1920 THE BATTLE OF WARSAW AS A GUARANTOR OF PEACE IN EUROPE photo Action near Warsaw, August 1920. Wojskowe Biuro Historyczne THE NEW EUROPEAN ORDER AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WAR The protracting Great War plunged 18th-century Poland’s three partitioning empires into a crisis. In 1917, Russia’s setbacks at war and political turmoil within resulted in the February Revolution and the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II Romanov. The Bolshevik Revolution, which followed in October of the same year, soon escalated into the Russian Civil War. In the autumn of 1918, as the Central Powers suffered one defeat after another, Emperor Charles I Habsburg was dethroned and the multinational Austro-Hungarian Empire of the Habsburgs began to crumble. Meanwhile, the German Revolution led to the abdication of Emperor William II Hohenzollern in November 1918. The crisis, or actually partial disintegration of the three partitioning powers, paved the way to the reconstruction of independent Poland. From the Baltic region in the North, to the Carpathian-Danube region in the South, to Transcaucasia in the South-East, new countries were rising and others were regaining their lost independence. Map of Europe showing country borders drawn by the peace treaties, Józef Bazewicz (pub.), 1920. Tsar Nicholas II; 1915. Wilhelm II, the last emperor of Germany and king of Prussia, 1915. Karl I Habsburg, the last ruler of Austria-Hungary. FINLAND: PATH TO INDEPENDENCE In early 1800, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in a personal union with Russia. As the Russian Empire was swept into chaos, on 6 December 1917, the Finnish Parliament proclaimed the country’s independence. In January 1918, Russian Bolsheviks instigated the outbreak of a communist revolution, which they provided with ample military support. Finland was thrown into a year-long civil war. After some initial victories and gaining control of the southern regions of the country, the “Reds” were defeated by the Finnish national army under General Carl Gustaf Mannerheim with the help of the German expeditionary corps. Under the Constitution of 1919, Finland became a republic. The war with Russia ended with a peace treaty signed in 1920 in Tartu, where the new border was drawn through Karelia and Finland was allotted the region of Petsamo with access to the Barents Sea. Carl Gustaf Mannerheim leads a parade celebrating the end of the war, 16 May 1918. Soldiers of the White Guard in Helsinki, World War I. Det Kgl. General Carl Gustaf Mannerheim in Helsinki, 1918. Gustaw Mannerheim. Gustaf Mannerheim. German troops disembark a ship in Finland, 1918. German troops march along the Hangø-Helsinki railroad. HUNGARY: DIFFICULT PATH TO A NEW STATE The crisis of the Habsburg Empire reinforced demands for independence from the Croatians, Romanians, Serbs and Slovaks. In October 1918, the newly formed Hungarian National Council established a government under Prime Minister Mihály Károlyi. The dethronement of Emperor Charles I was followed by the proclamation of the Republic of Hungary on 16 November 1918. As the Entente’s territorial demands further radicalized the population, on 21 March 1919, the communists announced the establishment of the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Meanwhile, clashes with Czechoslovak and Romanian forces continued. On 16 November 1919, Budapest was captured by Admiral Miklós Horthy’s national army. In the spring of 1920, the Hungarian parliament restored monarchy. In the same year, the Treaty of Trianon forced Hungary to give up over 70 per cent of the territory of the former Kingdom, leaving 30 per cent of Hungarians outside the borders of the new state. During the battle of Warsaw, Hungary actively supported Poland with shipments of arms and ammunition, but plans to deploy a cavalry corps to Poland failed due to transport complications. Prime Minister Mihály Károlyi. Budapest, 1918. Hungarian Red Army cavalry under the Soviet Republic. 1919 r. Proclamation of the republic in front of the Parliament. Budapest, 16 November 1918. Proclamation of the republic in front of the Hungarian Parliament. A spectator holds a flag with a portrait of Lajos Kossuth in the centre. Budapest, 16 November 1918. Béla Kun and the officer corps of the Hungarian Red Army review the troops. Budapest, 1 June 1919. Miklós Horthy enters Budapest at the head of the National Army, 16 November 1919. CZECHOSLOVAKIA: PATH TO INDEPENDENCE During the First World War, Czech and Moravia were provinces of the Austrian Empire, while Slovakia was a region of the Kingdom of Hungary called Upper Hungary. In the course of the war, liberal Czech politicians took the side of the Entente. In 1916, the Czechoslovak National Council was created in Paris to represent the political interests of Czechs and Slovaks. Czech legions were formed in France, Italy and Russia. An agreement between Czech and Slovak expatriate communities signed in May 1918 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, determined the establishment of a joint state. On 28 October 1918, Czechoslovakia proclaimed its independence in Prague; on 14 November, the “the father of Czechoslovak independence”, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, returned from exile to take the office of president which he would hold for many years to come. The territories of the new Czechoslovak Republic included: Czech, Moravia, Opavian Silesia, Slovakia, Carpatho-Ukraine (Zakarpattia), and, as a result of a conflict with Poland and a Czechoslovak invasion of Poland in January 1919, Western Cieszyn (Tĕšin) Silesia (Trans-Olza or Zaolzie), and parts of Spisz (Spiš) and Orava. Tomáš Masaryk signs the Czechoslovak declaration of independence in Philadelphia, PA. 26 October 1918. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Tomáš Masaryk proclaims the independence of Czechoslovakia. Tomáš Masaryk returns to Prague from the United States, 1918. The Czechoslovak parliament in session, 1 October 1919. LITHUANIA: PATH TO INDEPENDENCE Lithuania came out of the era of the partitions with a strong sense of national identity and a determination to establish its own statehood. Under German occupation as of 1915, the Lithuanians expressed their national aspirations through the Lithuanian Council (Taryba), with Antanas Smetona as chairman. On 16 February 1918, still under German occupation, Lithuania proclaimed its independence. Taryba’s claim to power was contested by a newly formed Provisional Government of Workers and Peasants which, with support from the Red Army, established the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1919, Taryba’s military arm with help from Germany, defeated the communists, and in April of that year, having pushed out the Bolsheviks, the Polish forces entered Vilnius. In 1920, while the Red Army had the upper hand in the Polish-Bolshevik conflict, the Russians handed Vilnius over to the Lithuanians. In October, however, Polish troops captured Vilnius in a mock rebellion lead by General Lucjan Żeligowski and formed Central Lithuania (with Vilnius as capital), which was incorporated into Poland in 1922. Vilnius – Lithuania’s historical capital, but with a vast Polish majority – became an issue of conflict between Poland and Lithuania. The first president of Lithuania, Antanas Smetona, and his wife Sofija at the entrance to the presidential palace. Kaunas, April 1919 – May 1920. The German forces move out of Kaunas, 11 July 1919. Lithuanian troops in the first armoured train, Gediminas, 1920. Elections to the Constituent Assembly (Steigiamasis Seimas). Alytus, 14-15 April 1920. LATVIA: PATH TO INDEPENDENCE The territories of Latvia had been part of the Russian Empire since