Changes

{{Infobox military conflict

{{Infobox military conflict

|conflict=Polish–Soviet War, [[Interwar period|Interwar Period]]

| conflict         = Polish–Soviet War

|partof=The [[Russian Civil War]]

| partof            = [[Central and Eastern Europe]]an military campaigns that included the [[Western Front (RSFSR)|Western Front of the Russian Civil War]], [[Ukrainian War of Independence]], [[Lithuanian Wars of Independence]] and [[Latvian War of Independence]]

|image=Polish-soviet war 1920 Polish defences near Milosna, August.jpg

| image             = Polish-soviet war montage.jpg

|caption=Polish defenses at [[Miłosna, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship|Miłosna]], during the decisive [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)|Battle of Warsaw]], August 1920.

|date=1919–1921

| caption           = '''Top left:''' Polish FT-17 tanks of the 1st Tank Regiment during the [[Battle of Daugavpils|Battle of Dyneburg]], January 1920<br/>'''Below left:''' Polish troops [[Kiev offensive (1920)|enter Kiev]], May 1920<br/>'''Top right:''' Polish Schwarzlose M.07/12 machine gun nest during the [[Battle of Radzymin (1920)|Battle of Radzymin]], August 1920<br/>'''Middle:''' Polish defences with a  M1895/14 machine gun position near [[Stara Miłosna|Miłosna]], during the [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)|Battle of Warsaw]], August 1920<br/>'''Bottom left:''' Russian prisoners following the Battle of Warsaw<br/>'''Bottom right:''' Polish defences in Belarus during the [[Battle of the Niemen River]], September 1920

|place=[[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]]

| date             = 1918/1919{{efn|There is disagreement over the dates of the war. The ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' begins its "Russo-Polish War" article with the date range 1919–1920 but then states, "Although there had been hostilities between the two countries during 1919, the conflict began when the Polish head of state Józef Piłsudski formed an alliance with the Ukrainian nationalist leader Symon Petlyura (21 April 1920) and their combined forces began to overrun Ukraine, occupying Kiev on 7 May." Some Western historians, including [[Norman Davies]], consider mid-February 1919 the beginning of the war.{{sfn|Davies|2003|p=22}} However, military confrontations between forces that can be considered officially Polish and the Red Army were already happening by late autumn 1918 and in January 1919.{{sfn|Chwalba|2020|p=13}} The city of [[Vilnius]], for example, was taken by the Soviets on 5 January 1919.<ref name="pwn_polbol"/>}} – 18 March 1921 <br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=02|day1=14|year1=1919|month2=03|day2=18|year2=1921}})

|result= *Polish victory *[[Peace of Riga]]

| place            = [[Central and Eastern Europe]]

|combatant1={{flag|Russian SFSR|1918}}<br />{{flag|Ukrainian SSR|1927}}

| result           = Polish victory (see {{slink||Aftermath and legacy}})

|combatant2={{flagicon image|Flag of Poland.svg}} [[Second Polish Republic|Republic of Poland]]{{flagicon image|Flag of Ukrainian People's Republic 1917.svg}} [[Ukrainian People's Republic]]

| territory        = * Poland retained control of modern-day [[Western Ukraine]] and [[Western Belorussia|Western Belarus]] ([[Kresy]] in interwar Poland)

|commander1= {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Leon Trotsky]] {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Mikhail Tukhachevsky]] (Western Front) {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Joseph Stalin]] ([[Lviv]]/[[Lwów]] front) {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Alexander Ilyich Yegorov]] (Southwestern Front){{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Semyon Budyonny]] ([[1st Cavalry Army (Soviet Union)|1st Cavalry Army]])

* Soviet forces retained control of modern-day [[Eastern Ukraine]] and [[Eastern Belorussia|Eastern Belarus]]

|commander2= [[File:Flag of Poland.svg|22px|border|link=Second Polish Republic]] [[Józef Piłsudski]] [[File:Flag of Poland.svg|22px|border|link=Second Polish Republic]] [[Tadeusz Jordan-Rozwadowski|Tadeusz Rozwadowski]] [[File:Flag of Poland.svg|22px|border|link=Second Polish Republic]] [[Edward Rydz-Śmigły]] [[File:Flag of Poland.svg|22px|border|link=Second Polish Republic]] [[Władysław Sikorski]] [[File:Flag of Ukrainian People's Republic 1917.svg|22px|border|link=Ukrainian People's Republic]] [[Symon Petlyura]]

| combatant1       = {{plainlist|

|strength1=From ~50,000 in early 1919<ref>{{Harvnb|Davies|2003|p=39}}</ref> to almost 800,000 in summer 1920<ref name="Davies_WERS-142pl">Davies, ''White Eagle...'', Polish edition, p.142–143</ref>

