Virtuti Militari
The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: "For Military Virtue", Polish: Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792[1][2] by Polish King Stanislaus II Augustus and is the oldest military decoration in the world still in use.[3]
Virtuti Militari
War Order of Virtuti Militari
Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari
Order
Virtue at War
Military personnel/ Military units
HONOR I OJCZYZNA
(Honor and Fatherland)
In the award system but a wartime decoration only
22 June 1792
1792
1989
United States Medal of Honor
British Commonwealth Victoria Cross
Order of Polonia Restituta
It is awarded in five classes either for personal heroism or, to commanders, for leadership.[4] Some of the heroic actions recognized by an award of the Virtuti Militari are equivalent to those meriting the British Victoria Cross[5] and the American Medal of Honor.[6]
Soon after its introduction, however, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was destroyed in the partitions of Poland (1795), and the partitioning powers abolished the decoration and prohibited its wearing. Since then, the award has been reintroduced, renamed and banned several times, with its fate closely reflecting the vicissitudes of the Polish people. Throughout the decoration's existence, thousands of soldiers and officers, Polish and foreign, several cities and one ship have been awarded the Virtuti Militari for valor or outstanding leadership in war. There have been no new awards since 1989.[7]
In 1815 at the Congress of Vienna, when European powers reorganised Europe following the Napoleonic wars, the Kingdom of Poland—known unofficially as the "Congress Poland"—was created. This state, with a tenth the area of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and a fifth of its population, was now tied to Russia in a personal union. In Congress Poland, the Virtuti Militari medal was renamed the "Polish Military Medal" (Medal Wojskowy Polski).[2] Both the statutes of Virtuti Militari and privileges granted to recipients were preserved. A special commission was created to award the Virtuti Militari to veterans of the Napoleonic campaigns of 1812, 1813, and 1814. By 1820, an additional 1,213 crosses of all classes had been awarded.[8] Also, on 5 June 1817, a royal decree ennobled all officers who received the Golden Cross.
At the time, the Kingdom of Poland was one of the few constitutional monarchies in Europe, with the Emperor of the Russian Empire as Polish king. The country was given one of the most liberal constitutions in nineteenth-century Europe, although it was very different from the Polish Constitution of 3rd May of the late Commonwealth. The Polish desire for freedom and respect for traditional privileges was a source of constant friction between the Poles and the Russians. The main problem was that the tsars, who had absolute power in Russia, similarly wanted no restrictions on their rule in Poland. Nicholas I of Russia decided in 1825 not to be crowned king of Poland, and he continued to limit Polish liberties. In response to repeated curtailment of Polish constitutional rights, the Polish parliament in 1830 deposed the Tsar as King of Poland. When the resultant November Uprising broke out, the Tsar reacted by sending in Russian troops.[9][10]
After the outbreak of this uprising against Russia the Polish Sejm decreed, on 19 February 1831, that the decoration be restored to its original name, the "Order Virtuti Militari." Between 3 March and October that year 3,863 crosses were awarded. Recipients of the Silver Cross included three women:[11]
After the defeat of the uprising, Tsar Nicholas I abolished the decoration and banned its use.[12] On 31 December 1831 it was replaced with the "Polish Sign of Honor" (Polski Znak Honorowy), an exact copy of the original cross but awarded only to Russians for services to the Tsarist authorities.[13]
Poland regained its independence in 1918 as the Second Republic of Poland and the Polish Sejm reintroduced the Virtuti Militari on 1 August the following year under a new official name, the "Military Award Virtuti Militari" (Order Wojskowy Virtuti Militari).[2] A new statute of the decoration was also passed, and the class system introduced under the Duchy of Warsaw was re-introduced.[14] According to the new statute, crosses of each class could be awarded to a different class of soldiers and for various deeds:
Each recipient of the Virtuti Militari, regardless of rank or post, received a yearly salary of 300 złoty.[15]
Other privileges included the right of pre-emption when buying a state-owned land property or applying for a state post. Children of recipients received additional points during examinations in state schools and universities. Additionally, recipients of the Virtuti Militari had a right to be saluted by other soldiers of equal rank and NCOs, and ordinary soldiers could be promoted to the next higher rank upon receiving the award.
The new Chapter of the decoration (Kapituła Orderu Virtuti Militari) was comprised twelve recipients of the crosses, four from each class from I to IV. The head of the chapter was Marshal of Poland Józef Piłsudski, the only living Pole awarded the Grand Cross with Star. As commander-in-chief of the Polish Army, he could award medals of Classes I to III with the consent of the Chapter, and Classes IV and V upon receiving an application from the commander of a division or brigade. The Polish national feast day of 3 May was chosen as the feast day of the Virtuti Militari.[16]
On 1 January 1920 Józef Piłsudski awarded the first crosses to eleven members of a Provisional Chapter. On 22 January 1920, to commemorate the anniversary of the outbreak of the January Uprising, the first soldiers and officers were officially decorated with the Virtuti Militari for their deeds during World War I and the Polish-Ukrainian War. By 1923, when the award of new medals was halted, the Chapter had awarded crosses to 6,589 recipients. Most of the recipients were veterans of the Polish-Bolshevik War, but among them were also the veterans of all wars in which Polish soldiers fought in the twentieth century, as well as some veterans of the January Uprising. Among the recipients of the Silver Cross were two cities, Lwów and Verdun, as well as the banners of fourteen infantry regiments, six cavalry regiments, an engineer battalion, a Women's Auxiliary Service unit, and twelve artillery units.[17][18]
A new Chapter was chosen for times of peace on 24 November 1922. The following year, the last decoration of the Virtuti Militari was granted for World War I and the Polish-Bolshevik War, and further awards were halted. On 25 March 1933 the Sejm passed a new "Order of Virtuti Militari Act" (Ustawa o Orderze Virtuti Militari); this modified the shape of all the crosses and extended the privileges granted to recipients by the act of 1919. All recipients of the decoration had the right to buy railway tickets at 20% of their normal prices. The state paid for the medical care of recipients and was obliged to provide each with a job that would enable him to "live a decent life". The government was ordered to provide money, food, and clothing to war invalids for the rest of their lives. Finally, the annual salary of 300 złotys was freed from taxes and could not be impounded by the courts.[19]
Also, the criteria for granting the crosses became more strict:
The Silver Cross could also be awarded to military units, cities and civilians. All classes of the Virtuti Militari medal were awarded by the commander-in-chief during the war or former commander-in-chief after the end of hostilities. Classes I to III were awarded after nomination by the Chapter; Classes IV and V were nominated through the chain of command (usually by the commander of a division or brigade). Apart from the twelve members of the Chapter, all recipients of Class I had a right to take part in the voting.