| In April of 1815, there was
every reason for the rapid creation of a military order. The young
Kingdom of the Netherlands was facing the French advance led by
Napoleon, who had recently returned from Elba. King Willem I needed a
royal decoration for bravery to reward acts of courage in the imminent
battle. As a result, the creation of the Military William Order (MWO)
only took a few months. Like the Legion of Honour, the MWO was a
so-called 'merit order', disconnected from nobility and available to
all ranks.
Since then, the Military William Order has had four
classes: Grand Cross, Commander, Knight third class and Knight fourth
class. The campaign against Napoleon in 1815, with battles at Quatre
Bras and Waterloo, was the first occasion for which the Military
William Order was conferred. Heir to the throne Willem Frederik George
Lodewijk van Oranje-Nassau received the first honour, a Grand Cross of
the Order. A total of over 1000 people were decorated in response to
the campaign in 1815.
Over the years, the MWO has been conferred a total of
over 6000 times. The main events in this respect, following the
campaign of 1815, are:
- The Belgian uprising of 1830
- The entire Netherlands East Indies period, with the emphasis on the Atjeh period
- The Second World War, 1940-1945
- The Policing Actions, 1946-1948
- The Korean War, 1950-1954
Originally intended exclusively for servicemen, the MWO was opened up to civilians from 1940.
At the moment, the conferral of bravery decorations,
including the Military William Order, is being reviewed in light of the
current deployment of the Armed Forces. This does not change the
criteria for conferring the MWO and other bravery decorations, but they
are interpreted on the basis of current circumstances. Even in these
circumstances, such as peacekeeping operations, battle situations are
still conceivable. It does not have to be in a war situation; this term
is not mentioned in the Rules of Procedure of the MWO.
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King Willem I, founder of the Military William Order, miniature portrait after J.W. Pieneman
(Collection of the Foundation for Historical Collections of the House
of Orange-Nassau, The Hague) |
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