Military William Order

Military William Order Militaire Willems-Orde
Knight Military William Order 4th class medal (post 2000 model)
Awarded by King of the Netherlands
Type	Chivalric order with four degrees
Motto	Voor Moed, Beleid en Trouw (For Bravery, Leadership and Loyalty)
Awarded for	Performing acts of excellent Bravery, Leadership and Loyalty in battle.
Status	Currently constituted
Sovereign	His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
Chancellor	Lieutenant General J.H. de Kleyn
Grades	Knight Grand Cross Commander Knight 3rd class Knight 4th class Orange Lanyard (unit award)
Statistics
Established	30 April 1815
First induction	William Frederick, Prince of Orange
Last induction	Major Gijs Tuinman
Total inductees	5,876
Precedence
Next (higher)	None (highest)
Next (lower)	Cross for Courage and Fidelity
Ribbon bar of Knight Grand Cross Ribbon bar of Commander Ribbon bar of Knight 3rd class Ribbon bar of Knight 4th class

The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William (Dutch: Militaire Willems-Orde, abbreviation: MWO), is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Order's motto is Voor Moed, Beleid en Trouw (For Bravery, Leadership and Loyalty). The chivalric order was established on 30 April 1815 by King William I and was presented for feats of excellent bravery on the battlefield and as a meritorious decoration to senior military officers. Comparable with the French Légion d’Honneur but far less awarded, the Military William Order is a chivalry order of merit open to everyone regardless of rank and nobility, and not only to Dutch military but also foreigners. To date the Order is extremely rarely awarded and only for excellent bravery in battle.

In the spring of 1940 it was decided that civilians would receive the Military Order of William for heroic acts in the resistance. After the liberation of the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies, several men and one woman from the resistance were awarded the Military Order of William.

Most knighthoods of the Military Order of William were awarded in 1815 and shortly afterwards to military of the Allies that fought Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, in total over 1,000 knighthoods were awarded at this time. The Grand Cross was awarded to Prince William of Orange, the Duke of Wellington, Fürst Blücher von Wahlstatt, Graf von Bülow von Dennewitz and Graf von Gneisenau.

During the 19th century the Military William Order was awarded to military serving in the campaign against the Belgian Revolution and military serving in the Netherlands East Indies, mostly in the Aceh War. Until 1940, a total of 5,874 persons had been awarded the Military Order of William. In 1940, the Order was awarded to soldiers who had served with extreme valour in the defence of Netherlands from the 10 May attack by Nazi-Germany. In 1944 and 1945, with the liberation of the Netherlands from German occupation, the Military William Order was again awarded, this time to Netherlands citizens as well as members of the Allied Forces for deeds of gallantry. Of the 3,500 servicemen who served in the Netherlands United Nations Detachment in Korea, three servicemen – two posthumously – were admitted to the Order. Since 1940, 199 names have been added to the register of the Military Order of William. The latest conflict that has been cause for the honour to be awarded is the ongoing war in Afghanistan.