Cross of Monte Cassino
The Monte Cassino Cross (or the Monte Cassino Memorial Cross; Polish Krzyż Pamiątkowy Monte Cassino ) is a Polish military award that was introduced by order of the Polish government in exile on November 20, 1944 as a commemorative badge for soldiers of the 2nd Polish Corps who participated in the Battle of Monte Cassino .
Requirements for the award
The cross could get all the soldiers of the 2nd Polish Corps, which in the period from 12 to 31 May 1944 in the battle for Monte Cassino , Piedemonte and Passo Corno in the context of the Allied attacks on the by the Germans in central Italy , built Gustav Line , as well as all soldiers of the corps wounded on the battlefield from April 7th to April 30th.
The medals were awarded on the personal orders of the 2nd Corps Command and the person in the order received a card with a number stamped on the back of the cross.
According to one source, 48,335 people were given the award, and 48,608 people were given the award, and 27 people were revoked, according to others.
This cross was not included in the decoration system of the People's Republic of Poland . It was not until the law of October 16, 1992 that the Monte Cassino Cross was recognized as a military award in the Polish system of awards by the Republic of Poland , and the issue was recognized as complete.
Appearance and texture
The Monte Cassino cross is an isosceles cross shaped like the cross of St. Benedict . The order is made of bronze with the dimensions 40 × 40 mm, the arms are profiled. On the front in the center of the cross there is a square sign with the inscription MONTE / CASSINO / MAJ / 1944. On the back there is the same sign with a consecutive number.
An additional metal inscription "Monte Cassino" is attached to the badge.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dz. Rozk. NW i MON, 1944, no 5, poz. 64
- ↑ Stefan Oberleitner: Polskie ordery, odznaczenia i niektóre wyróżnienia zaszczytne 1705-1990. T. I: Ordery, odznaczenia i odznaki 1705-1831; 1918-1939; 1940-1989 . Zielona Góra: Kanion, 1992, p. 356, ISBN 83-87808-05-9
- ↑ a b Jerzy Murgrabia: Symbols wojskowe Polskich Sił Zbrojnych na Zachodzie 1939–1946 . Warsaw, Bellona, 1990, pp. 79-80, ISBN 83-11-07825-4