When mentioning the Battle of Warsaw in 1920, we usually think about August the 15th. This does not come as a surprise, because every year, on August the 15th, we celebrate its anniversary. However, the reality in the summer of 1920 was much more complicated, with the battle itself lasting much longer than one day.

Towards Warsaw!

The Western Front of the Red Army, under the command of Mikhail Tukhachevsky, started its decisive offensive on July the 4th, 1920. The Bolsheviks’ direction of attack was Warsaw. Through it and through “the corpse of white Poland”, lay the path to the world communist revolution, as Tukhachevsky used to say. Poland was supposed to be just a stopover for the Bolsheviks. In reality it turned out to be an impenetrable barrier.

However, in July and the first half of August the situation did not look favourable for the Polish side. The Red Army advanced with great force, forcing Polish soldiers into a constant westward retreat. On August the 13th the Bolsheviks unleashed the decisive attack on the Polish capital. The Battle of Warsaw had begun.

The approaches soaked  with blood

August the 13th and 14th were days of fierce fighting on the outskirts of Warsaw. Radzymin and Ossów were just two of many towns that found themselves at the epicenter of the fighting at that time. The Polish defenders spared no blood. Continuous firefights were accompanied by clashes with both bayonet and hand-to-hand combat. Some areas changed hands several times. However, the soldiers of the Polish Army were ultimately forced to retreat towards the capital. Meanwhile, some Bolshevik forces attempted to bypass Warsaw from the north and attack it from the west in an effort to encircle the Polish forces.

Chase the Bolshevik!

August the 15th, 1920 – that day the Bolshevik offensive was broken. After fighting that lasted all day, the Poles regained the territories lost in the previous days. The stubbornness of the defenders proved to be victorious. Poland now went on the front foot in the attack, taking over the initiative. However, pushing back the Soviet invasion near Warsaw was only the first step towards total victory.

The next day August the 16th, 1920 the Polish counteroffensive began from the Wieprz River. The Polish forces attacked the left flank and rear of the Red Army, near Warsaw. The Bolsheviks had been lured into a trap. They were now forced into retreat and fled to the east – this being the only option giving them a chance to save their troops from complete destruction. Meanwhile, the Poles were chasing down the Bolsheviks, trying to cut off their escape routes. This situation continued until the chase ended on August the 25th.

On the River Niemen

The Battle of Warsaw proved to be a turning point, although the Red Army avoided total defeat , moreover its soldiers were still operating on the territory of the Second Polish Republic. It was necessary to strike one more time, which proved to be a knockout blow for the Bolsheviks. It was the battle of the Niemen River in September 1920, which shattered the Bolsheviks’ illusions, forcing them into signing an armistice in March 1921 – the Treaty of Riga.

Celebration

When commemorating the anniversary of the Battle of Warsaw, it is always worth bearing in mind the significance of the date of those celebrations. It should be remembered that August the 15th, 1920 was a turning point in the battle that lasted almost 2 weeks. If Polish soldiers had not managed to halt the attack near Warsaw, the counterattack from the Wieprz River would have been in vain – the capital would have already been lost.