guerre. It was created by Decree No 74-b/Qt dated 15 August 1950 and Decree No 96/DQT/HC dated 2 May 1952. Both individuals (denoted by a star) and formations (denoted by a palm) cited for gallantry were awarded the decoration. Formations that were awarded the Gallantry Cross for two or more occasions were initially authorized to wear a fourragère.
The Vietnam Civil Action is another of the South Vietnamese fourragères. In appearance it resembled the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, but rather than yellow and red, it was green and red. Formations that were awarded the medal or emblem for two or more occasions are authorized to wear a fourragère. Many units and individuals were awarded one award, but few were presented with a second award.
Decorative fourragères
Fourragères are often worn as decorative items to liven up ceremonial uniforms in military, police, and cadet organisations. Members of the United States and Canadian 1st Special Service Force wore a red, white, and blue fourragère made out of parachute shroud lines without having earned them in any particular form of military engagement.
Notes
See also
- Aiguillette