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• The pro-independence movement of the Greater Poland (...)
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• Soldiers from the former Prussian Partition (...)
• On 3 October, the forces of the 2nd Army (...)

Battles in the Ukraine

In the east, the winter of 1919/1920 was, for the Polish Army, an opportunity to rest. The Polish Commander-in-Chief Józef Piłsudski, however, was aware of how big the threat from the Red Army was. Assuming that the enemy would group larger forces in the southern section of the front, this is where Piłsudski planned to strike. Another argument in favour of the attack was the possibility of establishing a pro-Polish Ukrainian state.

The strike was to be carried out by three Polish armies: the 6th Army on the right flank, the 2nd Army in the centre and the 3rd Army on the left flank. The 16th and the 17th Uhlan Regiments as well as the 16th Heavy Artillery Regiment were a part of the 3rd Army. The first of these was included in the 5th Mounted Brigade (part of the Mounted Division). The 17th Uhlan Regiment, on the other hand, was a part of the 7th Mounted Battalion, which belonged to Colonel Józef Rybak’s Operational Group. After three hours of bloody fighting in the streets, the 16th Heavy Artillery Regiment was assigned to Division General Edward Rydz-Śmigły’s Operational Group. During the operation, the Polish forces underwent reorganisation and in May, the 15th Infantry Division became a part of the 3rd Army.

In 1919, the soldiers from Greater Poland harassed the Bolsheviks so much, that the enemies learned to respect the units formed in western Poland. The very sight of the Greater Polish “rogatywka” caps on the front was, for them, a reason to retreat and occupy more favourable defensive positions. 

On 25 April 1920, early in the morning, the largest Polish military operation since its return to the map of Europe commenced. Three Polish armies set off to the east intending to crush Alexander Yegorov’s South-Western Front.

On 8 May, the Polish Army entered Kiev. One of the first units that entered the city was the 15th Infantry Division, which was the most glorified unit from all of the units from Greater Poland. Commander-in-Chief Marshal Józef Piłsudski claimed himself that, next to the cavalry and his favourite 1st Legions Infantry Division, it gave “its all”.

Kiev was occupied, but the military goal was not achieved, and on 10 June the Polish 3rd Army started to retreat to the west. During two months of marching, the Polish soldiers had to continuously fight against units of the Red Army.

In these tough moments, there were acts of bravery committed by the units from Greater Poland. In early August, the cavalrymen from the 17th Uhlan Regiment managed to free the 6th Infantry Division. This was just one of the episodes of the battle fought near Brody, participated in also by another cavalry regiment from Greater Poland – the 16th Uhlan Regiment.

In the summer, in relation to the planned counter-attack in the northern section of the Polish-Bolshevik Front, most of the units from Greater Poland left Eastern Galicia and Volhynia. Exceptions were the 17th Uhlan Regiment (part of the 1st Mounted Brigade), the 115th Uhlan Regiment and 3 air force squadrons – the 15th Fighter Squadron (formerly the  4th Greater Poland Fighter Squadron), the 21st Destroyer Squadron, and later also the 14th Intelligence Squadron (formerly the 3rd Greater Poland Air Force Squadron).

The 15th Fighter Squadron played a crucial role in slowing down the march of the Bolshevik cavalry to Lviv. The Squadron’s planes pestered the enemy so effectively, that the Polish Army had time to bring in the necessary reinforcements.

One of the last spectacular actions of the Polish Army in the Ukraine was the September intruder mission of an improvised automobile group, commanded by Major Włodzimierz Bochenek, on Kovel. An officer who was particularly glorified for the occupation of Kovel was Second Lieutenant Leonard Sulimierski from the 17th Uhlan Regiment. Major Bochenek even requested that his subordinate be honoured for his merits. He argued that Second Lieutenant Sulimierski voluntarily took command of one of the armed vehicles and “with all bravery” chased the units that were retreating. During the chase, he seized 4 cannons and drove into Kovel.

The Warsaw operation

While in the spring of 1920 the Poles were counting on the end of the war against the Bolsheviks in the southern section of the front, the soldiers from the Red Army focused on the north. On 14 May, Mikhail Tukhachevsky led the Western Front on an offensive against the Polish Army. Tukhachevsky’s forces were pushed back, mainly thanks to the oldest Greater Polish infantry division – the 14th ID, and to three Greater Polish air force squadrons.

Undeterred by the failure, on 4 July Tukhachevsky commenced the great summer offensive of the Western Front, which ended on the outskirts of Warsaw.

