Medal of Military Valor
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Gold Medal.svg.png)
War Cross of Military ValorThe Medal of Military Valor (Italian language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
: Medaglia d'oro al Valore Militare) is an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the medal was awarded to military personnel, units above the level of company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
, and civilians for exceptional valor
Valor
Valor or valour may mean:* Valor , by J. W. Cockerill* Courage, a similar meaning* Valor , roughly "courage in defense of a noble cause"* Valor , a DC Comics superhero...
in the face of the enemy. For each subsequent act of valor, the recipient was awarded a bar to the medal.
There are three level to the medal:
- The Gold Medal of Military ValorGold Medal of Military ValorThe Gold Medal of Military Valor is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia "....per bassi ufficiali e soldati che avevano fatto azioni di segnalato valore in guerra" .The face of the medal displayed the profile of the king, and on its reverse was a flag...
was established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus IIIVictor Amadeus III of SardiniaVictor Amadeus III was King of Sardinia from 1773 until his death. Although he was politically conservative, he carried out numerous administrative reforms until declaring war on revolutionary France in 1792...
of SardiniaSardiniaSardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. - The Silver Medal of Military ValorSilver Medal of Military ValorThe Silver Medal of Military Valor is an Italian medal for gallantry.Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on May 21, 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, a silver medal...
was established in 1833 by King Charles Albert of Sardinia. - The Bronze Medal of Military ValorBronze Medal of Military ValorThe Bronze Medal of Military Valor is an Italian medal for gallantry.It was established by Charles Albert of Sardinia on March 26, 1833, along with the higher ranking Gold and Silver Medals for Military valor...
.
Award history
The awards began as the Order of Military Valor established by Vittorio Amedeo III in 1793. Fallen into disuse during the Napoleonic era, it was revived on 1 April 1815 by Vittorio Emanuele I. Emanuele I repealed the institution a few months later, on 4 August 1815, replacing the medals for bravery with the Military Order of Savoy (now in Italy).In 1833, Charles Albert acknowledged that the requirements for the granting of the Military Order were too severe, and re-established the possibility of awarding medals to the value (gold and silver) award to generous acts in war and in peace from the military.
Royal Decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
#1423 of 4 November 1932, defined new rules for the granting of medals and the Military Cross for Valor and Medal of Military Valor. In the text of the decree, in Articles 1 and 3 are defined areas of basic and primary application for the granting of this particular honors. Thus, Article 1 states:
While Article 3 provides that:
The full text of Royal Decree referred to was published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale
Gazzetta Ufficiale
The Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana is the official journal of record of the Italian government...
12 November 1932, #261.
The proposals, except in exceptional cases provided for in time of war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
, are screened by a special military commission.
The awards are intended for the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
(single or entire military Departments not less than Company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
, or command
Command (military formation)
A command in military terminology is an organisational unit that the individual in Military command has responsibility for. A Commander will normally be specifically appointed into the role in order to provide a legal framework for the authority bestowed...
), former combatants of training guerrilla
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
, the municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
, the province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
s, and individual citizens.
Types
Decorations for Valor are divided into the following classes:- Gold Medal for Valor (26 March 1833 – 10 May 1943)
Gold Medal for Valor (10 May 1943 – Present)
Silver Medal for Valor (26 March 1833 – Present)
Bronze Medal for Valor (8 December 1887 – 10 May 1943)
Bronze Medal for Valor (10 May 1943 – Present)- Croce di guerra al valor militare (10 May 1943 – Present)
Medaglia d'oro al valore dell'esercito
Medaglia d'argento al valore dell'esercito
Medaglia di bronzo al valore dell'esercito
Medaglia d'oro al valore di marina
Medaglia d'argento al valore di marina
Medaglia di bronzo al valore di marina
Medaglia d'oro al valore aeronautico
Medaglia d'argento al valore aeronautico
Medaglia di bronzo al valore aeronautico
- Medaglia d'oro al valore dei carabinieri
- Medaglia d'argento al valore dei carabinieri
- Medaglia di bronzo al valore dei carabinieri
- Medaglia d'oro al valore della Guardia di Finanza
- Medaglia d'argento al valore della Guardia di Finanza
- Medaglia di bronzo al valore della Guardia di Finanza
Croce d'oro al merito dell'esercito
Croce d'argento al merito dell'esercito
Croce di bronzo al merito dell'esercito
medaglia d'oro al merito di marina
Medaglia d'argento al merito di marina- Medaglia di bronzo al merito di marina
Croce d'oro al merito dell'aeronautica
Croce d'argento al merito dell'aeronautica
Croce di bronzo al merito dell'aeronautica
- Croce d'oro al merito dei carabinieri
- Croce d'argento al merito dei carabinieri
- Croce di bronzo al merito dei carabinieri
- Croce d'oro al merito della Guardia di Finanza
- Croce d'argento al merito della Guardia di Finanza
- Croce di bronzo al merito della Guardia di Finanza
- Croce al merito di guerraWar Merit Cross (Italy)The Italian War Merit Cross was instituted by King Victor Emanuel III on 19 January 1918.From its institution till 30 May 1927, 1,034,924 Crosses were issued.-Eligibility:...
, seconda concessione 
Croce al merito di guerra