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Vilna offensive

This article is about the April 1919 battle. For the January 1919 battle, seeBattles for Vilnius (1918–1919).For the 1944 battle, seeVilnius offensive.

TheVilna offensivewas a campaign of thePolish–Soviet Warof 1919–1921. ThePolish armylaunched an offensive on April 16, 1919, to takeVilniusfrom theRed Army.After three days ofstreet fightingfrom April 19–21,[4]the city was captured by Polish forces, causing the Red Army to retreat. During the offensive, the Poles also succeeded in securing the nearby cities ofLida,Pinsk,Navahrudak,andBaranovichi.

Vilna Offensive
Part of thePolish–Soviet War[a]

Polish ArmyentersVilnius,1919.
DateApril 1919
Location
nearVilnius(Wilno), near the borders of Poland andLithuania
Result Polish victory
Territorial
changes		 TheVilnius Regionis captured by Polish forces
Belligerents
Poland Russian SFSR
Commanders and leaders
Józef Piłsudski
W. Belina-Prażmowski
Edward Rydz-Śmigły		 Unknown
Strength
For the offensive:[1]
10,000 infantry
1,000 cavalry
16 guns
For Vilnius:[1]
9 cavalry squadrons
3 infantry battalions
artillery support
local population
Polish 1st Legions Infantry Divisionhad 2,500 soldiers
Polish cavalry of colonel Belina had 800 soldiers[2]		 For the offensive:[1]Western Rifle Divisionand other units ofWestern Army.
12,000 infantry
3,000 cavalry
44 artillery pieces.
For Vilnius:[1]
2,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
33 soldiers[3] Unknown. Polish military communiques note "more than 1,000 prisoners" taken.[4]
Polish–Soviet &Lithuanian–Soviet Warsin 1919: Polish & Lithuanian counterattacks.

The Red Army launched a series ofcounterattacksin late April, all of which ended in failure. The Soviets briefly recaptured the city a year later, in spring 1920, when the Polish army was retreating along the entire front. In the aftermath, the Vilna offensive would cause much turmoil on the political scene in Poland and abroad.

Prelude

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Soviet Russia,while at the time publicly supporting Polish and Lithuanian independence, sponsored communist agitators working against the government of theSecond Polish Republic,and considered that the Polish eastern borders should approximate those of the defunctCongress Poland.

Throughout the 19th century, Poles saw the boundaries of their territories as lying much farther east and sought to reestablish the 1772 borders of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.However, by 1919, this concept of Polish borders was already considered unrealistic and was used by Polish politicians merely for tactical purposes during theVersailles Conference.[5]Józef Piłsudskienvisioned a revived Commonwealth in the form of a multinational federation consisting of Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and perhaps Latvia[6][7][8]– a plan which was in direct conflict with the Lithuanian wishes of creating the independentRepublic of Lithuania.Piłsudski discerned an opportunity for regaining territories that were once the part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and now belonged to theRussian Empire,which was shaken by the1917 Revolution,the ongoingRussian Civil War,[b]and theCentral Powers' offensive.

In the first weeks of 1919, following the retreat of the GermanOber-Ostforces underMax Hoffmann,Vilniusfound itself in a power vacuum. It promptly became the scene of struggles among competing political groups and experienced several internal revolutions.[9]

On January 1, Polish officers, led byWładysław WejtkoandWładysław Dąbrowskiattempted to take control of the city by establishing aSamoobrona( "Self-Defense" )provisional government.Their aim was to defeat the pro-communistVilna Soviet of Workers Deputies,a rival faction within Vilnius seeking to govern the city.[10]Samoobronarule of Vilnius did not last long. Four days later January 5, 1919, the Polish forces were forced to make a hasty retreat when the RussianWestern Armymarched in fromSmolenskto support the local communists as part of theSoviet westward offensive.[9]

Main article:Battles for Vilnius (1918–1919)

Vilnius, the historical capital of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania,became part of theLithuanian Soviet Socialist Republicand was soon proclaimed capital of the short-livedLithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic(Lit-Bel) on February 27, 1919. The Lit-Bel became the 8th government to control Vilnius in two years.[11]During the month and a half that the Lit-Bel controlled the city, the new communist government turned Vilnius into a social experiment, testing various applications of left-leaning governmental systems on the city's inhabitants.[12][13]

