Commissioned by the French State Legastelois' medal promotes the concept of victory for France through unity with the Allies. The classically-draped, idealised female embodying the spirit of France above a modern battle scene on the obverse and the presence of the Lion, traditionally associated with Hercules, courage and warlike activity on the reverse, continue the medallic convention of using imagery derived from classical sources to lend authority to a twentieth-century medal. The fusion of such imagery and the lofty intention of the phrase "To the Armies of Justice and Liberty' place the medal clearly in the idealised world of vast forces overcoming evil, rather than in the mus and horror experienced by individuals in the reality of trench warfare being waged at this stage of the Great War.
Legastelois (1855-1931) was a prolific medallist and sculptor, and pupil of Levasseur, Emile Carlier and the innovative medallist, Louis Oscar Roty. He exhibited and was awarded prices at numerous Paris Salons and produced medals commemorating First World War generals, heroes and battles.