The Cross of Valour () is a Polish military decoration. It was introduced by the

Council of National Defense The Council of National Defense was a United States organization formed during World War I to coordinate resources and industry in support of the war effort, including the coordination of transportation, industrial and farm production, financial s ...

on 11 August 1920. 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 only soldier ever to receive more than 4 Crosses of Valour was Stefan Grot-Rowecki, commander of the Polish

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

during World War II, who had reached his quota of 4 crosses during World War I and the Polish-Soviet War, yet was awarded 4 more crosses on 1 May 1943. See: The medal is given only in wartime or shortly after.Zdzislaw P. Wesolowski, ''Polish Orders, Medals, Badges and Insignia: Military and Civilian Decorations, 1705–1985'', pp. 22–24, 41–42, 58.

History

Polish-Soviet War

The medal was introduced in 1920 at the height of the Polish-Soviet War, shortly before the climactic Battle of Warsaw. Initially it had no Order Council and was awarded personally by the Commander-in-Chief of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

. Later the option was added of delegating the medal's granting to front and division commanders. 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 Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

World War II

In January 1940 the Polish Commander-in-Chief,

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...

, issued an order reintroducing the Cross of Valour. On 20 September, the

President of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...

agreed to award the medal to eligible individuals who had already been awarded it four times during the Polish-Soviet War.

People's Republic of Poland

In 1943, after the

Battle of Lenino The Battle of Lenino was a tactical World War II engagement that took place on 12 and 13 October 1943, north of the village of Lenino, Mahilyow Voblast, Lenino in the Mogilev region of Byelorussian SSR, Byelorussia. The battle itself was a part ...

, General

Zygmunt Berling Zygmunt Henryk Berling (27 April 1896 – 11 July 1980) was a Polish general and politician. He fought for the independence of Poland in the early 20th century. Berling was a co-founder and commander of the First Polish Army (1944–1945), First ...

, commander of the Soviet-backed Polish 1st Corps, awarded the Cross of Valour to several soldiers. The medal itself was approved as a military decoration by order of the communist-led

State National Council Krajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish language, Polish (translated as State National Council or Homeland National Council, abbreviated to KRN) was a parliament-like political body created during the later stages of World War II in Nazi Germany, German- ...

on 22 December 1944. Up to 1947, some 40,000 of the medals were awarded to Polish soldiers fighting alongside the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

Notes

References

* Zdzislaw P. Wesolowski, ''Polish Orders, Medals, Badges and Insignia: Military and Civilian Decorations, 1705–1985'',

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, 1986. {{Polish awards Military awards and decorations of Poland Awards established in 1920 Awards established in 1940 Awards established in 1944 Courage awards