Anniversary of the spectacular Polish triumph over Bolsheviks.
Today in our calendar we will look at events from 1920, which led to the retreat from Belarus and Ukraine, and then the large triumph of the Polish Army.
The success of communists in the fight against whites caused Poles to halt fighting Ukrainians and unite forces with them against the common enemy. On April 21, 1920, a political agreement was signed under which the Polish government recognized the sovereignty of URL with the capital in Kiev, in exchange for a joint fight against Bolsheviks. It was part of the implementation of the national concept of Piłsudski. On 25 April, a large offensive of the combined Polish-Ukrainian troops began, completed on 7 May, erstwhile troops of General Edward Śmigłego – Rydza captured Kiev.
The intent of the operation was not only to reflect Ukraine but besides to provoke the Red Army to a decisive battle. The plan succeeded, but the scale of the russian consequence was not provided, including the skills of chief chief Mikhail Tuchaczewski and the attack from the flank of the experienced 1st Cavalry Army of Semyon Budionny.
The breach of the Polish front in Belarus caused that on 8 June the Blades – Rydz was ordered to retreat from Kiev. The corpse in his actions led almost to disaster, but yet managed to keep a fresh front line in Volyn. Then, thanks to the immense sacrifice of the soldiers, Budionny's attacks (including the August battles of Zadwórz and Komarów) were repulsed.
The scale of the russian attack on Warsaw frightened Polish elites. On 1 July, a State Defence Council was established to proceed the war. The military that withdrew to the Vistula and Pig Line was exhausted by continuous reverse fighting. As if there were not adequate Bolshevik agitators trying to trigger a rebellion in the back. russian panic raged in enemy towns. Massively plundered, raped, and murdered.
Jews very frequently collaborated with communists and participated in the creation of the temporary russian administration. The Lithuanians, whom the Poles temporarily transferred Vilnius, made a deal with the Soviets and passed their troops through their territory. In the face of a dramatic situation, Poles have gained uncommon solidarity. They volunteered for the army and donated their ancestral goods to the army. The Polish Catholic Church became a wall.
While all diplomats fled the capital, only the Turkish MP and Nuncio Achille Ratti – later Pope Pius XI – remained there. The Polish chaplains frequently fought side by side with soldiers and died on the front line, specified as the priest Ignacy Skorupka close Ossow.
Although the destiny of Europe was at Warsaw, fewer countries were interested. The most valuable was the aid of Hungary, which, despite the sabotage of supplies to the Polish army by the Germans and the Czechs, handed over immense amounts of weapons and ammunition to the fighters. The French military mission advisers and the celebrated Kościuszkowski squadron, where respective American pilots served, besides acted positively.
Czechoslovakia, in addition to requisitioning 1 of the Hungarian rail transports for Poles, benefited from the general war storm, treacherously occupying Spis, Orawa and Zaolzie. The English were besides reliable this time. As part of the specifically understood assistance, they put forward the thought of establishing a Polish-Soviet truce line (and thus a later border) along Bugu and Sanu, the alleged Curzona line. no of the fighting parties benefited from this proposal, but many years later Stalin utilized it as 1 of the grounds for taking the Poles' ends.
The July offensive of the Red Army was excellent. At the end of the month, the Soviets reached the Bug line. On August 10, Tuchaszewski issued a directive to attack Warsaw and boasted, saying: 16 more versts and Europe! Earlier, on July 23, the fictional Polish government of the alleged Provisional Revolutionary Committee of Poland with Felix Dzierżinski and Julian Marchlewski was established. This body announced in Białystok that it took over and changed the name of the state to the Polish Republic of Councils.
Convinced of a swift victory, Tuchaczewski ignored the increasing gap between Red Army troops. Its Western Front and the South-West Front of Alexander Jegorov and Joseph Stalin were only connected by the weak Mozir Group under the command of Tichon Chwiesin. Meanwhile, the Polish side regrouped and prepared to defend itself in front of the capital. At the same time, thanks to the breach of russian military code by Jan Kowalski, the Polish staff knew the movements of the opponent and the deployment of his forces.
It was decided to exploit the weakness of the Mozyrski Group and break the front in its weakest place. The author of the plan of the alleged counteroffensive from the Pig was Chief of General Staff, General Tadeusz Rozwadowski. The plan was accepted by Chief Chief Joseph Piłsudski.
On 12 August 1920, Piłsudski reviewed the troops of the strike group, with which he was scheduled to enter the attack on Soviets in the following days. Seeing tired of the retreat of soldiers in torn uniforms, he was terrified of the imagination of a soon-lost loser. In this evening, he handed over to Prime Minister Vincent Witos, resigning from the positions of the Chief and Chief Executive. General Rozwadowski said he was going to Puławy.
In fact, he went to Bobow for a fewer days, to his mistress and future wife, Alexandra Szczerbińska, as she wrote in her diary. Prime Minister Witos has not announced his resignation not to lower the morale of soldiers at the crucial minute of the campaign. Piłsudski did not return to the capital until 18 August, which was at the minute erstwhile it was clear that the manoeuvre from above the Pig was successful. The Prime Minister then returned to him a letter of resignation and unfortunate
The warden to return, as if nothing, took command. However, the general was the leader of the Polish forces during the most hot period of fighting. Tadeusz Jordan Rozwadowski.
The heroic defence of Radzimin and Ossov and the counteroffensive from the Pigs led to a extremist change in the situation of war, i.e. regaining the strategical initiative by the Polish side. The Mozir Group ceased to be and Tuchaczewski and Budionny were defeated and forced to retreat. Further fighting (including the conflict of Germany) led to the recovery of crucial areas of Belarus and Ukraine. On October 12, Poles entered Minsk.
Both fighting parties were exhausted by a massive military effort, so in October they agreed to suspend their arms and start peace talks. On March 18, 1921, the Treaty of Drawing was signed. During the negotiations, the Soviets offered to the Poles mini-mins and areas around Kamieniec Podolski, but the Polish side did not accept these lands.
In the end, under the Treaty of Riga, a border was established between the 2 countries, which ran along line II of the partition of Poland, with slight deviations to the Polish benefit. The rules for exchanging prisoners were besides laid down, and the Soviets were obliged to pay contributions and return plundered works of art. They never full met the final point of the arrangement.
Previous entry from our calendar is available Here.