the 18th century. During the First World War, part of the area came under German control. After the February Revolution in Russia, Councils of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Delegates were formed in territories not under German occupation. In 1917-1918, all of Latvia was captured by Germany. A newly set up People’s Council formed a government with Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis, which proclaimed Latvia’s independence on 18 November 1918. The People’s Council, however, was opposed by Latvian communists whose forces took control of part of the country. In December 1918, a new communist government declared Latvia to be a Bolshevik republic. The Latvian Soviet Republic was soon toppled under a German offensive which helped reinstitute the Ulmanis government. In November 1919, the German forces were defeated by the Latvian army and left Riga. The way to Latvian independence was paved by joint Latvian and Polish forces as they defeated the Red Army still present in Latgale in the battles of Daugavpils in the winter of 1919/1920. Assembly in the Dzuta Mill in Riga, 1 May 1917. Latvia in 1919, drawing by Ansis Cirulis. Janis Cakste, the first president of Latvia. Janis Balodis – commander of the Latvian army in the Latvian-Bolshevik War, later minister of military affairs and prime minister of Latvia. Founding session of the Latvian People’s Council and proclamation of the Republic of Latvia. ESTONIA: PATH TO INDEPENDENCE Under the occupation of the Russian Empire, the Estonian national identity was forged through resistance against Germanization and Russification. The February Revolution created an opportunity for Estonia to gain autonomy and establish a provisional government under Konstantin Päts. After the Bolshevik coup, Estonian politics were transferred underground and into the international arena. In 1918, the country was occupied by the German forces. On 24 February 1918, taking advantage of the circumstances, Estonia proclaimed its independence. This however, did not improve the difficult situation of the independence movement whose fight was against Germany, the Bolsheviks and the “White” Russians. In the first two months since Germany recognized the Estonian government in November 1918, the Red Army took control of most of the country’s territory. But by February 1919, the Estonian army under General Johan Laidoner liberated all of Estonia, with the support of the British fleet. The country confirmed its right to independence by signing a peace treaty with Soviet Russia in Tartu in early February 1919. The Estonian Salvation Committee, 1918. Border checkpoint built under German occupation. Lieutenant General Johan Laidoner, Commander-in-Chief of the Estonian armed forces, on arrival in Pskov. Members of the Estonian government, 12 December 1918. Konstantin Päts speaks at a parade celebrating the first anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Estonia; Peetri plats (Peter’s Square), Tallin. Jaan Poska signs the peace treaty. The government of the Republic of Estonia under President Konstantin Päts. Proclamation of Independence, 24 February 1918; painting by Maximilian Maksolly. ROMANIA: PATH TO INDEPENDENCE In August 1916, the Kingdom of Romania joined in the First World War alongside the Entente. Though initial success was followed by defeat and the occupation of most of the country’s territory, the end of the war established Romania’s status as a member of the victorious coalition. New frontiers were drawn by peace treaties signed in Saint-German-en-Laye (1919), Neuilly-sur-Seine (1919) and Trianon (1920). Romania gained Transylvania, eastern Banat, Bessarabia and Bukovina, almost doubling the size of its territory and significantly enlarging its population (Romanians and minorities, mostly Hungarians, Germans and Ukrainians.) A pro-French foreign policy and a system of regional alliances were to guard the country against Hungarian and Russian revisionism. In 1921, Poland and Romania were joined in a political and military alliance designed to protect both countries against a possible invasion from the East. Ferdinand I, king of Romania, c. 1920. Polish Chief of State Józef Piłsudski (right) speaks with King Ferdinand I of Romania, September 1922. Maria, queen of Romania. The Kaiser and King Ferdinand I of Romania quarrel over a map, 1918. Romanian soldiers during World War I. II Brigade Polish Legions on the Eastern Front in Bukovina – military operations at Rarancea (Ridkivtsi): soldiers in the trenches of Besarabia, 1915. UKRAINE: PATH TO INDEPENDENCE The February Revolution in Russia awakened independence aspirations in Ukraine. The Central Council of Ukraine, formed in March 1917, proclaimed the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR) in January 1918. In April, General Pavlo Skoropadskyi established his Hetmanate which was supported by Germany and existed until the fall of Germany in the war. In November 1918, the UPR appointed a Directorate to lead the Ukrainian struggle for independence. During that time, the country was a theatre of operations of the Red Army, Ukrainian forces, General Anton Denikin’s “White” army, Ataman Nestor Makhno’s and foreign intvervention forces. The West Ukraininan People’s Republic was established in October 1918, but its forces were pushed east of the Zbruch River by the Polish Army (1919). In the spring of 1920, the UPR and Polish forces organized a joint campaign on Kiev, but were defeated by the Bolsheviks; the treaty of Riga signed by Poland and the Bolsheviks on 18 March 1921, shattered all remaining hopes for an independent Ukraine. The USSR permitted the existence of a Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic with a capital in Kharkiv, and as of 1934, in Kiev. Peace negotiations in Riga. The Fourth Universal of the Central Council of Ukraine: The Ukrainian Declaration of Independence; 9 January 1918. Chief Ataman of the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic Symin Petliura presents the Army’s 6th Sich Riflement Division with its divisional colour, Berdichiv, 21 April 1920. General Pavlo Skoropadsky with his officers; c. 1920-1925. Public celebration of the proclamation of the Act of Unification of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the West-Ukrainian People’s Republic on the Sofiyivska Square in Kyiv, 22 January 1919. Symon Petliura as the Chief Ataman of the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic rides in a parade through the streets of Kiyv, probably 19 December 1918. GEORGIA: PATH TO INDEPENDENCE At the beginning of the 19th century, Georgia was a part of the Russian Empire. Following the events which unfolded in Russia in 1917, the Transcaucasian Sejm declared the establishment of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic in March 1918. But by May of the same year, the new state split into Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. On 26 May 1918, Georgia declared its independence. The country then lost part of its territory to Turkey. In the second half of 1918, Georgia was occupied by Germany, and later by the British forces. After the Bolsheviks failed to seize power in the country in 1919 and Russian SFSR signed a peace treaty with Georgia in 1920, the British forces left the country. But Georgian Bolsheviks had not given up on their plans to take control of Georgia and when the Red Army took control of Armenia and Azerbaijan in February 1921, they formed a revolutionary government which welcomed the invading Red Army. The communists established the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic which included the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1924, a Georgian uprising was quelled. The refugees created