|
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 by Polish King, Stanisław II August and is one of the oldest military decorations in the world still in use.〔〔 It is awarded in five classes either for personal heroism or, to commanders, for leadership.〔 Some of the heroic actions recognized by an award of the Virtuti Militari are equivalent to those meriting the British Victoria Cross or the American Medal of Honor. 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. ==Beginnings== Throughout its history, the War Order of Virtuti Militari has shared its country's fate, and has been abolished and reintroduced several times. The order was originally created on 22 June 1792 by King Stanisław II August to commemorate the victorious Battle of Zieleńce.〔 Initially, it comprised two classes: a golden medal for generals and officers, and a silver one for non-commissioned officers and ordinary soldiers. By August 1792, a statute for the decoration had been drafted, which was based on one that was created for the Austrian Military Order of Maria Theresa. The regulation changed the shape of the decoration from a medal to a cross, which has not changed substantially since then. It also introduced five classes to the order. The first members of the decoration's chapter were also its first recipients. For the Polish-Russian War in Defence of the Constitution of 1792, a total of 63 officers and 290 NCOs and privates were awarded the Virtuti Militari. The statute was never fully implemented, however, since soon after its introduction the King acceded to the Targowica Confederation, which on 29 August 1792 abolished the decoration and prohibited its wearing.〔 Anyone who wore the medal could be demoted and expelled from the army by Poland's new authorities. Although on 23 November 1793 the Grodno Sejm reintroduced the decoration, it was banned again on 7 January 1794, at the insistence of Russia's Catherine the Great. Only a year later, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth itself shared the fate of its decoration when what remained of the Commonwealth was annexed by its neighbors in the partitions of Poland. King Stanisław II August abdicated the same year. During his reign, 526 medals had been granted: 440 Silver Medals and Crosses, 85 Golden Medals and Crosses, and 1 Commander's Cross. Among the most famous recipients of the Virtuti Militari in this period were Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski (1763–1813) and Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746–1817),〔 both able military commanders during the War in Defense of the Constitution and the Kościuszko Uprising. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Virtuti Militari」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|