View source for Cross of Valour (Poland)

{{Other uses|Cross of Valour (disambiguation){{!}}Cross of Valour}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox military award
|name=Cross of Valour<br>''Krzyż Walecznych''
|image=[[Image:Krzyż Walecznych 1944.jpg|120px]]<br><br>[[Image:POL Krzyż Walecznych BAR.svg|100px]]
|caption=The [[People's Republic of Poland]] version of the medal and ribbon.
| presenter       = the [[President of Poland]]
| country          = {{POL}}
|type=Single-grade medal.
|eligibility=
|awarded_for=Deeds of valour and courage on the field of battle.
|campaign=
|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.
|firstawarded=
|lastawarded=
|total_awarded=
|total_awarded_posthumously=
|total_recipients=
|individual=
|higher=[[Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland]].
|same=
|lower=[[Military Cross (Poland)|Military Cross]].
|related=
|image2=Krzyz Walecznych 1920.jpg
|image2_size=300px
|caption2=[[Polish-Soviet War]] period medal
}}
The '''Cross of Valour''' ({{langx|pl|Krzyż Walecznych}}) is a Polish military decoration. It was introduced by the [[Council of National Defense (Poland)|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.<ref name="Grot-Rowecki">The only soldier ever to receive more than 4 Crosses of Valour was [[Stefan Grot-Rowecki]], commander of the Polish [[Home Army]] 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: {{cite web | author=Łukasz Leszczyński | title=gen. dyw. Stefan Grot-Rowecki | year=2005 | work=Łukasz Leszczyński | url=http://www.grot.rowecki.prv.pl/biografia.html | access-date=11 June 2007 |language=pl}}</ref> The medal is given only in wartime or shortly after.<ref>Zdzislaw P. Wesolowski, ''Polish Orders, Medals, Badges and Insignia:  Military and Civilian Decorations, 1705–1985'', pp. 22–24, 41–42, 58.</ref>
==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 (1920)|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 in World War I|Polish Legions]], of World War I military units, of the [[Silesian Uprisings]], of the [[Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919)|Great Poland Uprising]], and to members of the [[Polish Military Organization]]. It had been awarded, as well, to veterans of the [[January Uprising|January 1863 Uprising]] and to the city of [[Płock]].
===World War II===
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]].
===People's Republic of Poland===
In 1943, after the [[Battle of Lenino]], General [[Zygmunt Berling]], commander of the Soviet-backed Polish [[First Polish Army (1944–1945)|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]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
{|align=center class=wikitable width=60%
!colspan=5|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<br />the [[Polish Armed Forces in the West]]<br />since 20 September 1941
|-
!width=10% valign=center align=center|1st award
|width=25% valign=center align=center|[[File:POL Krzyż Walecznych BAR.svg|110px|center]]
|width=25% valign=center align=center|[[File:POL Krzyż Walecznych (1940) BAR.PNG|110px|center]]
|-
!width=10% valign=center align=center|2nd award
|width=25% valign=center align=center|[[File:POL Krzyż Walecznych 2r BAR.svg|110px|center]]
|width=25% valign=center align=center|[[File:POL Krzyż Walecznych (1940) 2r BAR.PNG|110px|center]]
|-
!width=10% valign=center align=center|3rd award
|width=25% valign=center align=center|[[File:POL Krzyż Walecznych 3r BAR.svg|110px|center]]
|width=25% valign=center align=center|[[File:POL Krzyż Walecznych (1940) 3r BAR.PNG|110px|center]]
|-
!width=10% valign=center align=center|4th award
|width=25% valign=center align=center|[[File:POL Krzyż Walecznych 4r BAR.svg|110px|center]]
|width=25% valign=center align=center|[[File:POL Krzyż Walecznych (1940) 4r BAR.PNG|110px|center]]
|-
|}
==Notes==
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{{Reflist}}
==References==
* Zdzislaw P. Wesolowski, ''Polish Orders, Medals, Badges and Insignia:  Military and Civilian Decorations, 1705–1985'', [[Miami]], 1986.
{{Polish awards}}
[[Category:Military awards and decorations of Poland]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1920]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1940]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1944]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland)| ]]
[[Category:Courage awards]]