centres of Georgian diaspora. A number of members of the former Georgian army enlisted in the Polish Army as contract officers. Plenary session of the Constituent Assembly of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia. Government Palace in Tbilisi. The building of the first Georgian diplomatic mission in Poland. The Act of Independence of Georgia, 1918. ARMENIA: PATH TO INDEPENDENCE In 1914, the territories of historical Armenia were divided mainly between Turkey and Russia. After the outrbreak of the First World War, the fact that some Armenians helped the Russian army was used as an excuse for Turkey’s genocide of Armenians in 1915. The February Revolution set the stage for Armenia’s political emancipation from Russia. In 1918, while most of its territory was still under Turkish occupation, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation or Dashnaksutyun formed an independent Republic of Armenia. Under the Treaty of Sèvres signed in 1920, Armenia gained large areas of the Armenian Plateau. An attempt to claim those territories, however, ended with a loss of land to a Turkish invasion led by Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk) and helped by Russia. That year, a communist revolt broke out in Armenia. With the support of the Red Army, the rebels toppled the democratic government and established the Armenian SSR. A treaty between Bolshevik Russia and Turkey which followed in 1921, divided Armenia between the two countries, giving Turkey Kars and the symbol of Armenia – Mount Ararat. Armenian refugees, October 1918. Armenian soldiers lead a group of POWs, deserters from the Armenian army, 1 October 1919. The Cabinet of the Armenian Republic; left-to-right: Avelik Sahakian, Alexander Khatisian, General Christopher Araratov, Nikol Aghpalin, A. Gulkandanian, S. Araradian, 1 October 1919. Parade of 500 Armenian veterans of the World War, Washington D.C., 14 April 1920. Armenian refugees with their belongings on the beach in Novorossiysk, Russian Black Sea coast, 1920. POLAND: RESTORATION OF INDEPENDENCE In the autumn of 1918, Poland won back her independence after 123 years of bondage. The Austrian Partition (areas occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire) broke free in October and Ignacy Daszyński’s Lublin government was formed on 7 November. In the territories of the former Russian Partition, Warsaw was an important centre of political power. The German occupational regime was gradually losing its grip, distracted as it was by the revolution in Berlin. On 10 November, Brigadier Józef Piłsudski returned to Warsaw from imprisonment in Magdeburg and received full military pow- er from the Regency Council of the Kingdom of Poland; three days later, he was also vested full civilian authority over the state. In the streets, German troops were being disarmed. On 16 November, Piłsudski notified foreign governments of the reinstitution of the Polish State. This event was the fruit of efforts of all Poles, regardless of their political affiliation. The joint struggle galvanized the newly liberated nation, especially when it came to averting the mortal danger of the Bolshevik invasion in the summer of 1920. Members of the Regency Council: Prince Zdzisław Lubomirski, Archbishop Aleksander Kakowski and Count Józef Ostrowski, before inauguration, 27 October 1917. Students keep watch during the disarmament of German troops in Warsaw. Disarmed German soldiers can be seen in the background, November 1918. Józef Piłsudski arrives at the Wileński Station in Warsaw on his return from Kraków, December 1918. Józef Piłsudski’s place of imprisonment in Magdeburg. Józef Piłsudski, 1918 r. THE BATTLE OF LWÓW The disintegration of Austria-Hungary sparked ethnic con- flicts in areas with mixed populations. One of such areas was Eastern Galicia with Lwów, which was claimed by Poles and Ukrainans. On the morning of 1 November 1918, Ukrainian forces, in a surprise attack, took the main military objects in Lwów. Poles, who constituted the majority of the city’s population, made a stand against them. Clashes began in front of St. Elizabeth’s church; the Henryk Sienkiewicz School became the defenders’ first redbout. The Polish defenders of Lwów fought under the command of Captain Czesław Mączyński. The youngest of the Poles who fought for their city became known as the Eaglets of Lwów. The battle for the city was decided with the arrival of Polish troops under Lt. Col. Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski at the end of November 1918. The Ukrainian forces withdrew from Lwów, but kept the city under siege until March 1919. A group of fighters at a post on Matejki Street, 18 November 1918. A building in Lwów destroyed in the battle, November 1918. Józef Piłsudski speaks with officers at the front near Lwów. Also present are General Józef Leśniewski and Col. Czesław Mączyński, 1919. Brave young defenders of the Third Sector. Improvised Polish armoured vehicle named after Józef Piłsudski in the streets of Lwów during the siege of the city, November 1918. III battalion 1st Lwów Rifles Regiment rests along the way. THE WIELKOPOLSKA UPRISING The Wielkopolska Uprising was a consequence of the occu- pation authorities maintaining their hold on the territories of the Prussian (German) Partition even after Germany’s defeat in World War I. When Germany refused to step down, the Poles increased their clandestine preparations for military action. The arrival in Poznań of renowned pianist and independence activist Ignacy Jan Paderwski on 27 December 1918 triggered a spontaneous insurrection. The uprising was led by the Commissariat of the Supreme People’s Council, with Major Stanisław Taczak, and later General Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki, commanding the troops. As a result of the uprising, most of Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) came under the control of the insurgent forces. Armistice made in Trier in February 1919 recognized the new status quo. The agreement was confirmed at the Paris Conference. In the course of the uprising, 2000 Poles were killed and 6000 were wounded. Oath swearing ceremony of National Defense commanders, 23 January 1919. Major Wojtkiewicz hammers the symbolic nail into the stave of the regimental colour; Chodzież, 1 March 1920. General Charles Dupont reviews the troops on Freedom Square (Plac Wolności) in Poznań, 23 February 1919. Ignacy Jan Paderewski arrives in Warsaw. Marchpast before the Entente Mission, 2 March 1919. The Entente Mission in Poznań, 2 March 1919. THE HALLER ARMY The Polish Army formed in France in 1917, known as the Haller Army or the Blue Army, was a successor of the Polish Bayonne Legion which had fought alongside the French Army in 1914 and 1915. The Army was created following a decree issued by French President Raymond Poincaré on 4 June 1917. Political responsibility for the Army was assumed by the Polish National Committee. The Army enlisted thousands of Poles from the United States, Canada, Brazil, POW camps in Italy, France, United Kingdom, from the Russian units in France, and even from China. The Polish Army joined in the war against Germany in June 1918. In October, General Józef Haller, recently arrived from Russia, took command of the Army. In April of the following year, the 70 000-strong Polish Army, equipped with 90 modern aircraft, 120 tanks and other state-of-the-art armament, began returning to Poland, where it joined in the wars for the frontiers of the newly restored state. Soldiers of the Polish Army in France in the Sillé-le-Guillaume camp. Community room in the Polish Army camp in Sillé-le-Guillaume, August 1918. Soldiers present a colour designed by Xawery Dunikowski. The Blue Army arrives in Poland, April 