leigh kitchen Posted April 6, 2007 Posted April 6, 2007 The following information is from an article ?The Distribution Process of the 5th Class of the Order of the Virtuti Militari, by Professor Dr Zdzalaw P. Wesolowski, & from the web site ?Orders and Decorations of Poland?The Virtuti Militari was originally instituted 22/6/1792, in the form of a gold or silver oval medal, which was soon replaced by a black enamelled cross.Suppressed after the partition of Poland in 1793, revived in 5 classes in 1807, it was conferred during the uprising of 1830 & suppressed again by the Russians after its defeat. Renewed 1/8/1919, it was the first decoration of independent Poland, & in 1933 its official title Military Order Virtuti Militari was altered to War Order Virtuti Militari.The most coveted of all Polish decorations, it?s the equivalent of the British Victoria Cross or American Medal of Honor, conferred on soldiers of the Polish armed forces irrespective of rank, solely for deeds of exceptional valour above & beyond the call of duty at the risk of their lives before an armed enemy.It can also be conferred on allied soldiers, civilians, military units, cities & other communities.The Order has the following classes, Grand Cross, Commander, Knight, Gold Cross & Silver Cross.The Grand Cross can be awarded to a Commander in Chief for victory in war or decisive battle, Commander to an army commander for victorious war operations, Knight to a unit commander for distinguished command or achievement in war, Gold Cross to any soldier already awarded with the Silver Cross.Bestowed during WWII by the Polish Armed Forces in Exile, it was also recognised & continued to be awarded by the communist authorities.The Act on Polish Orders & Decorations of 16/10/92 confirms the status of the Virtuti Militari as the senior decoration for bravery.There are three different ribbon widths - for the Grand Cross Class 110mm, the Commanders Class 49mm & 35mm for the remaining three Classes.Communist awards also vary in this way, but their widths are 115mm, 50mm & 40mmCommunist & other versions vary in details of the insignia & of width & shade of blue for the ribbons ? the communist ribbons being of light blue with broad black side bands rather than Garter Blue & black.The Polish Ministry of Military Affairs ordered 10000 silver 5th Class Crosses from Polish jewellers between 1920-23, to be awarded for the Polish War of Independence against the Germans & Russians between 1914-23.The first presentation of higher class awards with insignia & award documents was made on 22/1/20, however the 5th Class Crosses were not actually distributed to soldiers in the field as the Crosses themselves were not yet available, being issued at a later date. 10 were awarded to the first members of the ?Virtuti Militari Kapitula?(Temporary Order Chapter), who were mostly high ranking officers, & these bore serial numbers in Roman numerals.At the first award ceremonies in July 1920 only a length of ribbon was awarded, along with an award document.Production of the 5th Class Crosses was awarded to the jewellery firms of Krupski & Matulewicz, in September 1920, & the first Crosses were distributed in the field in 1921.Crosses of sterling silver were produced for award to foreigners & high ranking officers, 100 specially made sterling silver Crosses with gold center disks were made by Gontarczyk and delivered on 23 November 1922, to be distributed to foreigners with an additional lot of the same type made by Krupski. These Crosses bore serial numbers 9700-9799. Most others were made from brass or similar material with silver plating.The Ministry expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of these awards, but a poor defence budget & poor economy in general meant that these awards were produced to lowest tender.The firms of Knedler & Gontarczyk were selected as prime contractors for the 5th Class Crosses, the firm of Krupski & Matulewcz for the first three classes of the order, subcontracting the 5th Class to Gontarczyk.The Firms of Reising & Wabinski produced several hundred Crosses, delivering them to the Ministry on 4/10/21.In addition to the official manufacturers of the regular government issue Crosses, there were over 20 jewellers versions produced in Poland prior to 1939, for sale as replacements and duplicates (regulations required all personnel to wear the Order at all times, so some originals were lost). In many cases these jewellers copies identical to the issued items other than that they were un-numbered. Many recipients ordered duplicate Crosses in sterling and gold, these bore the jewellers initials, hallmark and assay marks, serial numbers were hand engraved. Crosses were issued to the recipient free of charge, but duplicates had to be purchased from the jewellers. The original issue machine stamped Virtuti Militari 5th class silver Crosses are extremely rare. The majority have an uneven number stamped on the lower part of the Cross on its reverse. Some were hand stamped, hence the unevenness, others were machine stamped but the quality of the process again led to an uneven finish.Current copies of Virtuti Militari Crosses are found with even, straight, uniform machine stamped numbers and some are hand engraved. When the Polish Government left Warsaw for London in 1939, it took with it the 1501 un awarded 5th Class Crosses, to be awrded in the west, the first being serial number 8200.The supply of original 1921-23 produced Crosses was exhausted by early 1941, so the Polish Government in Exile commissioned new dies from several firms. Spink & Son of London made three different versions, the Italian firm of Picciani & Barlachi located in Florence made one version, F.M. Lorioli located in Rome made another, & the Middle East firm of M. Rubin in Tel-Aviv also made a version These Crosses resembled the pre-WW II issues, those of Spink & Son were made in sterling silver and of the highest quality compared to