Short historical note

The Japanese forces in Indochina preempted an action of the resident Vichy-French army in March 1945 by capturing its garrisons. At that point some French troops and some of their Laotian allies went into the jungle and resisted the occupying Japanese forces.

The Franco-Laotian Resistance Medal

Instituted in April 1945, this bronze medal was awarded to the French and Laotians who fought against the Japanese. Its obverse shows a three-headed elephant with a 7-tier parasol above and the French Lorraine cross on either side. A French inscription above reads "RESISTANCE FRANCO-LAOTIENNE 10 MARS 1945 - 19 AOUT 1945" while at the bottom the same text, in Laotian, is present. The reverse of the medal depicts a curled dragon within a border of curlicues and a rectangle for the recipient's name to be engraved in. The ribbon is white with red edges.