- Time Period: Interwar Period
- Year of Institution: 21 September 1928
- Country: Poland
The Commemorative Medal For the War 1918-1921 medal was instituted on 21 September 1928 and awarded to military who served for a minimum of 3 months with a unit actively engaged against Soviet Russian forces during the war of 1918 to 1921.
For volunteers, the qualifying period was two months and for auxiliary units 5 months. There was no qualifying minimum period of service for those wounded in the conflict.
The Polish-Soviet war of 1918 to 1921 arose from the chaos at the end of World War I and the Russian Revolution of 1917, with Poland seeking to reinforce its independence after centuries of occupation and division and expand its frontiers eastward and Soviet forces attempting to take control of former Imperial Russian territories. The Treaty of Riga that ended the war in 1921 effectively divided the disputed area between the two combatants.
The Commemorative Medal For the War 1918-1921 Design
The medal is circular and struck in bronze. It has a laterally pierced cylinder suspension.
The obverse features a Polish eagle, the Order of Virtuti Militari imposed on its chest, and the inscription ‘1918 1921’. The reverse is inscribed ‘POLSKA SWEMV OBROŃCY’ (“Poland for her Defenders”) within an oak leaf border.
The central stripe of the ribbon is blue flanked by thinner stripes of black, white, purple, white and blue.