Józef Piłsudski, Polishcommander-in-chief,[14]determined that regaining control of Vilnius, whose population consisted mostly ofPolesandJews,[c]should be a priority of the renascent Polish state.[15]He had been working on plans to take control of Vilnius since at least March; he gave preliminary orders to prepare a push in that direction – and counter an expected Soviet westward push – on March 26.[1]One of Piłsudski's objectives was to take control of Vilnius before Western diplomats at theParis Peace Conferencecould rule on whom the city, demanded by various factions, should be given to.[16]The action was not discussed with Polish politicians or the government,[16]who at that time were more concerned with the situation on thesouthern Polish–Ukrainian front.[17]By early April, when members of theKresyDefence Committee (Komitet Obrony Kresów)Michał Pius Römer,Aleksander Prystor,Witold Abramowicz,andKazimierz Świtalskimet with Pilsudski, stressing the plight of occupied Vilnius and its inhabitants' need for self-government, Piłsudski was ready to move.[18]

Offensive

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Diversionary attacks

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Piłsudski arrived at the front nearLidaon 15 April, bringing reinforcements fromWarsaw.His plan called for exploitation of the gap in the Soviet lines between Vilnius and Lida by an advance towards Vilnius using the road and railway. Amidst diversionary attacks, designed to draw Russian attention away from the main Polish thrust towards Vilnius, the main Polish attack began at dawn on 16 April.[2]The forces moving on Vilnius included the cavalry group of ColonelWladyslaw Belina-Prazmowski,composed of 800 men in nine cavalry squadrons and a battery of horse artillery; and infantry under GeneralEdward Rydz-Śmigły,composed of 2,500 men in three battalions of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division and two batteries of heavy artillery.[2]

Soviet forces in the area were composed of theWestern Rifle Division,a unit which had many pro-communist Polish volunteers,[19]and other units of theWestern Army.The Soviet garrison of Vilnius numbered about 2,000 newly trained troops. Soviet forces in the area around Vilnius are estimated at 7,000 infantry, a few hundred cavalry, and 10 artillery pieces.[1]These forces were to be engaged and thus prevented from coming to the aid of the Vilnius garrison.

The diversionary attacks went well, with Soviet forces acting under the impression that the Poles had targets other than Vilnius. Despite their diversionary intent, these attacks succeeded in their own right, with GenerałJózef Adam LasockitakingLidain two days despite unexpectedly strong resistance,[17]and GenerałStefan MokrzeckitakingNowogrodekin three days andBaranowiczein four.[2]

Assault on Vilnius

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Battle of Vilnius and related operations.

On 18 April, Colonel Belina decided to use the element of surprise and move into Vilnius without waiting for the slower infantry units.[20]Polish forces left the village ofMýtoin early morning.[1]At 03:30 on 19 April, Maj. Zaruski took Liepkalnis near Vilnius.[1]Belina's cavalry bypassed Vilnius and attacked from behind, taking the train station on the night of 18 to 19 April;[21]on 19 April, cavalry under lieutenantGustaw Orlicz-Dreszer– future Polish general – charged into the suburbs, spreading panic among the confused garrison. He seized the train station and sent a train down the line to collect infantry.[17][20]In this surprise raid about 400 prisoners, 13 trains, and various military supplies were captured.[1]Piłsudski would declare Belina's cavalry action the "most exquisite military action carried out by Polish cavalry in this war".[1]

Cavalrymen fought for control of the center of Vilnius and tookCathedral Square,[21]thecastle complexon the hillside, and the enemy quarters on the southern riverbank. They also captured hundreds of Bolshevik soldiers and officials,[1]but their numbers were too small compared to the enemy forces, who had begun to reorganize, particularly in the north and west of the town, and to prepare a counterattack.[17]Belina sent a message reporting that "enemy is resisting with extreme strength"[4]and asking for immediate reinforcements.[21]At around 8:00 in the evening the train he had sent in the morning returned with the first infantry reinforcements. The Polish troops were also supported by the city's predominantly Polish population which formed amilitiato aid them.[17]By the evening of 19 April half of Vilnius was under Polish control,[20]however, the Red Army troops and supporters were putting up a stubborn and coordinated defence.[17]Only upon the arrival of the main force of Polish infantry under Generał Śmigły on 21 April did the Poles gain the upper hand, attacking those parts of the town still held by the Red Army.[17]The Polish infantry was able to reinforce the cavalry in the city center, and during the night, with help of local guides, Polish forces crossed the river and took one of the bridges.[1]On April 20, the bridges were in the hands of the Poles, and more of the city fell under their control.[1]During the afternoon of that day, after a three-day-longurban battle,the city was in Polish hands.[20]Piłsudski arrived in Vilnius on the same day.[20]

