ROSSIGNOL BATTLE / PRINCE CHARLES & LEOPOLD of BELGIUM 1914 WW1 MEDAL

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ROSSIGNOL BATTLE / PRINCE CHARLES & LEOPOLD of BELGIUM 1914 WW1 MEDAL :
$13.00

Rare ww1 belgian medalet commemorating events of Augustus, 22 1914 where 27.000 soldiers died in a single day.

Obverse : conjoined busts of prince Charles and Leopold,signed by Joseph Witterwulghe

Reverse: \"Hainaut 22 aout 1914\"

Diameter : 23 mm or 0,91 inch.

Metal : silvered bronze

The Battle of Rossignol was an early battle of the First World War and part of the Battle of the Frontiers. In order to counter the German invasion of Belgium French commander-in-chief General Joseph Joffre ordered an attack upon the centre of the German advance. This was to be spearheaded by the French Fourth Army comprising the Colonial Corps and II Corps. Simultaneously, the German army broke with their Schlieffen Plan and turned the 5th Army southwards towards the French border. The French Colonial Corps advanced towards Neufchâteau expecting the nearest German forces to be several days march away.Advance elements of the 3rd Colonial Infantry Division marching column clashed with German cavalry north of Rossignol and soon found themselves facing a strong defensive German position. After several bayonet charges through dense woods failed to make progress, French troops retreated southwards to Rossignol. The German 11th and 12th Divisions pushed around both flanks and engaged that part of the Colonial Corps still on the march. With the French II Corps behind schedule and unable to offer any support, German artillery destroyed the bridge at Breuvanne, the only means of reinforcing the 3rd Colonial Division at Rossignol. The German forces were then able to defeat the French troops remaining in the village. The remainder of the Colonial Corps pulled back to defensive positions.The battle saw the destruction of the 3rd Colonial Division as a fighting force, with some 10,520 men killed, wounded or missing. The division\'s commander Léon Amédée François Raffenel was killed as was one of his brigade commanders Charles Rondony (the other brigade commander, Charles Montignault, was captured). An additional 868 men were lost from the supporting 2nd Colonial Division, while German losses amounted to between 3,473 and 3,984 men. The alleged involvement of francs-tireurs at Tintigny and Rossignol resulted in reprisals in which 63 civilians were killed shortly after the battle and a further 122 executed following court-martial.

Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, Prince of Belgium (10 October 1903 – 1 June 1983) was the second son of Albert I, King of the Belgians and Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria. Born in Brussels, he served in lieu of his older brother King Leopold III from 1944 until 1950 as prince regent until Leopold was allowed to return to Belgium. However, shortly after returning and resuming his monarchical duties, Leopold abdicated in favour of his heir apparent, his elder son Baudouin.

Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant (1901-1983), (who will reign as Leopold III) was sent by his father to Eton College in the United Kingdom in 1915. After the war, in 1919, the Duke visited the Old Mission and Saint Anthony Seminary in Santa Barbara, California. He married Princess Astrid of Sweden in a civil ceremony in Stockholm on 4 November 1926.Leopold III reigned as King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the heir apparent, his son Baudouin.