The People Involved

© Marshal's Men: from left, Major Pokorny, Coronel J. Albrecht, a representative of Ridz-Smigly and MP S. Byczyński.
The messages from Moscow request information about Polish-German relations. Moscow is visibly worried about any Polish-German alliance. Major Pokorny, Senator S. Byczyński, Coronel J. Albrecht and a representative of Marshal Ridz-Smigly sit around the table.
Major Pokorny opens a bottle of cold vodka. "Gentlemen, We shall drink to an important year." Everyone downs a shot of vodka then stretches the hand for appetizers to mellow down the burning. He continues - "Polish Veterans received an invitation to Magdeburg. We are to meet with Germans there. The same Germans that were helping Soviets during 1920 war. We are coming as friends mind you. I feel we will be tested as to a possibility of alliance against Soviets. This is the opportunity we were waiting for. Salute!"

© Herr Steiner

© Visiting a model farm near Magdeburg

© At a model German farm

© Hans Shuller

© MP S. Byczyński with (unreadable)

© Von S.' assistant

FT-17 tanks of the Polish 1st Tank Regiment preparing for the battle

Polish General Listowski (left) and exiled Ukrainian leader Symon Petliura (second from left) following the Petlura's alliance with the Poles.

In early March 1919, Polish units opened an offensive and forces under General Stanisław Szeptycki captured the cities of Slonim (March 2) and crossed the Niemen river. Forces under General A. Listowski took Pinsk (March 5) and secured passages through Jasiolda River and Oginski Canal. Northern units reached the outskirts of Lida and stopped for several weeks.

In April 1919 the bolsheviks captured Grodno and Wilno, but in the very same month were pushed out by a Polish counteroffensive.

On May 14, 1919, the Polish general offensive in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia began. It was carried out by units of the Polish Army aided by the newly-arrived Blue Army of General Józef Haller de Hallenburg This army was well equipped by the Western allies and partially staffed with experienced French officers specifically in order to fight the bolsheviks and not the forces of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic. Despite this, the Poles dispatched Haller's army against the Ukrainians in order to break the stalemate in eastern Galicia. The allies sent several telegrams ordering the Poles to halt their offensive, but these were ignored.

On May 27, 1919, the Polish forces reached the Zlota Lipa-Brzezany-Jezierna-Radziwillów line. Following the demands of the Entente, the Polish offensive was halted and the troops of General Haller adopted defensive positions.

On June 8, 1919, the Ukrainian forces under the new command of Oleksander Hrekov, a former general in the Russian army, started a counter-offensive, and after three weeks advanced to Gnila Lipa and the upper Styr River; their successful offensive halted primarily because of a lack of arms - there were only 8-10 bullets for each Ukrainian soldier. The West Ukrainian government controlled the Drohobych oil fields with which it planned to purchase arms for the struggle, but for political and diplomatic reasons weapons and ammunition could only be sent to Ukraine through Czechoslovakia. Although the Ukrainian forces managed to push the Poles back approximately 120 km, they failed to secure a route to Czechoslovakia. This meant that they were unable to replenish their supply of arms and ammunition, and the resulting lack of supplies forced Hrekov to end his campaign.

From June-August 1919, first attempt at Polish-bolshevik negotiations took place in Bialowieza, it was unsuccessful.

On June 27, 1919, Józef Piłsudski assumed the command of the Polish forces and started yet another offensive. Short of ammunition and outnumbered, the Ukrainians were pushed back to the line of the river Zbrucz.

On 1 July Polish armies attacked Molodeczno, capturing it on 4 July. Luniec in the Polesie region was captured on 10 July and in mid-July Soviet counteroffensive near Naliboki was stopped.

On July 17 a ceasefire was signed Ukrainian POWs were kept in ex-Austrian POW camps in Debie, Lancut, Pikulice, Strzalków, and Wadowice

On August 8, 1919, Polish forces continued their push and captured Minsk. From 17 July, 1919, Polish forces pushed towards Zbrucz and on 9 August captured Dubno and Krzemieniec in the Wolyn region.

On August 13, 1919, town and fortress of Równe has been captured.

On 16 August, 1919, Ostroróg near Horyn was taken, then on 18 August Zaslaw and on 30 August Olewsko near Uborcia.

On 14 August, in the Lithuanian-Belarusian theatre of operations, Ihuen was captured; Borysów at Berezyna on 20 August and on 25 August an offensive towards Polock and Dyneburg was launched.

On 28 August Polish forces for the first time used tanks and after heavy fighting captured fortress Bobrujsk near Berezyna (29 August) and from October landed on the other side of the river (Bobrujsk on 1 October, Borysów on 11 October).

In September 1919, the Polish army had 540,000 men under arms, 230,000 of these on the Soviet front.

On 2 October Polish forces reached Dzwina and secured the region from Dzisna to Dyneburg.

Polish negotiators initiated another round of negotiations with the bolsheviks, from October until December 1919 in Moscow and Mikaszewicze (on Polesie).

On November 21, 1919, the Highest Council of the Paris Peace Conference granted Eastern Galicia to Poland for a period of 25 years, after which a plebiscite was to be held there.

