The Cross of Valour (Poland)

• Time Period: Interwar Period
• Year of Institution: 11 August 1920
• Country: Poland

The Cross of Valour (or Krzyż Walecznych in Polish) is a military decoration from Poland. It was first introduced by the Council of National Defense on 11 August 1920 and it is awarded to an individual who “has demonstrated deeds of valour and courage on the field of battle.” It may be awarded to the same person up to four times.

The medal was introduced in 1920 at the height of the Polish-Soviet War, shortly before the Battle of Warsaw. Through 29 May 1923, when the last medal for the Polish-Soviet War was awarded, the Cross of Valour had been granted to some 60,000 soldiers.

Apart from individuals who had participated in the Polish-Soviet War, the medal had also been awarded retroactively to some soldiers of the Polish Legions, of World War I military units, of the Silesian Uprisings, of the Great Poland Uprising, and to members of the Polish Military Organization. It had been awarded, as well, to veterans of the January 1863 Uprising and to the city of Płock. On 20 September 1940, the President of Poland agreed to award the medal to eligible individuals who had already been awarded it four times during the Polish-Soviet War. In 1943, after the Battle of Lenino, General Zygmunt Berling awarded the Cross of Valour to several soldiers.

The medal itself was approved as a military decoration by order of the Home National Council on 22 December 1944. Until 1947, some 40,000 of the medals had been awarded to Polish soldiers fighting alongside the Red Army.

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The Cross of Valour Design

The award has the shape of a bronze cross.

On the obverse, in the center is a Polish crowned eagle with spread wings within a central shield. On the arms an inscription “Na Polu Chwały 1920” meaning “On the fields of Glory 1920”. The reverse bears an upright sword piercing a laurel wreath leaf crown with the inscription “Walecznym” meaning, “Valourious“.#

The cross is suspended from a purple and white ribbon.