The Polish-Bolshevik War 1919-1921

Until 1989, while communists held power in a People's Republic of Poland, the Polish-Soviet War was omitted or minimized in Polish and other Soviet bloc countries' history books, or was presented as foreign intervention during the Russian Civil War to fit in with communist ideology.One of the... More

Until 1989, while communists held power in a People's Republic of Poland, the Polish-Soviet War was omitted or minimized in Polish and other Soviet bloc countries' history books, or was presented as foreign intervention during the Russian Civil War to fit in with communist ideology.One of the most easily overlooked, yet momentous short wars of the 20th century was the swift-moving clash between the post-World War I Polish Republic and Russias brand-new Bolshevik regime of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Reaching a climax during the summer of 1920, the Russo-Polish War is often regarded as the final episode of the Russian Civil War. In fact, it was much more — at once a reflection of the age-old enmity between two Slavic neighbors and a Marxist crusade bent on varying the torch of revolution into the heart of Europe. The campaign featured a remarkable cast of characters on both sides and mixed ferocious cavalry charges with early blitzkrieg tactics in quest of exceptional objectives.Bolshevik commanders in the Red Army's coming offensive would include Leon Trotsky, Mikhail Tukhachevsky (new commander of the Western Front), the future Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin and the founder of the Cheka (secret police)Feliks Dzierżyński.Germany and France were war weary and were experiencing problems such as unemployment and general economic disruption. Lenin already had political agitators in those countries, but in order for his Revolution to succeed he would need the presence of a military force, the Red Army. It became apparent that Lenin was begining to win the Civil War in Russia and would soon be able to free up the Red Army for use in Europe.The nature of this war and the significance of its outcome were not understood in the West at the time, and are still little known today. The war was both national and ideological. Its roots went back to the old Polish-Russian struggle over the borderlands, i.e. Lithuania, Belarus, and the Ukraine, which now took on a new significance. The war led to the Red Army's only real defeat, which meant that not only Poland and the Baltic states, but perhaps also Hungary and Czechoslovakia, were saved from Soviet domination at this time.J.Piłsudskis federalist concept was based on the assumption that the major threat to Eastern Europe was Soviet Russia and secondly Germany. Thus an association of countries had to be formed to prevent aggression. The union between Poland and Lithuania, including Belarus was supposed to be its basis. The next country included was to be independent Ukraine. Latvia and Estonia were to come later. The project was not completed as the countries in question were either too weak (Ukraine, Belarus) or did not want the federation (Lithuania). The later one preferred an independent national country. Piłsudskis initiative, taken up many times within 4 years (1918/19191922) was the only alternative to the Moscow idea of considering the area between Russia and Germany as the territory of its influence. At the very least Lenin wanted to recapture Poland and other lands(Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus and Ukraine)lost as a result of Czarist Russia's defeat by Germany in WW I. It is widely believed that Lenin wanted to expand his Bolshevik empire beyond the former Russian boundries, using the Red Army as a tool to accomplish a wider Revolution. In a pre-emptive strike intended to stop the Bolsheviks, Jozef Pilsudski, the commander of Polish Forces, attacked the Bolsheviks in force in February 1919.Western Europe, where revolutionary fever was boiling over on the streets, was spared a bloody fight for survival. Unfortunately, political and military significance of this victory was never fully appreciated by Europeans.Polish allies were few. Hungary offered to send a 30,000 cavalry corps to Poland's aid, but the Czechoslovakian government refused to allow them through; some trains with weapon supplies from Hungary did, however, arrive in Poland.In addition, shipments of military supplies, materials and armament sent as a form of military assistance by the Allies (most of it by France) were sabotaged by some countries (Germany, Czechoslovakia) under the pretence of neutrality, and by British and German workers converted to communism and manipulated by Soviet infiltrators.W filmie wykorzystano fragmenty:- "Przedwiośnia"- "Sensacji XX wieku" B. Wołoszańskiego- "Cudu nad Wisłą" K. Tyszowieckiego (podziękowania dla Pathe39)Recommended links:http://www.bitwawarszawska.pl/ (in Polish)http://www.electronicmuseum.ca/Soviet-Polish_War/spw.html (in English)http://www.onpedia.com/encyclopedia/polish-soviet-war (in English)http://www.polska.jest.pl/wojna1920/ Warsaw 1920 battle http://www.hallersarmy.com/ (in English)http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Polish-Bolshevik_War (in English) Less

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