Military Order of Maria Theresa

The Military Order of Maria Theresa (German: Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden; Hungarian: Katonai Mária Terézia-rend; Czech: Vojenský řád Marie Terezie; Polish: Wojskowy Order Marii Teresy; Slovene: Vojaški red Marije Terezije; Croatian: Vojni red Marije Terezije) was the highest military honour of the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire. == History == Founded on 18 June 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolín, by the Empress Maria Theresa, the honour was to reward especially meritorious and valorous acts by commissioned officers, including and especially the courageous act of defeating an enemy, and thus "serving" their monarch.

Source: Wikipedia — Military Order of Maria Theresa (CC BY-SA 4.0)