This is a memorial plaque, stamped in commemoration of the battle of Gorlice, depicting the attack on Mount Pustki near Gorlice, on which fierce battles were fought on 2 May 1915, during the Gorlice operation.

One of the most important battles of the World War I took place near Gorlice.
“If I were to state which days in my professional life were the most important to me, these were the 2^nd and 3^rd of May 1915, when from atop the hills west of Gorlice I saw defeated Russian troops in retreat.” These are the words of the then Chief of General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian army, Field Marshal Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf.

What is this medal made of? It seems as if it was made of brass, from some artillery shell? From that distant war? And what beautiful curves Skinny Emma has: a heavy 305 millimetres howitzer from the Škoda factory. It’s a bit like a clockwork mechanism and a steam machine to boot. Because, in those days, even killing machines incorporated beauty and grace. So much that you wanted to touch them. Hence the female names: Fat Bertha or our Emma.

Everyone knows the monumental painting Battle of Grunwald by Jan Matejko. Spectacular in its size, it shows very dynamic scenery, full of bodies of knights, warriors and horses. Only after a while,
the spectator is able to spot the central scene – the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, sitting on a white horse...

The medal was made at the request of Stanisław August Poniatowski (1732–1798, date of reign 1764–1795) to honour distinguished officers in the victorious Battle of Zieleńce. In the first statute, the order was named the Order of the Military Cross, and it still remains the highest Polish distinction awarded for military service.