| Military and Native Guard Merit Medal Médaille du Mérite des Militaires et Gardes Civils Indigènes Médaille Militaire du Gouvernement Général | |
|---|---|
_-_P.G._LePage_(1944)_02.jpg) | |
| Type | Order of Merit |
| Awarded for | Special case of serious injury or distinguished military services |
| Description | See below |
| Sponsored by | General Commander in Chief, Resident-Superior of Annam, and the Resident-Superior of Tonkin |
| Country |  French protectorates of Annam and Tonkin(  French Indochina) |
| Presented by | Governor-General of French Indochina |
| Eligibility | Annamese and Tonkinese soldiers serving under the French flag. |
| Act(s) | Decree of 12 November 1887 (Metropolitan France) Order of 21 July 1890 (French Indochina) |
| Motto | 忠勇 才畧 (Trung dũng Tài lược) – Valeur et discipline |
| Reward(s) | 12 piastres a year. |
| Status | Obsolete (1 May 1891) |
| Established | 21 July 1890 |
| Related | Cash coin of Honour and the Médaille de la Garde Indigène |
The Military Medal of Annam, also known as the Military Medal of Emperor Đồng-Khánh; officially the Military and Native Guard Merit Medal, was a short lived Order of Merit of the French protectorates of Annam and Tonkin within the federation of French Indochina.[1] The Military Medal of Annam was awarded to Annamese and Tonkinese soldiers of the Tirailleurs indochinois, the Garde indigène de l'Annam er du Tonkin, and other Indochinese military forces as well as police officers in the Garde Civil indigène for distinguished action or serious wounds.[1]
Recipients were given an annual reward of 12 piastres from the Government-General.
Despite its name and symbolism, it wasn't actually a medal issued by the Nguyễn dynasty but by the French protectorate governments over its territory, nor was it ever awarded while the Đồng Khánh Emperor was still alive.[2] This was because the Đồng Khánh Emperor died before it was ever manufactured, which was caused because of the long delay between the establishment of the Military Medal of Annam, its manufacture in Paris, France by the company Lasne, and when it was actually brought to French Indochina.
The medal was only used for around a year before the Paris government of Metropolitan France demanded its abolition based on the fact that Nguyễn dynasty warriors and police officers already had sufficient awards and decorations in the form of the Sapèques d'Honneur, a family of presentation coins made in silver and gold. The Military Medal of Annam was officially abolished on 1 May 1891, ending its less than 10-month long existence as an award of French Indochina.