Fullbore Friday
nothing is inevitable in war
From 12–25 August 1920 there was one of the more important battles of modern history that is relatively unknown out of the country the battle took place in. It is a story of audacity in th eface of incredible odds by a nation only reborn less than two years earlier against an equally younger malignancy.
The Battle of Warsaw;
The Polish-born and much feared head of the Cheka (Bolshevik secret police), Feliks Dzierzinsky, was made head of a Polish Revolutionary Committee, which would follow the Red Army and form the new government. Lenin was absolutely confident of success. Initially all went well, and within six weeks the Red Army was at the gates of Warsaw. But as the Polish Communists had warned, all classes did indeed unite, and there was no rising in the city. Also the Polish commander, Józef Piłsudski, drew up a bold, if not foolhardy, plan of counterattack. The Polish army would stand on the defensive in front of the city, and when the Red Army was fully committed to the battle, Poland’s best units would launch a flanking attack from the south, cut the Bolshevik lines of communication, and encircle much of the Red Army. Some Polish generals were aghast at the risks involved, but in their desperation there seemed no alternative.
As often happens in war, things did not run as per the plan. The enemy has a vote, and they were advancing too fast. The Poles had to move a day early.
The Red Army fought its way to the village of Izabelin, only 8 miles (13 km) from the city, but the Polish attack succeeded beyond wildest expectations. Driving through a gap in Bolshevik lines, the Poles advanced rapidly against little opposition. In the Red Army, all was chaos; commanders lost control of their units, with some divisions continuing their advance on Warsaw, others fleeing. Three armies disintegrated, and thousands fled into East Prussia, where they were interned. In an encounter that saw Polish lancers charging and overwhelming Bolshevik cavalrymen, the First Cavalry Army, trapped in the "Zemość Ring," was all but annihilated.
The Fourth Army meekly surrendered after being encircled. Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky desperately tried to pull his troops back to a defendable line, but the situation was beyond redemption. A few more engagements followed, but the war was effectively won. Lenin was forced to agree to peace terms that surrendered a large tract of territory whose population was in no way Polish—the Red Army returned to reclaim it in 1939.
Losses: Soviet, possibly some 15,000–25,000 killed, 65,000 captured, and some 35,000 interned in Germany; Polish, up to 5,000 dead, 22,000 wounded, and 10,000 missing.
The seeds of one victory often hold the next defeat.
First posted AUG2018.
A footnote, if I may to the 1920 Battle of Warsaw - The 7th Polish Escadrille, the Kosciuzko Squadron (named for Tadeusz Kosciuszko of our Revolutionary War), was formed of American aviators, some of whom had served in WWI and at least one who had just missed that war but was determined to help Poland. That American sailed from the Midwest to Europe where he bought a used Sopwith Camel for use in defending Poland. The squadron participated in the battle in strafing attacks against the Bolshevik cavalry during the battle.
A recent photo of a Polish AF jet fighter shows the portrait of its second commander, Merian Cooper, who went on to escape from a Cossack unit after being shot down. Cooper also produced the movie "King Kong", BTW. The current PAF unit continues to use the squadron insignia designed in 1919.
Fullbore, indeed. My ancestry is solidly American for eight generations and then Irish-Scots-Welsh-Norwegian before that, but I have to admit that some days I feel a bit of Polish pride.
"surrendered a large tract of territory whose population was in no way Polish"
I see Perfidious Albion (Encyclopedia Britannica edition) is at it again. The territory surrendered had been part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth long before it has been Russian.