Italy - The War Merit Cross (Italian: Croce al Merito di Guerra) model 1947

The War Merit Cross was in bronze, 38mm wide (1-1/2 inches). The reverse side bears a 5-pointed star on a background of rays. The obverse has the royal cypher ("VE III" under a crown) in the upper arm, "MERITO DI GVERRA" (War Merit) on the horizontal arms and a Roman sword point upwards, on oak leaves, in the lower arm. The ribbon is blue with white stripes. While the later originally were five within months they were reduced to two white stripes. Successive awards, three awardings being the maximum, were indicated by one or two bronze royal crowns. During World War II, the War Merit Cross underwent a number of significant changes.[3] The number of awardings was limited to ten, indicated by a combination of bronze, silver and gold crowns. The medal received another change under the Italian Republic in 1947, the royal cyppher being replaced by the intertwined letters "RI" for Repubblica Italiana. Limited to three awardings once again, with one cross or bar for every war allowed, multiple awards were shown by bronze stars. In the current form multiple awards are shown by silver stars.