WW2 ITALIAN & GERMAN NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN MEDAL BY LORIOLI OF MILAN

Circular ‘Kriegsmetall’ zinc alloy medal with integral loop for ribbon suspension; the face with the Arco dei Fileni monument centrally, the Italian fasces to the left, the German swastika to the right, the knot of Savoy below, circumscribed ‘CAMPAGNA ITALO-TEDESCA IN AFRICA ITALIENISCH-DEUTSCHER FELDZUG IN AFRICA’, laurel leaves at the top, oak leaves at the base; the reverse with two armoured soldiers forcing open the jaws of a crocodile in allegory of the British hold on the Suez Canal, signed ‘DE MARCHIS’ at the base, maker’s mark ‘LORIOLI MILANO’ to the left; on correct water silk ribbon. The award was first created in ribbon form in 1942 for Italian and German troops in North Africa but on 7 January 1943 a medal was proposed by General Magli on behalf of the Supreme Command in Libya.The Medal, though produced and distributed, was never officially recognised and is rare.