* {{flag|Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|1918|name=Russian SFSR}}

|strength2=From ~50,000 in early 1919<ref>{{Harvnb|Davies|2003|p=41}}</ref> to ~738,000 in August 1920<ref name="Davies_WERS-196;202pl">Davies, ''White Eagle...'', Polish edition, p.162 and p.202.</ref>

* {{flag|Ukrainian SSR|1919}}

|casualties1=Estimated 60,000 killed<ref name="Rummel1990">{{cite book|author=Rudolph J. Rummel|title=Lethal politics: Soviet genocide and mass murder since 1917|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sK5CJFpb2DAC&pg=PA55|accessdate=5 March 2011|date=1 January 1990|publisher=Transaction Publishers|isbn=978-1-56000-887-3|page=55}}</ref>80,000 – 157,000 taken prisoner

* {{flag|Byelorussian SSR|1919}}

<ref>{{Harvnb|NDAP|2004}} Official Polish government note about 2004 Rezmar, Karpus and Matveev book.</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Matveev|2006}}</ref>(including rear-area personnel)

* {{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} [[Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee|Polrewkom]]}}

|casualties2=About 48,000 killed<ref name=whiteeagle>{{cite book|author=Norman Davies|title=White eagle, red star: the Polish-Soviet war, 1919–20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ES0AAAAIAAJ|accessdate=23 October 2011|year=1972|publisher=Macdonald and Co.|page=247|isbn=9780356040134}}</ref><ref name="Karpus_zwyciezcy"/> 113,518 wounded<ref name="Karpus_zwyciezcy">{{in lang|pl}} [[Zbigniew Karpus|Karpus, Zbigniew]], Alexandrowicz Stanisław, [[Waldemar Rezmer]], ''Zwycięzcy za drutami. Jeńcy polscy w niewoli (1919–1922). Dokumenty i materiały'' (Victors Behind Barbed Wire: Polish Prisoners of War, 1919–1922: Documents and materials), Toruń, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu, 1995, {{ISBN|978-83-231-0627-2}}.</ref>51,351 taken prisoner<ref name="Karpus_zwyciezcy"/>[http://www.stankiewicze.com/index.php?kat=28 Names of Polish Armed Forces mortal casualties in period 1918 – 1920] totaling 47,055}}

* {{flagcountry|Second Polish Republic|1919}}

* {{flag|Belarusian Democratic Republic|name=Belarus}} (1920)

* {{flag|Latvia}} (1920){{efn|[[Battle of Daugavpils]]|name="Latvia"}}}} {{clist|bullets=yes|title=Support:

| {{flag|Kingdom of Romania|name=Romania}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://chwalazapomniana.pl/rumunia-zapomniany-sojusznik/ |title=Rumunia – zapomniany sojusznik |language=pl |trans-title=Romania – a forgotten ally |website=Chwała Zapomniana|date=6 March 2019 }}</ref>

|{{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}{{efn|[[Kościuszko's Squadron|Volunteers]]|name="Volunteers"}}

|{{flag|United States|1912}}{{efn|[[Kościuszko's Squadron|Volunteers]]|name="Volunteers"}}

| commander1       = {{plainlist|

* {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Leon Trotsky]]

* {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Sergey Kamenev]]

* {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Joseph Stalin]]

* {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Semyon Budyonny]]

* {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[August Kork]]

* {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Hayk Bzhishkyan]]

* {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Nikolai Sollogub]]

* {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Alexander Yegorov (soldier)|Alexander Yegorov]]

* {{flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918}} [[Aleksandr Vasilevsky]]

* {{flagicon image|Red flag.svg}} [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]]

| commander2        = {{plainlist|

* {{flagicon|Second Polish Republic|1919}} [[Józef Piłsudski]]

* {{flagicon|Second Polish Republic|1919}} [[Józef Haller]]

* {{flagicon|Second Polish Republic|1919}} [[Franciszek Latinik]]

* {{flagicon|Second Polish Republic|1919}} [[Tadeusz Jordan-Rozwadowski|T. Jordan-Rozwadowski]]

* {{flagicon|Second Polish Republic|1919}} [[Władysław Sikorski]]