1919. General Józef Haller takes an oath as the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army in France. Crowds welcome Józef Haller on his arrival in Warsaw, 1919. THE PARIS CONFERENCE AND THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES The new international order after the First World War was to be decided at the Paris Peace Conference. The shape of the world would ultimately be determined by five empires: The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Japan. The defeated states were invited to participate only in a later phase of the talks. Bolshevik Russia was not present. Poland was represented by a delegation led by Ignacy Jan Paderewski and Roman Dmowski. The conference culminated in the Treaty of Versailles signed on 28 June 1919 in the Versaille’s Hall of Mirrors, the same where the German Empire had been proclaimed in 1871. The Treaty established the League of Nations and imposed obligations on Germany regarding the restoration of territories to a number of European states, including Poland and the colonies, payment of reparations and limits in the strength of armies. The Versaille order was eventually toppled largely as a result of the revisionist aspirations of the German Reich with active collaboration from the Soviet Union, especially in 1939 and 1940. President of France Raymond Poincaré delivers the inauguration speech at the Paris Peace Conference in the Salon de l’Horloge, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs; 18 January 1919. Representatives of Entente states after signing the Treaty. In the foreground: U.S. President Thomas Woodrow Wilson (centre left), Prime Minister of France Georges Clemenceau (centre), British Foreign Minister Arthur James Balfour (second from right); Paris, 28 June 1919. The Council of Four meets after signing the Treaty. Right-to-left: U.S. President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, Prime Minister of France Georges Clemenceau, Prime Minister of Italy Vittorio Orlando, Prime Minister of Great Britain David Lloyd George; Paris, 28 June 1919. THE FRENCH MILITARY MISSION IN POLAND The French Military Mission in Poland was established under an agreement between the two states made on 25 April 1919 as a result of talks which had taken place in January and February of that year. Several hundred officers, members of the mission, arrived in Poland with the Haller Army. The Mis- sion’s objectives focused on a few main areas. Its first task was to help train the nascent Polish Army and develop the regulations and procedures of its operation. Besides that, the Mission was to assist the Polish government in creating a system of command and a proper structure of the armed forces. It is impossible to overestimate the Mission’s support during that time, especially considering the initial poor training of some of the officer corps and Poland’s geographical challenge of being positioned between Bolshevik Russia and Germany. In the first years of its operation, the Mission was headed by General Paul Henrys (1919-1920), who was succeeded by General Henri Niessel (1920-1921) and Gen- eral Charles Dupont (1921-1926). Colonel Louis Faury, Chief of the Mission’s army training bureau. Lieutenant Colonel Happe teaches a class in the draughting room of the War College. A French officer (Lt. Col. Béreaud?) teaches a class using examples from the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, with the help of an interpreter. Józef Piłsudski and General Paul Henrys visit the military school in Dęblin, 10 June 1919. Officers and their French professors prepare for tactical exercises in an adapted railway carriage. THE FRENCH MILITARY MISSION IN POLAND The chief tasks of the French Military Mission were to be performed by its II Bureau whose responsibilities included providing technical advice and offering help on military issues to the II Bureau General Staff Polish Army. The Mission’s II Bureau was divided into sections which handled military and political study programmes, propaganda, information service and press. Besides, the Mission was also interested in issues related to the activities of the Red Army and coding. The French Military Mission played a key role in the Polish-Bolshevik War, offering tangible support not only in combat, but also in the equipment of the Polish troops. Its officers provided situational sketches showing the situation at the front. The Mission’s reports included information on Red Army movements after the battle of Warsaw. The operations of the French Military Mission contributed to the friendly relations between the nations and armies of Poland and France. It provided a firm foundation for the political and military alliance formed by the two countries in 1921. Pilots pose in front of a French Caudron G2, 1920. General Haller and French officers with a detachment of the 3rd Rifles Division Polish Army in France, 19 July 1919. Józef Piłsudski speaks with General Paul Henrys, surrounded by officers. Standing behind the Polish C-in-C is General Kazimierz Sosnkowski, 19 March 1920. Conference of commanders during the Polish-Bolshevik War: Commander-in-Chief Józef Piłsudski, General Paul Henrys, General Edward Rydz-Śmigły, spring 1920. WAR AND TEMPORARY PEACE IN LWÓW The removal of Ukrainian forces from Lwów in late Novem- ber 1918 did not bring peace in the contested territories of Eastern Galicia. Hostilities continued through early December 1918 in various areas, including the vicinity of Chyrów (Khyriv). The forces of the West Ukrainian People’s Republic continued to push on Lwów. The city was blockaded and shelled by artillery. Hostilities in Galicia extended into Volhynia. In late January and early February 1919, the Poles captured Włodzimierz Wołyński (Vladimir-Volynsky) and Kowel. The bloody fighting in Eastern Galicia fizzled down into an impasse by the second half of January 1919. An interim ceasefire was forced by an intervention from the Entente motivated by the Allies’ anti-Bolshevik policies and support for “White” Russia. The Polish forces in Eastern Galicia were under the command of Generals Tadeusz Rozwadowski and Wacław Iwaszkiewicz. Residents of Lwów present General Wacław Iwaszkiewicz with a historic sabre in a gesture of gratitude for the liberation of the city; 1919. Soldiers of the Polish Legions in Volhynia; 16 June 1919. General Rozwadowski decorates the defenders of Lwów with the War Cross of Virtuti Militari. St. Elizabeth’s Church renovation committee in the ruins of the church. General Rozwadowski addresses decorated soldiers. Delegation of the Paris Peace Conference sent by the Entente to Lwów in February 1919. Soldiers of the Polish Legions in Kowel; Kazimierz Sosnkowski salutes on the far right, 16 June 1916. OFFENSIVE IN THE VILNIUS REGION AND EASTERN GALICIA As the German forces withdrew, their place in Lithuania and Belarus was taken by the Bolshevik army. The Bolsheviks toppled the government of independent Belarus and, once they captured Vilnius, proclaimed the Lithuanian-Belarussian Soviet Socialist Republic. In February 1919, the forces of the Polish Lithuanian-Belarussian Front launched a counteroffensive. In early March, they took control of Słonim and Pińsk and in April 1919, entered Vilnius. In March, the Poles stopped the Ukrainian offensive on Lwów and pushed the Ukrainian Galician Army back from the city. The real turning point came in May with a new offensive of the Polish forces, now supported by the Polish Army from France. In Pokuttya, Romanian troops also joined in the Polish fight against the Ukrainians. By mid-July, the Poles had taken control of all the land east of Lwów as far as the Zbruch river. In November 1919, the Entente granted Poland a 25-year mandate over Eastern Galicia. With