Reverse : "campagne 1914 souvenir"
Diameter : 25 mm or 1 inch.
Weight : 7,2 grams
Metal : silvered bronze
Numismatics of first world war in Belgium, under the German Occupation, includes a considerable number of medals. Some of these insignia from were only issued in a little numbers of copies. They mark the spirit of belgian population, its anxieties, its hopes and its confidence. It therefore seems that there is, among the populations of Belgium, a particular disposition of mind, which leads them to represent by emblems the principles they stand for and the men they honor. Thus, until November 11, 1918, this was on one hand, a tribute to the defenders, to the Fatherland, to their King, and, on the other hand, the utilitarian intentions of the Charity provoked a profusion of more than 3000 different metal types. Thus, during the occupation of Belgium by the German troops, a spontaneity appeared among the makers of Belgian medals, giving rise to a profusion of patriotic insignia and medals, charity or gratitude, spontaneity comparable to that of the spirit of decision and of duty which carried king Albert and his soldiers without hesitation before the invader.
Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. Albert was born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Albert succeeded his uncle Leopold II to the Belgian throne in 1909. He married Elisabeth of Bavaria, with whom he had three children.
Albert ruled during an eventful period in the history of Belgium, which included the period of World War I (1914–1918), when most of Belgium was occupied by German forces. Other crucial events of his reign included the adoption of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, the ruling of the Belgian Congo as an overseas possession of Belgium along with the League of Nations mandate of Ruanda-Urundi, the reconstruction of Belgium following the war, and the first five years of the Great Depression (1929–1934).
Albert died in a mountaineering accident in eastern Belgium in 1934, at the age of 58, and he was succeeded by his son Leopold III (r. 1934–1951). He is popularly referred to as the Knight King (Dutch: Koning-Ridder, French: Roi-Chevalier) or Soldier King (Dutch: Koning-Soldaat, French: Roi-Soldat) in Belgium in reference to his role during World War I.