It looks like "Fiir kriegs verdien" but at the end of the last word there is what looks like an upside down U with long side lines and a very small horizantal line on the right side line. Can anyone translate this? if needed I can get a picture.
EDIT: Found the medal online! But it's in better quality than those in the picture. http://www.thirdreichdepot.com/medals/m801.html
It says 'für Kriegsverdienst', so 'for war excellence' roughly. It's an old German script, where the s are written like f. Very common on all sorts of signs up until the first half of the 20th century.
Can't tell you anything about the medal's actual background though.
Something like 'for war contribution' Also it reads für, not fiir.