time, this temporary status was replaced with a recognized sovereign rule of the Second Polish Republic. Józef Piłsudski’s address “To the People of the Former Grand Duchy of Lithuania”, issued on 22 April 1919. General Lucjan Żeligowski after the arrival of the Polish forces in Vilnius; 1920. General Edward Rydz-Śmigły’s address to the residents of Vilnius issued on the entrance of Polish forces to Vilnius; 21 April 1919. General Henrys reviews the Polish troops in the town square of Minsk before the Kiev campaign; March 1920. The League of Nations Commission in the regimental barracks on the arrival of the Polish forces to Vilnius. Also pictured are General Lucjan Żeligowski, commandant of the city Major Stanisław Bobiatyński, regiment commander Lt. Col. Jerzy Wołkowicki; 1919. General Henrys and Polish officers respond to the national anthem at the railway station in Minsk; March 1920. THE SILESIAN UPRISINGS The 1919 Paris Conference did not solve the allocation of Upper Silesia. Instead, the matter was to be settled by a referendum. In response, Silesian Poles went on strike and on 17 August 1919, launched the I Silesian Uprising, which was quickly quelled. Preparations for the plebiscite began after the withdrawal of German troops from Upper Silesia and the arrival of the forces of the Entente. As tensions reached their peak, the II Silesian Uprising broke out on the night of 19 August 1920. Before the rising fizzled out, the insurgents captured as many as 9 districts. The plebiscite was carried out on 20 March 1921. By allowing participation of natives of Silesia living outside the region, most of whom were German, only 40.3 per cent of the population voted for Upper Silesia to remain in Poland. The resulting division of Silesia to the disadvantage of its Polish residents sparked the out- break of the III Silesian Uprising on the night of 2 May 1921. That last attempt was successful and Poland was allotted 29 per cent of the region, including valuable industrial areas, and 46 per cent of the population of the territories given up for the referendum. Transfer protocol signing ceremony: Polish authorities take over the Katowice District in the presence of district controllers of the Inter-Allied Commission of Control and the Upper Silesia Plebiscite and representatives of Upper Silesian authorities after the division of Upper Silesia between Poland and Germany; Katowice, 19 June 1922. French post in Katowice. A crowd of on-lookers gazes at a French Renault FT-17 tank; 1921. First voivode of Silesia Józef Rymer signs the act of transfer of the Rybnik District to the Polish state after the division of Upper Silesia between Poland and Germany, 3 July 1922. The ceremony is attended by district controllers of the Inter-Allied Commission of Control and Upper Silesia Plebiscite: Italian Colonel Demetrio Asinari di Bernezzo and his deputy, French Captain Lalanne. III Silesian Uprising – volunteers of an insurgent detachment in Rybnik armed with rifles; 1921. Preparation of voter lists and ballot cards during the Silesia plebiscite; 1921. Map showing the results of the Upper Silesia plebiscite; 1921. THE BATTLES FOR DAUGAVPILS In August 1919, General Edward Rydz-Śmigły led his troops out of Belarus towards the Daugava watershed. In the way of his advance stood the fortress and key junction in Daugavpils, the captial of Latgale in the former Polish Livonia, now occupied by the Red Army. On 27 September 1919, the 1st Infantry Legions Division advanced on the city with the support of 20 French tanks. The Poles captured Daugavpils after two days of battle, having lost nearly 300 killed and wounded. French Renault FT-17 tank at Daugavpils, 1919. The city of Daugavpils; January 1920. Engineers of the 1st Legions Division construct a pontoon bridge on the Daugava at Daugavpils; 1919. The Polish Army during Operation Winter in Latvia; January 1920. General Edward Rydz-Śmigły with one of his officers. In the background, a view of Daugavpils; January 1920. THE BATTLES FOR DAUGAVPILS In December 1919, the government of Latvia asked for Polish help in liberating Latgale. Józef Piłsudski entrusted this task to General Edward Rydz-Śmigły. The 30 000 Polish and 10 000 Latvian troops involved in “Operation Winter” fought the Red Army in temperatures as low as 30ºC below zero. Daugavpils was captured on 3 January 1920; the rest of Latgale was liberated by February. The brotherhood of arms formed in that war became the foundation of good neighbourly relations between Poland and Latvia. Funeral of soldiers killed in action at Daugavpils; 1919. French Renault FT-17 tanks at Daugavpils; 1919. The Polish Army during Operation Winter in Latvia; January 1920. Officers of the 1st Legions Infantry Regiment after the first assault on the bridgehead near Daugavpils; 1919 M1914 Hotchkiss machine gun in position at Daugavpils; January 1920. Lt. Kalinowski’s “Death Battalion” from Poznań in the Daugavpils fortress; January 1920. THE POLISH-UKRAINIAN OFFENSIVE AND THE CAPTURE OF KIEV After the defeat of the “White Guard” in early 1920, Bolshevik Russia began getting ready to deal with Poland. In February, the Red Army formed its Western Front. In order to preclude the threat, the Polish government and Symon Petliura’s Ukrainian People’s Republic made a military agreement on 21 April 1920 on the cooperation of the two armies. The joint Polish-Ukrainian campaign on Kiev began on 26 April 1920. Its goal – to create an independent Ukrainian state as an element of anti-Bolshevik policy targetting Russia’s imperial tendencies. One of the military aims of the campaign was to provoke a concentration of Bolshevik forces in Ukraine, where they would be entirely defeated. The first Polish troops entered the Ukrainian capital on 7 May. But due to insufficient support in Ukraine, the Kiev Campaign failed to achieve its political objectives. A convoy carries ammunition for the volunteer army in Kiev; 1919. General Antoni Listowski speaks to Ataman Symon Petliura; April 1921 Bridge near Kiev blown up by the Bolsheviks; 1919. General Henri Albert Niessel, Chief of the French Military Mission in Poland, decorates the defenders of Lwów; Lwów, 1923. Ataman Symon Petliura and General Edward Rydz-Śmigły meet at the Kiev railway station; 10 May 1920. THE BOLSHEVIK OFFENSIVE Without decisive support from Petliura, the Polish forces were unable to defeat the Bolshevik troops in Ukraine. Neither could they stop their concentration in Belarus, where the Red Army began its great offensive on 14 May. With the arrival of Semyon Budyonny’s First Cavalry Army, a Bolshevik offensive began also on the Ukrainian front. On 5 June, the Polish lines were broken at Samhorodek. On 10 June, the Poles left Kiev. By the beginning of July, the Polish Army in Ukraine had withdrawn West by 150-250 km. On 4 July, a new Bolshevik offensive was launched towards Vilnius and Warsaw. The Polish forces continued to retreat. On 10 July, commander of the Red Army’s Western Front Mikhail Tukhachevsky gave orders for an attack on Warsaw. His goal was to defeat the Poles and ford the Vistula River. On 12 August 1920, the Red Army engaged the Polish forces on the eastern outskirts of Warsaw. Soldiers dig trenches on the eastern outskirts of Warsaw near Praga; July 1920. Bolshevik propaganda in Warsaw; summer 1920. Belgian Sisters of Mercy arrive in Poland; 1920. Bolsheviks headed to a meeting; summer 1920. Bolshevik patrol on the outskirts of Warsaw; August 1920. General Tadeusz Rozwadowski visits the front lines on the outskirts of Warsaw; August 1920. POLISH-AMERICAN BROTHERHOOD OF ARMS In the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920, important contributions were made to the Polish cause by American pilots who saw their