the others, followed by Picciani & Barlachi and Lorioli. M. Rubins ?Palestinian? version was of gold or silver plated silver coloured metal & of poor quality and design. The last original pre-WW II Warsaw made silver Cross awarded in the West bore the serial number 10,000, unnumbered Crosses made in the West being awarded after that - between 1941-1990, 4,800 un-numbered silver 5th class Crosses were produced and awarded.8199 5th Class Crosses were awarded during the years 1920-1923, the serial numbers of 65 being accidentally duplicated The 5th Class Cross number 8200 was the first awarded by the Polish Government in Exile, but batches 8701-9741 and 9704-9924 were had already been awarded. This was because of a clerical error made in 1923, the lowere numbered batch being awarded to veterans of the November 1863 Insurrection. In 1922 it had been decided to use the serial numbers 9704-9924 for award to foreigners, 1501 Crosses being kept in reserve in case there was a requirement to award more to Poles and foreigners for the 1914-1921 War.Award of the Virtuti Militari stopped in 1923, & the Ministry the surplus numbered Crosses remained in the Ministry until being taken to London in September 19235th Class Crosses 1-8199 were awarded by the Republic of Poland, 8200-8207 (a total of 8) were awarded by the Government in Exile.Serial number 8208 was awarded by both.8209-8331 (123) were awarded by the Government in Exile.8332 was awarded by the Republic.8333-8341 (9) by the Government in Exile.8342 by the Republic.8343-8356 (14) by the Government in Exile.8357 by the Republic8358-8360 (3) by the Government in Exile.8361-8365 (5) by the Republic.8366 by the Government in Exile8367-8369 (3) by the Republic 8370-8417 (48) by the Government in Exile8418 by the Republic8419-8430 (12) by the Government in Exile8431 by the Government in Exile8432 awarded by both8433 by the Republic8434-8441 (8) by the Government inExile8442-8443 (2) by the Republic8444-8481 (8) by the Government inExile8482 by the Republic8483-8530 (48) by the Government in Exile8531 by the Republic8532 awarded by both8533 by the Republic8534-8599 (66) by the Government in Exile8600 awarded by both8601-8618 by the Government in Exile8619 awarded by both8620-8689 (70) by the Government in Exile8690 by the Republic8691-8700 (10) by the Government in Exile8701-8741 (41) by the Republic (these were awards for the 1863 Insurrection)8742-9699 (958) Government in Exile9700-9924 (225) by the Republic9925-9999 (75) by the Government in ExileA total of:8484 5th Class Crosses were awarded by the Republic, (including those to 316 unknown recipients)1501 were awarded by the Government in Exile,An additional 5 serial numbers were duplicated on awards by both the Republic & the Government in Exile,10 were awarded with Roman numerals Total 10000
leigh kitchen Posted April 6, 2007 Author Posted April 6, 2007 (edited) Reverse:I believe that this Cross is an official issue with barrel suspension, irregularly stamped serial number 4599, & traces of extremely thin, green enameling on the laurel leaves of the wreaths.It is of a copper coloured metal, or at least, that's the colour that the metal showing through at points of wear has toned to. Edited April 6, 2007 by leigh kitchen
leigh kitchen Posted April 6, 2007 Author Posted April 6, 2007 This Cross, numbered 4599, is recorded as having been awarded on 19th September 1922 to Private Nicodem Wisnieski of the 359th Infantry Regiment.Most awards were to officers rather than to junior ranks.It is shown here on a replacement ribbon which is that of the Communist regime - light blue & black, 40mm wide, rather than the Garter Blue & black, 35mm ribbon of the Republic.
leigh kitchen Posted April 6, 2007 Author Posted April 6, 2007 (edited) Booklet issued 1st May 1933 - often mistaken for an award booklet, it actually authorises certain privileges such as reduced railway fares for the recipientThese booklets were introduced in 1933 Edited April 6, 2007 by leigh kitchen
leigh kitchen Posted April 6, 2007 Author Posted April 6, 2007 (edited) And inside, a nice photograph of Nikolas Wisniewski wearing his Virtuti Militari 5th Class.Embosed inside both covers are 20mm diameter circular representations of the Polish eagle with "KON VIRTUTI MILITARI".I can't make out the signature under "SZEF BIURA KAPITULY" - "Sobow....."? Edited April 6, 2007 by leigh kitchen
leigh kitchen Posted April 6, 2007 Author Posted April 6, 2007 If anybody has any information concerning this man, his unit, or the action for which he was awarded this Cross, or any comments as to whether this example of the Cross is an official issue item, private purchase jewellers copy or some other form of copy, fake, rero etc, then I'd be grateful for comment.
Alex K Posted April 7, 2007 Posted April 7, 2007 Congratulations, a most interesting and informative postregardsAlex
Igor Ostapenko Posted September 10, 2013 Posted September 10, 2013 The following information is from an article ?The Distribution Process of the 5th Class of the Order of the Virtuti Militari, by Professor Dr Zdzalaw P. Wesolowski, & from the web site ?Orders and Decorations of Poland? Hi, Thank you for information !!! This article from book of Prof. Weselowski ? Can you post link to web site Orders and Decorations of Poland ?
giller Posted September 12, 2013 Posted September 12, 2013 I think it is from this website: http://www.polishmilitaria.com/index.php Search in 'articles' section. FYU here is large database of polish awards from XVIII century to present: http://asnieg.klub.chip.pl/. After you select the historical period to see tables descriptions click on 'Opis plansz' at left. w/r Giller
Igor Ostapenko Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 (edited) and link to article of Prof. Z. Weselowski http://www.polishmilitaria.com/articles_detail.php?ID=2 Edited September 23, 2013 by Igor Ostapenko
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