Before it came to the trial of strength that would have a crucial impact on the outcome of war, in the second half of July and in early August, the Greater Poland infantry divisions (especially the 14th and the 16th ID, but also the 15th and the 17th ID) played a fundamental role in slowing down the movement of the Western Front. The attacking Bolshevik units had to lose a lot of blood to pay for every foot of land torn away from the Greater Poland and Pomeranian regiments.

However, despite their great commitment, in mid-August the Red Army reached Toruń, Nieszawa, Włocławek, Modlin fortress and Warsaw. Mikhail Tukhachevsky wanted to surround Warsaw at midnight and cut the supply lines between Gdańsk and Warsaw, through which Warsaw received supplies from the Entente states. However, Tukhachevsky did not duly protect its southern flank. 

The Polish Supreme Command intended to take advantage of the Western Front’s unprotected left flank and strike there, basing the rest of the front on the line of the Vistula. Five armies were to take part in the Warsaw operation. These were, from the north: the 5th, 1st, 2nd, 4th and 3rd Armies. The first three were included in the Northern Front, while the following two armies formed the Central Front. The units from Greater Poland and Pomerania were assigned to different armies.

The Red Army started the offensive on 13 August, and on the next day, the 5th Army, commanded by Brigade General Władysław Sikorski, attacked Nasielsk. On 15 August, the 17th Infantry Division, part of Sikorski’s Army, broke the resistance of two Bolshevik infantry brigades and found itself halfway between the Modlin fortress and Nasielsk. On 16 August, after heavy fighting which brought significant losses, it occupied Nasielsk and, two days later, Popławy near Pułtusk. From there, the division broke the stiff resistance of the Bolsheviks and went north.

Another Greater Polish unit which was part of the 5th Army was the 7th Reserve Brigade formed out of the Western Group of the Greater Poland Front. The brigade initially fought as part of the 1st Army, and was later subordinated to Sikorski. On 17 August, its 155th Infantry Regiment occupied Serock. 

In the first days of the Warsaw operation, aviators from the 5th Army conducted some very successful actions. The Supreme Command of the Polish Armed Forces praised the 12th Intelligence Squadron (formerly the 1st Greater Poland Air Force Squadron) and the 13th Fighter Squadron (formerly the 2nd Greater Poland Air Force Squadron), which bombed enemy wagon forts and fired at their opponents with machine guns.

The 17th Infantry Division Infantry Division - On 20-21 August it managed to seize 23 machine guns. It was soon subordinated to the 1st Army, and, as part of it, made its mark near Chorzele, where, on its own initiative, it supported the Siberian Brigade. 

The majority of units from Greater Poland had different roles to play. On 16th August, the Polish counter-offensive from the river Wieprz commenced. The Greater Polish divisions of the 4th Army under Second Lieutenant General Leopold Skierski were very busy. Their first task was to crush the enemy’s 16th Army. The 14th and the 16th Infantry Divisions, as well as the 15th Uhlan regiment, were expected to strike from the line of the Wieprz towards the north, and to reach the Mińsk Mazowiecki – Kałuszyn – Siedlce line. 

On 16 August, under the fire of enemy cannons and machine guns, they managed to cross the Wieprz. The 14th ID struck with such force that it did not come across any great resistance until Garwolin. It crushed the 171st Rifle Brigade (from the 57th Rifle Division) and occupied Kołbiel. After three hours of bloody fighting in the streets, the 16th Infantry Division broke the enemy’s resistance near Lipiny. The Poznań uhlans from the 15th Uhlan Regiment did their share in breaking the resistance of the 169th Rifle Brigade under Maciejowice. The Soviet 16th Army panicked and started to retreat towards Siedlce. Furthermore, the action carried out by the 15th Infantry Division (from the 1st Army) forced the Bolsheviks who were standing on the Warsaw – Brest line to withdraw.

The 14th ID took advantage of the panic and crushed the Bolshevik 8th Rifle Division and the 17th Rifle Brigade, and later, near Jędrzejów, defeated the remains of the 10th Rifle Division and again, the 8th Rifle Division. The 55th Infantry Regiment, as part of the division, entered Mińsk Mazowiecki. On 17 August, the 14th ID managed to resist a forceful strike by the retreating Bolshevik columns, which wanted to get through towards Siedlce. In the battle, the 58th Infantry Regiment took 1000 prisoners and several cannons. The 16th ID and the 14th ID then marched together towards Seroczyn and Latowicz.