service to Poland as a way of repaying a “debt of honour”, an obligation going back to the American War for Independence in the 18th century when the Union accepted help from two Polish volunteers, Thaddeus Kosciuszko and Casimir Pulaski. In 1779, the mortally wounded Pulaski was assisted by Col. John Cooper. It was his great-grandson, Merian Cooper, a native of Florida and an impulsive dreamer with imagination to spare, who first proposed the idea of creating an air force squadron of American pilots as a support unit for the Polish army. Cooper’s idea was approved by Józef Piłsudski as well as General Tadeusz Rozwadowski, Chief of General Staff Polish Army. “We Americans believe that by fighting the Bolsheviks we are also fighting for our own country.” (Letter from Major Cedric Fauntleroy to U.S. Secretary of War Newton Baker Jr. on seeking funds for the Kosciuszko Escadrille, Lwów, 28 February 1920. Statue of Thaddeus Kosciuszko in Humboldt Park in Chicago, IL, (moved to Burnham Park in 1978), unveiled in 1904 with funds provided by Ignacy Jan Paderewski, a world-famous pianist and one of the fathers of Polish independence, Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Polish government January 16-December 9, 1919. Letter from Merian Cooper to Józef Piłsudski requesting permission to join the ranks of the Polish army, 29 April 1919. The letter contains the rationale for Cooper’s decision (his ancestor’s service under Casimir Pulaski in the Continental Army during the American War for Independence, particularly in the Battle of Savannah) and the course Captain Merian Cooper’s military career to date. Merian Cooper in Polish uniform during the 1920 war. / public domain Casimir Pulaski statue in Washington, D.C. Merian Cooper’s star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 7TH THADDEUS KOSCIUSZKO FIGHTER ESCADRILLE Recruitment of American volunteers began in Paris in the sum- mer of 1919. It was carried out by Merian Coldwell Cooper (1893-1973) and Cedric Fauntleroy (1891-1963), pilots of the American Expeditionary Corps which had fought in Europe in 1918. First to sign service contracts with the Polish army were Major Cedric Fauntleroy, Captain Merian Cooper, Lieutenants George Crawford, Edward Corsi, Carl Clark and Kenneth Shrewsbury, Second Lieutenant Edwin Noble and Captain Arthur Kelly. Those eight volunteers were sent off to Poland on 26 August 1919 by Polish Prime Minister Ignacy Jan Paderewski in a ceremony at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. Upon their arrival, the Americans met with Józef Piłsudski in the Belweder Palace (14 October 1919), before setting out for Lwów where they joined the 7th Thaddeus Kosciuszko Air Escadrille. Fauntleroy, as the most senior in rank, became the Escadrille’s first commander with Cooper as his deputy. Albatros D.III aircraft – a single-seater biplane with an open cockpit, since 1917 in serial production in a German factory in Piła, while its upgraded variant was manufactured by the Austrian company Oeffag. Polish pilots took over these planes at the end of World War I and used them during the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-1920. The first American volunteers of the Kościuszko Escadrille: Fauntleroy, Cooper, Corsi, Crawford, Shrewsbury, Clark, Rorison, Noble. The Entente’s Military Mission in Lwów, April 1919. Seated from left to right: Capt. W.H. Mule (U.K.), Col. Ernest de Renty (France), Col. Caziarc (USA), Col. Tonini (Italy), Capt. Skowroński (Poland). Standing: Lt. Stanisław Szczepanowski (Poland), Capt. Merian Caldwell Cooper (USA), Lt. Kazimierz Miński (Poland), Lt. Guerrini (Italy), Lt. Horodyski (Poland). Cedric Fauntleroy (1890-1963) – American pilot, air colonel in the Polish Army, first commander of the Polish Kosciuszko Escadrille, Knight of the Order of Virtuti Militari. Stanisław Ratomski – air captain of the 2nd Air Regiment in Kraków, in front of an Ansaldo A-1 Balilla aircraft, which he flew from Krakow to Bucharest. The first American volunteers of the Kościuszko Escadrille: Fauntleroy, Cooper, Corsi, Crawford, Shrewsbury, Clark, Rorison, Noble. The Entente’s Military Mission in Lwów, April 1919. Seated from left to right: Capt. W.H. Mule (U.K.), Col. Ernest de Renty (France), Col. Caziarc (USA), Col. Tonini (Italy), Capt. Skowroński (Poland). Standing: Lt. Stanisław Szczepanowski (Poland), Capt. Merian Caldwell Cooper (USA), Lt. Kazimierz Miński (Poland), Lt. Guerrini (Italy), Lt. Horodyski (Poland). The emblem of the Kościuszko Escadrille designed by Lieutenant Elliott Chess. During World War II, Polish 303 Fighter Squadron which fought in the battle of Britain adopted this emblem for its own insignia. Roster of the Kościuszko Escadrille listing the wounded and fallen in the war of 1920 by military rank, issued in May 1921. Stills from the film Gwiaździsta Eskadra („The Starry Escadrille”), printed in the Kino dla wszystkich („Cinema for All”) magazine, 1930. AMERICANS IN THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENT POLAND At first, the Americans were responsible for training Polish pilots. In April 1920, Józef Piłsudski approved their deployment to the Galician front, where they carried out courier missions between Lwów and Tarnopol, and during the Polish Kiev Offensive – also reconnaissance and combat missions. In action, they used a new tactic of continuously strafing marching enemy columns from a low altitude, which wreaked panic among the Bolsheviks. They made particularly important contributions to the Polish cause in August 1920, when they harassed Semyon Budyonny’s Cavalry Army with raids, inflicting serious losses on the Bolshevik forces in the battle for Lwów. When Captain Cooper’s aircraft was shot down in one of the sorties near Równe, Volhynia, he was captured and went through several Soviet lagers before breaking out and returning to Poland via Riga in May 1921. On 10 May 1921, Józef Piłsudski decorated nine of the American pilots with the Silver Cross of Virtuti Militari and four with the Cross of Valour. The Americans were demobilized on 11 May 1921. Award ceremony for officers with Chief of State Józef Piłsudski awarding crosses of Virtuti Militarii V class; left to right: Gen. Tadeusz Jordan Rozwadowski, Gen. Stanisław Haller, Col. Tadeusz Piskor, colonel Cedric Errol Fauntleroy – commander of 7 Thaddeus Kosciuszko Air Escadrille, in front of Polish Army Headquarters in Saski Square in Warsaw, 14 September 1920. Personnel of the American Red Cross under Col. Walter C. Bailey, in front of the ARC headquarters in Warsaw; May 1919. The Battle of Zadwórze, known as „Polish Thermopylae”, fought on 17 August 1920 between Polish defenders of Lwów under Capt. Bolesław Zajączkowski and the Bolshevik 1st Cavalry Army under the command of Semyon Budyonny,ended with Polish victory at an immense cost of 318 of the 330 city defenders killed in action – painting by Stanisław Kaczor-Batowski dated 1929. Semyon Budyonny MEMORY AND LEGEND Twenty-one Americans served in the Kosciuszko Escadrille during the Polish-Bolshevik War. Of that number, three were killed: Lt. Edmund Pike Graves crashed during an air show in Lwów on 22 November 1919, Capt. Arthur H. Kelly – in a combat mission along the Łuck-Klewań road on 15 July 1920, and Lt. George MacCallum – in action at Lwów on 31 August 1920. All three were buried in the Cemetery of the Defend- ers of Lwów. The II Polish Republic never forgot her American heroes. The Polish National Association of Chicago, IL, commemorated their contributions by funding a monument at the Łyczakowski Cemetery in Lwów, which was unveiled on 30 May 1925. In 1930, Leonard Buczkowski produced a war film entitled Gwiaździsta Eskadra (“The Starry Escadrille”) on the American pilots fighting alongside the Poles in 1919- 1921. No copy of the film survives, all having probably been destroyed or removed by the Red Army in 1945. In 2005, Zbigniew Kowalewski brought back the story of the American pilots in his film Siedemnastu wspaniałych (“The Magnificent Seventeen”). A street in Warsaw’s Bemowo District is named after General Merian Cooper. The stories of the 17 American pilots involved in Poland’s defence against the Bolsheviks were retold in Robert Karolevitz and Ross Fenn’s book Flight of Eagles: The Story of the American Kosciuszko Squadron in the Polish-Russian War 1919-1920. Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów with the memorial of fallen American pilots, 1925-1939. The Cross of Virtuti Militari awarded by Józef Piłsudski to Merian Cooper. The Cross of Valour awarded to Merian Cooper for action in the Polish-Bolshevik War. The Józef Piłsudski Institute Archives in America, the Legacy of Merian Cooper Ceremonies in honor of American pilots killed in the defense of Poland; wreath-laying at the memorial in Lwów. Standing on the far right in the front row is General Jan Thullie – “Lwów” General District Command Chief of Staff and head of Staff of the Southern Front in the Polish-Bolshevik War as of 23 August 1920; 1926. Defense of Lwów honorary badge for action in the Polish-Ukrainian War (1-22 November 1918) awarded to Merian Cooper, an American pilot involved in supply missions for defenders of Lwów. Pilot’s wings presented to Merian Cooper. Pilot’s wings presented to Merian Cooper. Members of the Polish National Alliance in America on a trip to Lwów in front of the memorial of fallen American pilots at the Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów where they had laid a wreath, 1926. Emblem of the Kosciuszko Escadrille. POST-WAR LIFE OF THE AMERICAN PILOTS Cedric Fauntleroy, one of the organizers of the Kosciuszko Escadrille and its first commander, was released from service in the Polish Army at his own request on 10 May 1921. In recognition of his merits in the battle field, he was promoted to colonel. Upon his return to the United States, he continued working for the Polish cause with Ignacy Jan Paderewski and the Polish diaspora in North America. He was one of the founders of the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City, which to this day continues to promote Polish culture and science in the United States. Merian Cooper, upon his return, became a director of documentaries and feature films in Hollywood. In his most famous production King Kong (1933), Cooper took on the part of a pilot coming at the giant ape from the air. During the Second World War, Cooper supported Poles and maintained relationships with the Polish diaspora, including the famous Polish 303 Squadron in Britain which continued the traditions of the Kosciuszko Escadrille. Celebrations in honour of Colonel Cedric Fauntleroy organized in Chicago on 14 November 1920; front page of the programme. Declaration of presumption of death issued for Merian Cooper in September 1918 after his plane was shot down in German-occupied territories – in fact, Cooper survived and was captured by Germans. Declaration of presumption of death issued for Merian Cooper in September 1918 after his plane was shot down in German-occupied territories – in fact, Cooper survived and was captured by Germans. Poster of Cooper’s King Kong showing in the Casino cinema in Pińsk; 1938. Posters of Cooper’s most famous Hollywood production, King Kong, from 1930. Scene from Merian Cooper’s King Kong. ORDERS FOR THE BATTLE OF WARSAW The general concept of the defence of Warsaw came from Marshal Józef Piłsudski. The plan was later calibrated in a discussion with Chief of General Staff General Tadeusz Rozwadowski who decided to outflank the forces of the Red Army’s Western Front from the south. The manoeuvre army, the key force in the plan, was to concentrate on the River Wieprz, an eastern tributary of the Vistula near Dęblin south of Warsaw. Orders for the battle were issued on 6 August. The French advisor to the Chief of General Staff, General Maxime Weygand, whose observations were taken into account in the formulation of the battle plan, very tactfully wrote in his memoirs, “My role and that of the officers of the French Mission came down to little more than filling in a few gaps in the details of its execution. We gave our best intentions to this assignment. But nothing more. The heroic Polish nation saved itself.” General Tadeusz Rozwadowski. Order No. 71 for launch of the battle, issued by General Tadeusz Rozwadowski on 14 August 1920. Change of guard, Civic Guard in Warsaw; August 1920. Red Cross personnel prepares parcels for the soldiers on the front lines; Warsaw 1920. General Józef Haller studies the situation at the front; August 1920. General Maxime Weygand in the Krasiński Palace with gifts and cards sent to him by the Polish people in gratitude for his help in the victorious battle of Warsaw. General Weygand looks on as commander of the Polish Armed Forces General Rozwadowski gives the last orders for battle to an officer escorting reporters headed for Minsk. THE BATTLE OF WARSAW: DAY ONE On the morning of 13 August 1920, the Bolshevik forces, following Mikhail Tukhachevsky’s instructions, launched what they believed would be a decisive strike culminating in the capture of Warsaw. In early morning, having forded the Vistula in several places, the Bolsheviks launched an unsuccessful attack on Radzymin north-east of Warsaw. In the evening, however, the Red Army managed to break through Polish defence lines, capture Radzymin and penetrate into the Polish camp. These events set off a bloody struggle for Radzymin which lasted three days and went down in history as the battle of Warsaw. On the morning of 13 August, Marshal Józef Piłsudski set to work at the Commander-in-Chief’s Headquarters in the Czartoryski Palace in Pulawy, fine-tuning the details of the previously planned offensive. He personally supervised the concentration of the manoeuvre group whose counterstrike would determine Polish victory in the battle of Warsaw a few days later, and settle the fate of Poland and Europe. Room in a house in Irena where Józef Piłsudski and army commanders General Edward Rydz-Śmigły and General Leonard Skierski held a briefing during the battle of Warsaw on 13 August 1920. Barbed wire entanglements in the approaches of Warsaw; August 1920. Polish machine gun position on the road at Radzymin; August 1920. Polish soldiers in their positions during the battle at Radzymin; August 1920. THE BATTLE OF WARSAW: DAY TWO The battle raged north, north-east and east of the Polish capital. In the morning, the Bolsheviks managed to expand the gap north-east of Warsaw by capturing Majdan, Lesniakowizna and Ossów. In the counterstrike at Ossów, chaplain of the 236th Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Father Ignacy Skorupka, was killed when he followed the troops into action. On the Wkra River north-east of Modlin, the Bolshevik forces were getting ready to ford the Vistula and outflank Warsaw from the north and west, the way the Tsarist forces had done during the Polish national uprising in 1831. To stop the Red Army from regrouping and reaching the threatened Praga bridgehead, General Władysław Sikorski’s Polish 5 Army began operating north-east of Modlin. Bolshevik forces down the Vistula began fighting their way to ford the river between Nieszawa and Włocławek. On that day, a number of public offices and foreign missions were moved out of Warsaw to Poznań. Crew of a 7.62 mm M1895/14 Colt medium machine gun in its position near Stara Miłosna; 1920. General Józef Haller visits the front at Radzymin; August 1920. General Jan Rządkowski visits the front