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29/03/2024 13:42pm

Multi-National Force And Observers Medal

Conflict
 
Peace Keeping Service In The Sinai From 1973.
 
Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.
 
History
 
The Multinational Force and Observers Medal is an international military decoration presented for monitoring service in a neutral ceasefire zone between Egypt and Israel, which resulted from the Yom Kippur War 1973. The medal was instituted in March 1982 under the authority of the Director-General of the Multinational Force and Observers, and was initially awarded to all those who undertook 90 days continuous service in the ceasefire zone.
 
However, in March 1985 this was raised to 170 days of continuous service.
 
The force has approximately 3000 personnel drawn from the armed services of a number of countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
 
Description
 
The medal is circular, 30mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. The obverse of this medal depicts a dove clutching an olive branch and the inscription; ‘MULTINATIONAL FORCE & OBSERVERS’.
 
The reverse is plain but contains the inscription; ‘UNITED IN THE SERVICE OF PEACE’.
 
The ribbon suspender is a straight bar that is attached by way of a small ring that surmounts the medal.
 
The medal was issued un-named.
 
Ribbon
 
 
The ribbon is 36mm wide and those issued to military personnel are orange in colour with a wide central white stripe and narrow black stripes either side. Those issued to civilian personnel have narrow green stripes either side.
 
Bars/Clasps
 
None were authorised for this medal, however, silver numerals, beginning with numeral ‘2’, are worn on the medal ribbon and are awarded for additional six month periods of service within the ceasefire zone.
 
Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.
 
Dealer Retail Value *
 
Multinational Observers Medal
£35.00
 
* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.
 
Further Historical Context
 
This section contains information on:-
 
- The Yom Kipper War.
- Multi-National Force And Observers.
 
The Yom Kippur War - The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War, or October War, also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, was a war fought by the coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel from 6 - 25 October, 1973.
 
The war began when the Arab coalition launched a joint surprise attack on Israeli positions in the Israeli-occupied territories on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, which occurred that year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Egyptian and Syrian forces crossed ceasefire lines to enter the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights respectively, which had been captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.
 
Both the United States and the Soviet Union initiated massive resupply efforts to their respective allies during the war, and this led to a near-confrontation between the two nuclear superpowers.
 
The war began with a massive and successful Egyptian crossing of the Suez Canal. After crossing the cease-fire lines, Egyptian forces advanced virtually unopposed into the Sinai Peninsula.
 
After three days, Israel had mobilized most of its forces and managed to halt the Egyptian offensive, settling into a stalemate. The Syrians coordinated their attack on the Golan Heights to coincide with the Egyptian offensive and initially made threatening gains into Israeli-held territory. Within three days, however, Israeli forces had managed to push the Syrians back to the pre-war ceasefire lines.
 
They then launched a four-day counter-offensive deep into Syria. Within a week, Israeli artillery began to shell the outskirts of Damascus. As Egyptian president Anwar Sadat began to worry about the integrity of his major ally, he believed that capturing two strategic passes located deeper in the Sinai would make his position stronger during the negotiations. He therefore ordered the Egyptians to go back on the offensive, but the attack was quickly repulsed.
 
The Israelis then counterattacked at the seam between the two Egyptian armies, crossed the Suez Canal into Egypt, and began slowly advancing southward and westward towards Cairo in over a week of heavy fighting that inflicted heavy casualties on both sides.
 
On 22 October a United Nations-brokered ceasefire quickly unravelled, with each side blaming the other for the breach. By October 24, the Israelis had improved their positions considerably and completed their encirclement of Egypt's Third Army and the city of Suez. This development led to tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. As a result, a second ceasefire was imposed cooperatively on 25 October to end the war.
 
The war had far-reaching implications. The Arab World, which had been humiliated by the lopsided rout of the Egyptian-Syrian-Jordanian alliance in the Six-Day War, felt psychologically vindicated by early successes in the conflict. In Israel, despite impressive operational and tactical achievements on the battlefield, the war led to recognition that there was no guarantee it would always dominate the Arab states militarily.
 
These changes paved the way for the subsequent peace process. The 1978 Camp David Accords that followed led to the return of the Sinai to Egypt and normalized relations - the first peaceful recognition of Israel by an Arab country. Egypt continued its drift away from the Soviet Union and left the Soviet sphere of influence entirely.
 
This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.
 
Multi-National Force And Observers - On September 17, 1978, the Camp David Accords were signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat under the sponsorship of United States President Jimmy Carter. The accords provided for a full Israeli withdrawal from Sinai.
 
Following the signing of the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty on March 26, 1979, the United Nations was asked to provide the peacekeeping forces for the Sinai Peninsula mandated in the treaty. The terms of the treaty required the presence of international peacekeepers to ensure that both Israel and Egypt kept to the provisions regarding military build-up along the border.
 
Initially, the peacekeeping force was provided by the U.S. Sinai Field Mission, while efforts were made to create a UN force.
 
On May 18, 1981, the President of the UN Security Council indicated that the UN would be unable to provide the force, due to the threat of a veto of the motion by the USSR at the request of Syria.
 
As a result of the UN Security Council impasse, Egypt, Israel and the United States opened negotiations to set up a peacekeeping organization outside the framework of the UN. On August 3, 1981, the Protocol to the Treaty of Peace was signed, establishing the Multinational Force and Observers.
 
This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.