Jewish deaths

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As the Polish troops entered the city, the first pogrom in modernVilniusstarted, as noted by theTimothy D. Snyder,citingMichał Pius Römer.[22]Dozens of people connected with theLit-Belwere arrested, and some were executed;Norman Daviescites a death toll for all – Jews and non-Jews, under Polish rule – as 65.[23]Jews constituted close to one-half of Vilnius's population, according to the German census of 1916,[24]and many victims of fighting and subsequent repression in Vilnius were Jews.Henry Morgenthau, Sr.counted 65,[3]Joseph W. Benderskycounted over a hundred.[25]

There was a common belief among the Poles that most Jews were Bolsheviks and Communists, in league with the enemy of the Polish state,Soviet Russia.[26]The Polish army stated that any Jews it killed were militants and collaborators engaged in actions against the Polish army.[25][27][28]Having been fired at from Jewish homes, Polish soldiers took this as an excuse to break into many Jewish homes and stores, beating the Jews and robbing them, desecrating synagogues, arresting hundreds, depriving them of food and drink for days and deporting them from the city;[25]such abuses were, however, not supported – and even specifically forbidden – by the Polish high command.[3][25][28]

The US Army representative on the scene, Colonel Wiliam F. Godson, agreed with the version of events presented by the Polish general staff.[25]In his reports, Godson wrote that "Jews constituted at least 80% of every Bolshevik organization" and that, unlike the "harmless Polish Jews" (who really "had become Poles" ), the "Litwaks or Russian Jews" are "extremely dangerous", making the "Jewish question the most important one [for the country]".[25]Neglecting the plight of the Jews,[25]Godson had only noted in his report the instances of Bolsheviks executing and mutilating civilians and Polish prisoners of war.[25]TheNobel Prize-winning authorWładysław Reymont,in an article published byGazeta Warszawska,the main organ of the openlyantisemiticNational DemocraticParty,[29]also denied that pogroms had taken place.[28]Henry Morgenthau, Sr.of the Anglo-American Investigating Commission inhis reportacquitted the Polish side of having organized pogroms, noting the wartime confusion and the fact that some Jews had indeed shot at the Polish forces.[28]The report was, however, highly critical of the activities of the Polish Army in Vilnius, noting that 65 Jews with no proven connections to the Bolsheviks had been killed, and that many arrests, robberies and abuses had occurred, while soldiers guilty of these acts had not been punished.[3]

Soviet counteroffensive

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The Polish victory infuriated theSoviets,leading to dozens of arrests and several executions among those connected to theLit-Bel.[23]The former Lit-Bel leaders began accusing one another of culpability for the loss of their capital.Leninconsidered the city vital to his plans, and ordered its immediate recapture, with theRed Armyattempting several counteroffensives in April 1919.[30]

Near the end of the month about 12,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, 210heavy machine gunsand 44 guns were assembled by Soviet forces in the area ofŠirvintos,Pabradė,SolyandAshmyany.Polish forces in the area under generalStanisław Szeptyckinumbered 11,000; Rydz-Śmigly had 8 infantry battalions, 18 cavalry squadrons and 18 guns in Vilnius itself.[1]Rydz-Śmigły decided to engage the enemy forces before they combined their strengths. On the night of April 28–29, generalStefan Dąb-Biernackitook Podbrodzie, capturing one of the Soviet formations. Simultaneously, Soviet forces attacked near Deliny–Ogrodniki,south of Vilnius. Polish defenses and counterattacks managed to halt Soviet movements towards Vilnius, pushing them back towardsSkaidiškės–Grigaičiai.In retaliation, Soviet forces launched yet another counterattack, this one from north of Vilnius. The results were significantly better than those of the previous offensive, with Soviet forces breaking through Polish defenses in the area. However, Red Army forces halted their movements short of Vilnius, not wishing to attack a hostile city during the night.[31]Polish forces took advantage of the opportunity to strengthen their defenses. Shortly afterwards, Polish forces counterattacked, pushing the Red Army back towardsMaišiagalaandPabradė.Polish forces pursued and took those two settlements, as well asGiedraičiaiandSmorgoń.By mid-May Polish forces had reached the line ofNaroczlake –Adutiškis–Ignalina–Linkmenys,leaving Vilnius well behind the frontline.[1]

