Military Order of the White Lion

Czech military award

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Award

Military Order of the White Lion

Type| 5 Class Military Order of Merit
Awarded for| Military merit, either personal acts of bravery or leadership.
Presented by|  Czechoslovakia
Eligibility| Czech citizens and foreigners
Campaign(s)| World War II
Status| No longer awarded
Established| 9 February 1945

Third class cross and second class star

Related| Order of the White Lion

The Military Order of the White Lion (Czech: Vojenský řád Bílého lva „Za vítězství“), also known as the Military Order of the White Lion "For Victory", was an award established on 9 February 1945 to reward military merit, either personal acts of bravery or leadership.[1]

The order was presented in five different classes, the first class decorations being a gold breast star, while the second class was a silver breast star. The third class was in the form of a silver cross, enameled in red, and worn suspended from a ribbon on the chest. The fourth and fifth classes were a gold and silver medal respectively. The insignia of the first and second classes borrowed heavily in design from the Order of the White Lion. Both orders utilized an eight pointed star, with the center medallion containing the crowned white lion of the Coat of arms of Czechoslovakia. The difference came with the color of the medallion's border and motto that it contained, being blue on the Military Order of the White Lion. The motto was "Za vítězství" ('For victory'), versus the Order of the White Lion's motto of "Pravda vítezí" ('Truth prevails').[citation needed]

Ribbon bars of the Military Order of the White Lion

First Class
Gold Star | Second Class
Silver Star | Third Class
Cross | Fourth Class
Gold Medal | Fifth Class
Silver Medal
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## Notable recipients

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* Alexandru Dobriceanu
* Dwight D. Eisenhower
* Douglas Evill
* František Fajtl
* Jozef Gabčík
* Jan Kubiš
* Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
* Douglas MacArthur
* Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
* Adolf Opálka
* George S. Patton
* James Robb
* Semyon Timoshenko
* Georgy Zhukov
* Nikita Brilev [ru]

## References

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1. ^ Robertson, Megan C. (27 December 2005). "Czechoslovak Socialist Republic: Czechoslovak Military Order of the White Lion "For victory"". Medals of the World. Retrieved 2011-08-28.