The medal was established on 23 May 1941 by royal resolution of King Haakon VII, who was in London with the government in exile due to the German occupation of Norway.

The statutes were amended on 18 May 1945, restricting awards to the actions of military personnel in combat situations, thus all subsequent decorations would to be "with sword".

[5] In 2022, the Norwegian Armed Forces commissioned Marcus Paus to write a major work to tell the stories of the War Cross recipients.

The number of recipients from various nations: Gazetted 11 August 1942 while serving with the British Army:[10] Recipients of the War Cross are ranked 33 in the national Norwegian order of precedence, after bearers of Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav with collar and before recipients of the Medal for Outstanding Civic Achievement.

If not stated otherwise, all recipients were soldiers of the Polish Independent Highland Brigade (Samodzielna Brygada Strzelcow Podhalanskich), awarded 1942.