Battle of Radzymin (1920)

Battle of Radzymin (1920)

The Battle of Radzymin took place between August 13 and 16, 1920. It was a key part of what later became known as the Battle of Warsaw. The battle was one of the bloodiest and most intense battles of the Polish–Soviet War. The Russians wanted to break through the Polish defences to Warsaw, while the Polish aim was to defend the area long enough for a two-pronged counteroffensive.

About Battle of Radzymin (1920) in brief

Summary Battle of Radzymin (1920)The Battle of Radzymin took place between August 13 and 16, 1920. It was a key part of what later became known as the Battle of Warsaw. The battle was one of the bloodiest and most intense battles of the Polish–Soviet War. The Russians wanted to break through the Polish defences to Warsaw, while the Polish aim was to defend the area long enough for a two-pronged counteroffensive. After three days of intense fighting, the 1st Polish Army under General Franciszek Latinik managed to repel a direct assault by six Red Army rifle divisions. The strategic counteroffensive was successful, pushing Soviet forces away from Radzymin and Warsaw and eventually crippling four Soviet armies. Following the failure of the Kiev Offensive, the Polish armies retreated westwards from central Belarus and Ukraine. The Polish command hoped to halt the advancing Russian forces in front of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. The city was to be surrounded by four lines of defence. The outermost ran some 24 kilometres to the east of Warsaw: to theEast of Zegrze Fortress, along the river Rządza to Dybów and south through Helenów, Nowa Czarna and the Białe Błota marshes east of Wołomin. From there it ran through Leśniakizna, dense forests occupied by artillery training grounds, and then along the Okuniew–Wiązowna–Vistula line.

The second line ran along the lines of partially preserved First World War-era trenches built by German and German armies in 1915. It ran from the banks of the Bugonarew river to Fort Beniamin. The final line of defence ran in the immediate vicinity of the right bank of the Vistula River. The two most prominent pivots of this line were the towns of Falenica and Zielonka. While the French unit’s core was formed around the 2nd Rifle Division, the 11th Infantry Division was dispatched to RadzyMin on August 8 in order to prepare the city’s defences for the arrival of Bolshevik forces. The 2nd rifle division was dispatched around the town of Falenica on August 9. The 3rd Rifle Division of Polish veterans of the Second World War was dispatched on August 10 to prepare for the arrival of Bolshevik forces around the Rembertt–Zielenica–Zakręt–Rembertsonka line. This proved to be a mistake, and on August 11 the French troops arrived in the city. The 4th Rifle Division of Polish veterans was dispatched on August 8 to prepare the city’s defences for the arrival of Bolshevik forces. The 5th Army of General Władysław Sikorski was dispatched the same day to prevent the Bolshevik invasion of the Polish capital of Warsaw.