* {{flagicon|Second Polish Republic|1919}} [[Kazimierz Sosnkowski]]

* {{flagicon|Second Polish Republic|1919}} [[Leonard Skierski]]

* {{flagicon|Second Polish Republic|1919}} [[Edward Rydz-Śmigły]]

* {{flagicon|Second Polish Republic|1919}} [[Stanisław Szeptycki]]

* {{flagicon|Ukrainian People's Republic}} [[Symon Petliura]]

* {{flagicon|Second Polish Republic|1919}}{{flagicon|Belarusian Democratic Republic}} [[Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz|S. Bułak-Bałachowicz]]

* {{flagicon|Latvia}} [[Jānis Puriņš]]

| strength1         = '''Early 1919:''' ~50,000{{sfn|Davies|2003|p=39}}<br/>'''Summer 1920:'''<br/>800,000–950,000{{sfn|Davies|2003|p=142}}<br/> 5 million reservists, <br/>[[Ukrainian Galician Army]] (about 1,000 soldiers), <br/>[[Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia]]

| strength2         = '''Early 1919:''' ~80,000{{sfn|Davies|2003|p=41}}<br/>'''Summer 1920:'''<br/>348,286 troops on front,<ref>[https://wielkahistoria.pl/bilans-wojny-polsko-bolszewickiej-liczba-zolnierzy-zabici-ranni-i-wzieci-do-niewoli/ Bilans wojny polsko-bolszewickiej. Liczba żołnierzy, zabici, ranni i wzięci do niewoli]</ref> about  700,000 reservists <br/> approx. 1,000,000{{sfn|Czubiński|2012|pp=115–118}}<br/>Ukraine: 20,000<ref name="RUS">[https://wielkahistoria.pl/bilans-wojny-polsko-bolszewickiej-liczba-zolnierzy-zabici-ranni-i-wzieci-do-niewoli/ Bilans wojny polsko-bolszewickiej. Liczba żołnierzy, zabici, ranni i wzięci do niewoli]</ref><br/>Russian volunteers: 20,000<ref name="RUS"/><br/>

| casualties1      = '''Total reported: 140,000–145,000 (unknown wounded not included)'''<hr/>{{Circa|60,000 dead}}<ref name="Rummel1990"/><br/>{{Circa|80,000–85,000}} captured{{sfn|Chwalba|2020|pp=306–307}}

| casualties2      = '''Total reported: 212,420'''<hr/>47,551 dead{{Bulletedlist|17,213 [[Killed in action|KIA]]|30,338 died of wounds}}113,518 wounded<br/>51,351 captured or missing{{sfn|Chwalba|2020|pp=279–281}}<ref name=whiteeagle>{{cite book |first=Norman |last=Davies |author-link=Norman Davies |title=White eagle, red star: the Polish-Soviet war, 1919–20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ES0AAAAIAAJ |access-date=23 October 2011 |year=1972 |publisher=Macdonald and Co. |page=247 |isbn=978-0356040134 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref name="Karpus_zwyciezcy"/>

}}

{{Campaign|name=Establishment of Second Polish Republic|battles=[[Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919)|Greater Poland (1918–19)]] – [[Polish–Ukrainian War|Ukraine (1918–19)]] – Against Soviets (1919–21) – [[Polish–Czechoslovak border conflicts#Czechoslovak-Polish conflict in 1919|Czechoslovakia (1919)]] – [[Sejny Uprising|Sejny (1919)]] – [[Silesian Uprisings|Upper Silesia (1919–1921)]] – [[Polish–Lithuanian War|Lithuania (1920)]]}}

{{Campaign|name=Establishment of Second Polish Republic|battles=[[Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919)|Greater Poland (1918–19)]] – [[Polish–Ukrainian War|Ukraine (1918–19)]] – Against Soviets (1919–21) – [[Polish–Czechoslovak border conflicts#Czechoslovak-Polish conflict in 1919|Czechoslovakia (1919)]] – [[Sejny Uprising|Sejny (1919)]] – [[Silesian Uprisings|Upper Silesia (1919–1921)]] – [[Polish–Lithuanian War|Lithuania (1920)]]}}

File:Pilsudskiwithsoldiers.jpg|Józef Piłsudski (1867-1935) with soldiers in Minsk.

File:Pilsudskiwithsoldiers.jpg|Józef Piłsudski (1867-1935) with soldiers in Minsk.

</gallery>

</gallery>

== References ==

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

{{Reflist}}