Commemorative badge of the Lithuanian-Belarusian Division, occasionally referred to as the Cross of the Lithuanian-Belarusian Division.
It was created on the initiative of the Lithuanian-Belarusian Front Command. It was established by order of Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army Jozef Pilsudski on October 24, 1919. It was approved by the Minister of Military Affairs on December 13, 1921.
It commemorated the armed resistance of the volunteers of the Eastern Borderlands to the Bolshevik threat and their voluntary enlistment in the ranks of the Lithuanian-Belarusian Division to defend and liberate the Polish Borderlands. All soldiers of the division who served in it before April 19, 1919 were entitled to wear the badge. It could also be awarded to those deemed worthy (the term could refer to outstanding service to the division), as well as officers of the 1st and 2nd Lithuanian-Belarusian Divisions who joined its ranks after April 19, 1919.
It had been bestowed since 1919. The total number of its awards is not known.
Badge with No. 19376 (engraved), two-piece, silver (signed SREBRO on the reverse), enamel.
This is an exclusive piece, made to the private order of the person honored with it. Such badges were characterized by the fact that they were made of bullion, among other things, and had enamel not only on the arms of the cross, but also on the shield of the Lithuanian Hound, as in this case.
The maker undetermined. A similar piece, but with three types of enamel, made in silver plated tombac, is attributed to Kazimierz Gajewski - Warsaw.
The design of the badge is attributed to the painter Kazimierowski (probably Eugeniusz Kazimierowski). It was produced by Jan Knedler, Stanislaw Lipczynski, Kazimierz Gajewski, Zelman Liwszyc and probably Teofil Filipski, among others.
The cap is pre-war silver, signed SREBRO.
Dimensions 49 x 49 mm
Badge with beautiful patina and luster, good plus condition - visible enamel losses in the rider's shield. It does not have the fragment of the hand with the sword, which most likely were not made - badge little used.
Literature: M. Wełna, Wojsko Polskie w obronie ziemi polskich na wschodzie w latach 1918-1920. Odznaki pamiątkowe i okolicznościowe, Wrocław 2001, Z. Sawicki, A. Wielecki, Odznaki Wojska Polskiego 1918-1945. Wojsko Polskie 1918-1939, Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Zachodzie, Warsaw 2007, Z. Kiełb, Polskie i obce znaki zaszczytne żołnierzy 2. Pułku Saperów Kaniowskich, Puławy 2021
