HONORARY AWARDS
The Virtuti Militari was awarded to Allied commanders of many different nationalities during the Second World War
During WWII, the government-in-exile of the Second Polish Republic extended the award of the Virtuti Militari to non-polish recipients in an honorary capacity. It was given to senior Allied commanders such as Dwight D. Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery, who extensively worked alongside Poland’s exiled armed forces, but it was also awarded to more controversial recipients.
The medal was awarded to Marshal Georgy Zhukov, despite the fact that the Soviet Union had invaded and carved up Poland along with Nazi Germany in 1939. It was also given to French commander Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, a general who initially served Vichy France and briefly fought against the Allies in North Africa before defecting to the Free French. The Virtuti Militari was additionally awarded to the Yugoslavian Serb guerrilla fighter Draža Mihailovic, who fought against occupying Axis forces in the Balkans.