Polish-Lithuanian relations worsened as Polish politicians found it hard to accept Lithuanians demand for a complete independence and their territorial demands, especially on ceding the city of Wilno, Lithuanian historical capital which had nonetheless a Polish ethnic majority.

Polish negotiators made progress in negotiations with Latvian Provisional Government, in early 1920 Polish and Latvian forces were conducting some joint operations against Soviets.

Soviet forces defeated White Russians of Denikin, and signed peace treaties with Latvia and Estonia.

In January 1920, the Red Army began concentrating a 700,000-strong force near the Berezina River and on Belarus. This number of troops was far greater than the number of weapons available, and only one in nine soldiers could be properly classified a fighting man. In the course of 1920, almost 800,000 Red Army personnel were sent to fight in the Polish war, of which 402,000 went to the Western front and 355,000 to the armies of the South-West front in Galicia. The Soviet manpower pool in the West was estimated at 790,000. The Soviets had at their disposal many military depots left by German armies withdrawing from eastern Europe in 1918-19, and modern French armaments (including armoured cars, armoured trains, trucks and artillery) captured in great numbers from the White Russians and the Allied expeditionary forces following their recent collapse in the Russian Civil War. With the new forces, Soviet High Command planned new offensive in late April/May. bolshevik commanders in the Red Army's coming offensive included Mikhail Tukhachevski (new commander of the Western Front), Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, and the founder of the Cheka (later known as NKVD and finally KGB) secret police, Felix Dzerzhinsky.

The Polish Army, relying on whatever equipment was left over from World War I and could be captured, employed guns made in five countries, and rifles manufactured in six, each using different ammunition. Before the Battle of Warsaw the 1st Legions Infantry Division comprised three regiments, one of which was armed with German Mauser rifles, a 2nd with French Lebel rifles (carbines), while the 3rd used Russian Mosin rifles. Each make of weapon took ammunition of a different calibre. Supply logistics were a nightmare. The Polish forces grew from approximately 100,000 in 1918 to over 500,000 in early 1920. The Polish Army was made up of soldiers who had formerly served in the various partitioning empires, supported by inexperienced volunteers (including 20,000 of Polish- americans) and recruits. Boris Savinkov, accompanied by Dmitry Merezhkovsky and Zinaida Gippius, was at the head of an army of 20,000 to 30,000 largely Russian POWs.

3 January - 21 January, 1920, on the request of assistance by new Latvian government, Polish help in capturing Dyneburg. The city and its surroundings was captured after heavy fighting, which took place in harsh conditions: the area was covered with more than 1 meter of snow and the temperature dropped below -30 C° by the Polish 1st and 3rd Legion Divisions under Rydz-Śmigły and handed to Latvians, which viewed Poles as liberators.

On April 21, 1920, Józef Piłsudski and Semen Petlura signed a Polish-Ukrainian alliance, in which Poland promised the Ukrainian People's Republic the military help in the Kiev Offensive against the Red Army in exchange for the acceptance of Polish-Ukrainian border on the river Zbrucz. Despite this, many Ukrainians were just as anti-Polish as anti-bolshevik, and resented Polish advance, which many viewed just as a variety of new occupation, an armed Polish intervention into central Ukraine following the Polish-Ukrainian War, in which the short-lived Western Ukrainian People's Republic was defeated and absorbed by Poland. As such, Ukrainians also actively fought the Polish invasion in the Ukrainian formations of the Red Army.

In early summer 1920, White Russian gained an upper hand and White forces under the command of Anton Ivanovich Denikin were marching on Moscow. Denikin will not accept Polish independence. Piłsudski thus decided to temporarily halt the Polish offensive so that the bolsheviks could concentrate on stopping Denikin. Denikin would pay dearly for his refusal to compromise, but by doing so Piłsudski directly contributed to bolshevik victory in Russia, an error that Poland would pay more dearly in the future.

Polish intelligence was aware that Soviets have been prepared for a new offensive and Polish High Command decided to launch their own offensive before the Soviets. The plan for Operation Kiev was to beat the Red Army on Poland's southern flank and establish a friendly government in Ukraine.

By March Polish forces had driven a wedge between Soviet forces North (Bielorussia) and south (Ukraine) capturing the towns of Mozyrz and Kalenkowicze, significantly disrupting Soviet plans for an early offensive.

On April 24 Poland began its main offensive, the Operation Kiev, aimed at creating an independent Ukraine that would become an ally in the fight against the Soviets. Poland was assisted by the allied forces of the Ukrainian People's Republic of Symon Petliura who failed to gain much support from Ukrainian population. The Polish 3rd Army under Rydz-Śmigły, supported by 6th Army under W. Iwaszkiewicz and 2nd Army under Listowski, easily won border clashes with the Red Army in Ukraine, which was weakened by dissent and Galician uprisings. Among Polish Airforce was the 7th Kosciuszko Squadron operating Breguet 14s from Kiev airfield.

Prolog   Cavalry   Players   Trip   Meeting   Airport   Boat ride   Castle   Visiting   Bad Harzburg   Epilog   Executions   Photos   The End