Aftermath

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Polish Armybadgecommemorating the fighting over Vilnius in the spring of 1919
Victory parade of Polish Army in VilniusCathedral Square,in April 1919

Because of the successful surprise attack, the Polish army in Vilnius managed to appropriate sizable stocks of supplies and take hundreds of prisoners.[4]When Piłsudski entered the city, avictory paradewas held in his honour. The city's Polish citizens on the whole were delighted; their politicians envisaged a separate Lithuanian state closely allied with Poland.[32]Representatives from the city were immediately sent to theParis Peace Conference,and theStefan Batory Universityin Vilnius, which had been closed in 1832 following theNovember 1830 Uprising,was reopened.[32]

Funeral of the Polish soldiers who died fighting over Vilnius, April 1919

Acting in accordance with his vision of a Polish-led "Międzymorze"federation of East-Central European states, Piłsudski on April 22, 1919, issued a bilingual statement, in Polish and Lithuanian, of his political intentions – the"Proclamation to the inhabitants of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania",pledging to provide" elections [which will] take place on the basis of secret, universal and direct voting, without distinction between the sexes "and to" create an opportunity for settling your nationality problems and religious affairs in a manner that you yourself will determine, without any kind of force or pressure from Poland. "[33]Piłsudski's proclamation was aimed at showing good will both to Lithuanians and international diplomats; the latter succeeded as the proclamation dealt a blow to the image of 'Polish conquest' and replaced it with the image of 'Poland fighting with Bolsheviks dictatorship and liberating other nations'; however the Lithuanians who demanded exclusive control over the city were much less convinced.[34]Piłsudski's words also caused significant controversy on the Polish political scene; as they had not been discussed with theSejmand caused much anger among Piłsudski'sNational-Democraticopponents;Polish People's Party "Piast"deputies demanded incorporation of theVilnius Regioninto Poland and even accused Piłsudski of treason. However, Piłsudski's supporters in thePolish Socialist Partymanaged to deflect those attacks.[34]

Piłsudski'sbilingual"Proclamation to the Inhabitants of the Former Grand Duchy of Lithuania"(April 22, 1919).

The Lithuanian government inKaunas,which viewed the city as the historic capital of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania,saw the Polish incursion as anoccupation.The Lithuanian government demanded Vilnius back. Relations between the Polish and Lithuanian governments, unable to reach a compromise over Vilnius, continued to worsen, destroying the prospects for Piłsudski's plan of theMiędzymorzefederation and leading to open hostilities in the ensuingPolish–Lithuanian War.[35]In 1920, the Soviets recaptured Vilnius, followed by the Poles' establishment of the short-livedRepublic of Central Lithuania.[36]

The Polish capture of Vilnius set the stage for further escalation of Polish conflictswith Soviet RussiaandLithuania.In coming months, Polish forces would push steadily eastward, launchingOperation Minskin August.[37]

See also

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Notes

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a^For controversies about the naming and dating of this conflict, refer to thesectiondevoted to this subject in thePolish-Soviet Wararticle.

b^Speaking of Poland's frontiers Piłsudski said: "All that we can gain in the west depends on theEntente– on the extent to which it may wish to squeeze Germany ", while in the east" there are doors that open and close, and it depends on who forces them open and how far. "[38]

c^Jews of Vilnius had their own complex identity, and labels ofPolish Jews,Lithuanian JewsorRussian Jewsare all applicable only in part.[39]

