[2] The medal was introduced in 1920 at the height of the Polish-Soviet War, shortly before the climactic Battle of Warsaw.

Apart from individuals who had participated in the Polish-Soviet War, the medal had also been awarded retroactively to some soldiers of the Polish Legions, of World War I military units, of the Silesian Uprisings, of the Great Poland Uprising, and to members of the Polish Military Organization.

In January 1940 the Polish Commander-in-Chief, Władysław Sikorski, issued an order reintroducing the Cross of Valour.

In 1943, after the Battle of Lenino, General Zygmunt Berling, commander of the Soviet-backed Polish 1st Corps, awarded the Cross of Valour to several soldiers.

The medal itself was approved as a military decoration by order of the communist-led State National Council on 22 December 1944.