Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal 1892
The Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal (French: Médaille commémorative de l'Expédition du Dahomey) was a French campaign commemorative medal. It was bestowed to the participants of the First Franco-Dahomean War (1890) and of the Second Franco-Dahomean War (1892–1894) in order to commemorate their feats of arms.
| Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal | |
|---|---|
Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal (obverse) | |
| Type | Campaign medal |
| Awarded for | Service in French Colonial Dahomean wars |
| Country | France |
| Campaign(s) | First Franco-Dahomean War Second Franco-Dahomean War |
| Established | 24 November 1892 |
| First awarded | 11 May 1893 |
| Last awarded | 5 February 1894 |
Ribbon bar of the Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal | |
In 1892, France decided to send an expeditionary force of 1,801 Europeans and 1,769 natives under the command of Marine Infantry Colonel Alfred Dodds in response to the harassment of the kingdom of Porto-Novo under its protectorate and its trading posts on the coast of Dahomey by the troops of Behanzin, the king of Abomey.
The troops taking part in this expedition, which lasted five months, defeated the 12,000 warrior strong army (including the 2000 women strong Corps of amazons) of Behanzin at Dogba. France thus reconquered the kingdom of Dahomey (now the Republic of Benin) and placed at its head, Toffa as the king of Porto-Novo. King Behanzin was captured in 1893 and deported to Martinique then to Algiers where he died in 1906.
The Law of 24 November 1892 instituted the Commemorative Medal of the Dahomey Expedition for award to the officers, sailors and soldiers who took part in this campaign.