References

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  1. ^abcdefghijklmnoJanusz Odziemkowski,Leksykon Wojny Polsko-Rosyjskiej 1919–1920' (Lexicon of Polish–Russian War of 1919–1920), Oficyna Wydawnica RYTM, 2004,ISBN83-7399-096-8.
  2. ^abcdDavies (2003), p. 49
  3. ^abcdMission of The United States to Poland, Henry Morgenthau, Sr. Report
  4. ^abcdCollection of Polish military comminiques, 1919–1921, "O niepodległą i granice", Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczna, Pułtusk, 1999. pp. 168–172.Part available online in this lettertoRzeczpospolita.
  5. ^Eberhardt, Piotr (2012)."The Curzon line as the eastern boundary of Poland. The origins and the political background"(PDF).Geographia Polonica.85(1): 6, 8.doi:10.7163/GPol.2012.1.1.
  6. ^Trencsényi, Balázs; et al. (2018).A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe: Volume II: Negotiating Modernity in the 'Short Twentieth Century' and Beyond, Part I: 1918–1968.Oxford University Press.p. 46.ISBN9780198737155.
  7. ^Roszkowski, Wojciech; Kofman, Jan (2008).Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century.Routledge.p. 783.ISBN978-0765610270.
  8. ^Biskupski, M. B. B.; Pula, James S.; Wróbel, Piotr J., eds. (2010).The Origins of Modern Polish Democracy.Ohio University Press.p. 125.ISBN978-0821418925.
  9. ^abDavies (2003), pp. 25–26
  10. ^Davies (2003), p. 25
  11. ^Davies (2003), p. 48
  12. ^Davies (2003), pp. 48–49
  13. ^Poland rebirth in XX century
  14. ^MacMillan, Margaret,Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World,Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2003,ISBN0-375-76052-0,pp. 213–214.
  15. ^Davies (2003), pp. 48, 53–54
  16. ^abAntoni Czubiński,Walka o granice wschodnie polski w latach 1918–1921Instytut Slaski w Opolu, 1993 p. 83
  17. ^abcdefgAdam Przybylski,1928,Poland in the Fight for its Borders,April – July 1919– this chapter contains an account of the battle, mostly identical with the one presented by Davies.
  18. ^Grzegorz Lukowski, Rafal E. Stolarski,Walka o Wilno,Oficyna Wydawnicza Audiutor, 1994,ISBN83-900085-0-5.
  19. ^(in Polish)Zachodnia Dywizja StrzelcówArchived2011-06-06 at theWayback Machine.WIEM Encyklopedia.Last accessed on 9 April 2007.
  20. ^abcdeDavies (2003), p. 50
  21. ^abc(in Polish)Bohdan Urbankowski,Józef Piłsudski: marzyciel i strateg(Józef Piłsudski: Dreamer and Strategist), Wydawnictwo ALFA, Warsaw, 1997,ISBN83-7001-914-5,p. 296.
  22. ^Snyder, Timothy(2003).Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999.Yale University Press. p. 49.ISBN0-300-09569-4.Jews had been generally sympathetic to the Lithuanian claim, believing that a large multinational Lithuania with Vilne as its capital would be more likely to respect their rights. Their reward in 1919 had been the first pogroms in modern Vilne.
  23. ^abDavies (2003, p. 240) cites a death toll of 65 under Polish rule, and 2,000 under the brief 1920 Soviet reoccupation)
  24. ^Piotr Łossowski,Konflikt polsko-litewski 1918–1920,Książka i Wiedza, 1995,ISBN83-05-12769-9,p. 11
  25. ^abcdefghJoseph W. Bendersky,The "Jewish Threat": Anti-semitic Politics of the American Arm,Basic Books, 2000,ISBN0-465-00618-3,Google Print, pp. 84–86
  26. ^Michlic, Joanna Beata (2006).Poland's Threatening Other: The Image of the Jew from 1880 to the Present.University of Nebraska Press. pp. 117–118.ISBN0-8032-3240-3.
  27. ^Norman Davies,God's Playground:A History of Poland,Columbia University Press, 2005,ISBN0-231-12819-3,Google Print, p. 192
  28. ^abcdPiotrowski, Tadeusz(1997).Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide...McFarland & Company. pp.41–42.ISBN0-7864-0371-3.
  29. ^Words to Outlive Us: Voices from the Warsaw Ghetto.Michał Grynberg, 2002.
  30. ^Gintautas Ereminas,Ochrona toru Wilno – Lida
  31. ^(in Italian)Robert Gerwarth,La rabbia dei vinti: La guerra dopo la guerra 1917–1923,Gius.Laterza & Figli Spa (traduzione di David Scaffei),ISBN978-88-58-13080-3.
  32. ^abDavies (2003), pp. 53–54
  33. ^Davies (2003), p. 51
  34. ^abCzubiński, p. 92
  35. ^Davies (2003), p. 57
  36. ^George J. Lerski.Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966–1945. 1996, p. 309.
  37. ^Davies (2003), pp. 51–53
  38. ^Margaret MacMillan,Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World,Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2003,ISBN0-375-76052-0,p. 212.
  39. ^Ezra Mendelsohn,On Modern Jewish Politics,Oxford University Press, 1993,ISBN0-19-508319-9,Google Print, p. 8andMark Abley,Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages,Houghton Mifflin Books, 2003,ISBN0-618-23649-X,Google Print, p. 205[permanent dead link‍]

Further reading

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