The Military Virtue Medal () is a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n military decoration, instituted on April 8, 1872, by

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Carol I Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – ), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as ...

. A previous version, called ''Pro Virtute Militari'', was established by

Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also Anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (prince) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as List of monarchs of Moldavia ...

in 1860 for the veterans of the Dealul Spirii battle (1848) between the revolutionaries and the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

, but it was issued to the recipients later, in 1866, due to political reasons (Romania was still under Ottoman

suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...

). The medal had 2 classes, the 1st class (in gold) being awarded to the officers, and the 2nd class (in silver) to non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and the other enlisted ranks. After the

Order of Michael the Brave The Order of Michael the Brave () is Romania's highest military decoration, instituted by King of Romania, King Ferdinand I of Romania, Ferdinand I during the early stages of the Romanian Campaign (World War I), Romanian Campaign of the World War I ...

was instituted (1916), the Military Virtue Medal was issued only to NCOs and below.

Data

*Requirements: Awarded to NCOs and other enlisted ranks for exceptional deeds on the battlefield *Classes: 2nd and 1st *Date Instituted: April 1872

War Medal of Military Virtue

In 1880

Carol I of Romania Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – ), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as ...

, the first ruler of the

Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen () was a principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the junior House of Hohenzollern#Swabian branch, Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. The Swabian Hohenzollerns were elevated to princes in 162 ...

dynasty, instituted a new ''Medal of Military Virtue''. This one was given for bravery only during wartime. Soldiers who had earned the medal during wartime were able to trade in their old medal for a new wartime version, the ''War Medal of Military Virtue'' (''Medalia Virtutea Militara de Razboi'').

Gallery

File:Romanian Military Virtue Medal ribbon.png, Ribbon of the War Medal of Military Virtue File:Virtutea Militară.jpg, Order of Military Virtue, World War II

External links

*
Military Virtue Medal at worldwar2.ro
*

{{Romanian National Decorations System Military awards and decorations of Romania

Data

War Medal of Military Virtue

Gallery

See also

External links