| Cross of Valour Krzyż Walecznych | |
| Presenter: | the President of Poland |
| Type: | Single-grade medal. |
| Awarded For: | Deeds of valour and courage on the field of battle. |
| Status: | In the award system but a wartime decoration only |
| Description: | Obverse bears the words, "NA POLU CHWAŁY" ("ON THE FIELD OF GLORY"), while the reverse bears the word, "WALECZNYM" ("TO THE VALIANT"), and the date "1920" or "1944," depending on date of institution. |
| Clasps: | denotes subsequent awards |
| Established: | 11 August 1920. |
| Higher: | Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. |
| Lower: | Military Cross. |
| Image2 Size: | 300px |
The Cross of Valour (Polish: Krzyż Walecznych) is a Polish military decoration. It was introduced by the Council of National Defense 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.[1] The medal is given only in wartime or shortly after.[2]
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. 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.
In January 1940 the Polish Commander-in-Chief, Władysław Sikorski, issued an order reintroducing the Cross of Valour. On 20 September, 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, 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 on 22 December 1944. Up to 1947, some 40,000 of the medals were awarded to Polish soldiers fighting alongside the Red Army.
| Ribbon bars of the Cross of Valour | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=10% valign=center align=center | width=25% valign=center align=center | original design | width=25% valign=center align=center | used in the Polish Armed Forces in the West since 20 September 1941 | |
| width=10% valign=center align=center | 1st award | width=25% valign=center align=center | width=25% valign=center align=center | ||
| width=10% valign=center align=center | 2nd award | width=25% valign=center align=center | width=25% valign=center align=center | ||
| width=10% valign=center align=center | 3rd award | width=25% valign=center align=center | width=25% valign=center align=center | ||
| width=10% valign=center align=center | 4th award | width=25% valign=center align=center | width=25% valign=center align=center | ||