at Radzymin; August 1920. The staff of Polish 5 Army debates the plan of attack. Pictured from left to right: General Władysław Sikorski, Lt. Rudnicki, Lt. Edward Ulanicki, Major Stanisław Roztworowski, Lt. Col. Romuald Wolikowski; August 1920. General Władysław Sikorski speaks with a regiment commander before the 5 Army offensive; August 1920. Funeral of Father Ignacy Skorupka and Lt. Ryszard Downar-Zapolski in Warsaw; August 1920. THE BATTLE OF WARSAW: DAY THREE Since morning, heavy fighting raged on the banks of the Wkra River. In spite of a few local setbacks, the Poles succeeded in stopping the advance of the Red Army. The decisive raid by the 8th Cavalry Brigade under General Alexander Karnicki began with Major Zygmunt Podhorski’s 203rd Uhlan Regiment’s attack on the headquarters of the IV Bolshevik Army in Ciechanów; the Soviets, having burned documents and radio stations, withdrew east. The loss of the radio station, which had helped maintain communications between the troops and their commanders, was fatal to the Bolshevik forces. It saved General Władysław Sikorski’s 5 Army which was defending Modlin under threat of possible attacks from the north and north-west. An important breakthrough took place at the Praga Bridgehead, where the Poles managed to ultimately push the Red Army out of Radzymin on the evening of 15 August. Red Cross personnel prepares parcels for the soldiers on the front lines; Warsaw 1920. Representatives of the YMCA serve a meal and distribute cigarettes to soldiers on the Radzymin road; 1920. Bolshevik soldiers captured at Radzymin; August 1920. Bolshevik patrol captured by Polish soldiers on the outskirts of Warsaw; August 1920. 7.62 mm M1910 Maxim medium machine gun position on the outskirts of Warsaw; August 1920. THE BATTLE OF WARSAW: DAY FOUR Heavy fighting continued in the sector of General Sikorski’s 5 Army on the Wkra and at the Praga Bridgehead. The Bolshevik forces, engaged by the defenders of Warsaw could not quickly respond to the rapidly changing situation, but it was action at Dęblin that proved decisive to the battle and the whole Polish-Bolshevik war. The Polish offensive from the Wieprz River was launched sooner than planned – at dawn on 16 August. The manoeuvre group, the 5th Infantry Division and a cavalry brigade, all under the personal command of Commander-in-Chief Marshal Józef Piłsudski, easily broke through the shallow lines of the Bolshevik Mozyrskaya Group and quickly penetrated deep behind enemy lines while the Bolsheviks were entangled in combat near Warsaw. The Mozyrskaya Group was now in danger of being cut off and possibly annihilated. Members of women’s organizations prepare a meal at the soldiers’ mess; August 1920. 155 mm M1917 howitzer in action at Modlin; August 1920. Polish soldiers at the Warsaw front take a moment of rest; August 1920 Wojskowe Biuro Historyczne 120 mm M1878/16 cannon in action in its position on the outskirts of Warsaw; August 1920. Men of the 15th Infantry Division advance in the Wiązowna-Emów sector; August 1920. THE BATTLE OF WARSAW: DAY FIVE As the Polish manoeuvre group continued in pursuit of the retreating Red Army, it was joined by the troops from the Praga Bridgehead. By evening, through a great effort of the infantry, the Polish forces advancing from the banks of the Wieprz River had reached the Warsaw – Mińsk Mazowiecki– Brest road, cutting off the Bolsheviks’ main supply and evacuation route. The only chance for the Red Army to avoid complete annihilation was to quickly retreat to the north-east. At Płońsk north of the capital, two Red Army divisions, confused by a lack of communication, were forced to retreat by Colonel Gustaw Dreszer’s cavalry group and the Płońsk city garrison. In the south, Semyon Budyonny’s 1st Cavalry Army, still unaware of the Bolsheviks’ defeat at Warsaw, continued its march towards Lwów, putting a bloody end to any attempt at resistance. General Lucjan Żeligowski, commander of the 10th Infantry Division, discusses the plan of action; August 1920. Renault FT-17 tanks move through Mińsk Mazowiecki; 17 August 1920. General Leonard Skierski updates French officers on the progress of the pursuit. Pictured with several others is Chief of the French Military Mission General Paul Henrys; Vicinity of Łomża, 7 August 1920. Soldiers rest by a campfire after pushing the Bolsheviks away from Warsaw; August 1920. THE BATTLE OF WARSAW: THE FINALE It was not until 18 August 1920 that the Red Army Staff and the Commander of the Western Front Mikhail Tukhachevsky learned of the Red Army’s defeat in the battle of Warsaw. And it was only then that orders to retreat from the line of the Vistula were issued to the Bolshevik troops. In the confu- sion, Bolshevik IV Army and Hayk Bzhishkyan’s Cavalry Corps were still trying to capture a bridge in Płock on the Vistula on 18 August 1920. The defenders of Płock held the bridge, in spite of high losses. By that time, the rest of the Red Ar- my continued to retreat, forcing their way through Eastern Prussia. The Bolshevik army would be ultimately defeated in the battle on the Neman River in September 1920. After that, Polish cavalry withheld from action in the Polish-Bolshevik war until the ceasefire in October 1920. The war ended with the signing of a peace treaty in Riga on 18 March 1921. Urban trenches and earthworks formed by the defenders of Płock; 18 August 1920. German lancers disarm Russian cavalry in East Prussia; August 1920. Defenders of Płock after digging street trenches; 18 August 1920. Bolshevik cavalry in East Prussia; August 1920. Soldiers of the 68th Infantry Regiment cross the Narew at Pułtusk in pursuit of the Bolsheviks; August 1920. Soldiers, civilians and a priest stand over the bodies of soldiers of the 1st Siberian Brigade Regiment murdered by the Bolsheviks at Chorzele; 23 August 1920. Civilians feed ammunition belts to guns; Nasielsk, August 1920. Grave of a soldier killed at Okuniew; August 1920. BATTLE OF WARSAW MEMORIALS The battle of Warsaw occupies an important place in the collective memory of the Polish people. It is commemorated in many cemeteries where Polish troops fallen in the battle were buried in individual and mass graves. Those include the Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw, cemeteries in Radzymin, Ossów, Modlin, and dozens of other locations. The battle’s heroes, such as Marshal Józef Piłsudski and Father Ignacy Skorupka, have been honoured with many monuments. The town of Ossów has commemorated the battle with the Ossów-Gates of the Battle of Warsaw 1920 Culture Park, which contains the General Tadeusz Rozwadowski Ex- hibition Pavilion and the Fr. Ignacy Skorupka Heroes of the Battle of Ossów 1920 Memorial School. Monuments and commemorative plaques can be found all around the former battle fields, in Radzymin, Modlin, Puławy, Ciechanów, Płock and many other places. The year 2020 has been named the Year of the Battle of Warsaw and a competition has been organized for a design of a memorial of the battle. The monument will be placed on Na Rozdrożu Square, a central location in Warsaw. It will be a 23-metre obelisk expressing the idea of the year 1920 as the year when history was changed by the courage and the acts of Polish people. Graves of soldiers killed in the Polish-Bolshevik War at the Powązki Military Cemetery, Warsaw. Monument to the fallen at the Powązki Cemetery, Warsaw. The winning design in the battle of Warsaw 1920 memorial design competition organized by the city of Warsaw; author: Nizio Design International Mirosław Nizio. Memorial to Józef Piłsudski and men killed in the defence of the motherland 1918-1920, Wawer. Chapel at the cemetery of the fallen in 1920, in Radzymin. Father Ignacy Skorupka memorial in Ossów, near Warsaw.