It was established in 1956 to reward soldiers, sailors, and airmen serving in Algeria who had committed acts of valor or gallantry in combat. Algeria was a department of France at the time, so it was not considered a declared war but peacekeeping operations on French soil. Therefore, the War Cross for foreign operational theaters, which had been awarded for valourous service in Indochina, was not considered appropriate. It was reauthorized as a cross-shaped decoration, to put it on the same level as the Croix de guerre, by Decree n° 56-1048 on October 12, 1956.