Battle of Pinsk
| Battle of Pinsk | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Polish-Soviet War | |||||||
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
.svg){kind=small} Second Polish Republic |
.svg){kind=small} Russian SFSR | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | At least 150 dead, wounded or imprisoned | ||||||
The Battle of Pinsk was an engagement of the Polish–Soviet War that took place from 23 February 1919 to 5 March 1919. It was fought between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The battle ended in a Polish victory.
Background
[edit]In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and the end of World War I, Vladimir Lenin's Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) sought to export revolution by moving forces west to occupy the vacuum left by former German forces. He saw the newly independent Poland (formed in late 1918) as the bridge his Red Army would have to cross in order to assist and foment other revolutionary movements in Europe.[1]
After the German garrisons were withdrawn from the Eastern Front following the Armistice, both Soviet Russian armies and Polish ones moved in to fill the vacuum.[2] The newly independent Polish state and the Soviet government each sought territorial expansion in the region.[3] Polish and Russian troops first clashed in February 1919,[4] with the conflict developing into the Polish–Soviet War.[5]
Operations
[edit]In the Pinsk region the 17th Rifle Division operated in the region of Janow [when?] along with Rifle regiments that supported the army with two artillery batteries and an armored train. Information gathered by Polish intelligence also sygnalised the presence of unfriendly divisions in Kosava and Byteń These were "Polish" divisions (which were actually established in the Russian SFSR, although had Poles in it) of the 4th Revolutionary Warsaw Regiment and a division of the Masovian Hussars Regiment.[6]
Polish Supreme Command decided to attack Pinsk and concentrated on this direction with three tactical groups.[7][when?] In the region of Bereza Kartuska Władysław Dąbrowski's group centred itself there. In the region of Malaryta there was a group with 150 soldiers.[8]
On the 23rd of March the command of the Podlasie Group developed the plan to attack Pinsk. The planned start of the attack was determined on the 27th of March. Before this date Władysław Dąbrowski's loaded two companies into an armored train in Bereza Kartuska and rode to Byteń, where he surprised the Soviet Warsaw Rifle Regiment, which was unprepared to defend. With the loss of a few of his soldiers, he inflicted many losses onto the enemy amounting to 150 dead, wounded or imprisoned.[9]
As planned, on the 27th of February the attack groups started operations.[10] After minor skirmishes with the enemy retreating, Narbutt-Łuczyński took Drohiczyn, and on the 3rd of March, together with Jeśman's unit, he took Janow Poleski (Ivanava), where 20 were captured. Dąbrowski's division on the night of the 27th to the 28th of February captured Kosów, and on the 1st of March Chomsk, establishing contact with Narbutt-Łuczyński in Janow Poleski. That was where the plan was detailed. Dąbrowski's division was to go around Pinsk from the east towards Halewo and cut the enemies area of retreat while the group "Korbyń" was to move along the railway track straight to Pinsk. Damage to the railway caused that the Poles were deprived of the opportunity to have infantry support them from the armored train in the region.[9][11]
On the 5th of March at around 11:00 Polish divisions started the attack. In the first dash towards the railway station the 34th Infantry Regiment attacked, while around Gaj was the Russian Officers' Legion.[11] Around 14:00 Pinsk was captured, while the Red Army, to avoid encirclement, hastily retreated towards the southern shore of Pina.[12] Exhausted by the forced march, the Polish were unable to keep up with the quickly retreating enemy. The cavalry of Dąbrowski's unit failed to cut off the Red Army's retreat route.[9]
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ Cienciala, Anna M. (2007) [2002]. "The Rebirth of Poland" (lecture notes). University of Kansas. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012.
- ^ Davies 2003, pp. 26–27.
- ^ Davies 2003, pp. 27–30.
- ^ Davies 2003, pp. 22, 27.
- ^ Multiple sources:
- Fischer 1964, p. 389
- Rice 1990, p. 182
- Volkogonov 1994, p. 281
- Service 2000, p. 407
- White 2001, p. 161
- Davies 2003, pp. 29–30
- ^ Anczewski, Piotr; Wysocki, Wiesław Jan, eds. (2003). Szlakiem oręża polskiego: vademecum miejsc walk i budowli obronnych. T. 1: W granicach współczesnej Polski. Warszawa. p. 292. ISBN 978-83-7399-050-0.
((cite book)):|work=ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Anczewski, Piotr; Wysocki, Wiesław Jan, eds. (2003). Szlakiem oręża polskiego: vademecum miejsc walk i budowli obronnych. T. 1: W granicach współczesnej Polski. Warszawa. p. 291. ISBN 978-83-7399-050-0.
((cite book)):|work=ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Odziemkowski, Janusz (1998). Leksykon bitew polskich 1914-1921. Pruszków: Wojskowy Instytut Historyczny Akademii Obrony Narodowej. p. 116. ISBN 978-83-85621-46-1.
- ^ a b c Odziemkowski, Janusz (2010). Piechota polska w wojnie z Rosją bolszewicką: 1919-1920. Warszawa: Wydawn. Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego. p. 98. ISBN 978-83-7072-650-8.
- ^ Wyszczelski, Lech (2013). Wojna o polskie Kresy 1918-1921: walki z czerwoną Rosją, Ukraińcami i Litwinami. Historia. Warszawa: Bellona. p. 147. ISBN 978-83-11-12866-8.
- ^ a b Jerzy, Wroczyński (1929). "Zarys historji wojennej 34-go pułku piechoty". Wojskowe Biuro Historyczne: 9.
- ^ Odziemkowski, Janusz (2004). Leksykon wojny polsko-rosyjskiej 1919-1920 (Wyd. 1 ed.). Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza "Rytm". p. 318. ISBN 978-83-7399-096-8.
Works cited
[edit]- Davies, Norman (2003) [1972]. White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War 1919–20 and 'the Miracle on the Vistula'. London: Pimlico. ISBN 978-0-7126-0694-3.
- Fischer, Louis (1964). The Life of Lenin. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
- Rice, Christopher (1990). Lenin: Portrait of a Professional Revolutionary. London: Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-31814-8.
- Service, Robert (2000). Lenin: A Biography. London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-72625-9.
- Volkogonov, Dmitri (1994). Lenin: Life and Legacy. Translated by Shukman, Harold. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-255123-6.
- White, James D. (2001). Lenin: The Practice and Theory of Revolution. European History in Perspective. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave. ISBN 978-0-333-72157-5.
Further reading
[edit]- Janusz Cisek, Konrad Paduszek, Tadeusz Rawski: Polish-Soviet War 1919-1921. Warsaw, Military Center for Civic Education, 2010.
- Władysław Seweryn Herkner, An outline of the war history of the 2nd Grochowski Uhlan Regiment Gen. Józef Dwernicki Warsaw, Graphic Works "Poland United", 1929, series: An outline of the military history of Polish regiments 1918-1920
- Janusz Odziemkowski: Lexicon of Polish battles 1914-1920, Pruszkow: Publishing House "Ajaks", 1998. ISBN 83-85621-46-6.
- Janusz Odziemkowski: Lexicon of the Polish-Russian War 1919-1920. Warsaw: Publishing House "Rytm", 2004, ISBN 83-7399-096-8.
- Janusz Odziemkowski: Polish infantry in the war with the Bolsheviks 1919-1920. Warsaw: Publishing House "Adam", 2010. ISBN 978-83-7072-650-8.
- Stefan Pomaranski: First Polish War (1918-1920). A collection of wartime press releases from the General Staff, supplemented with announcements from the Supreme Headquarters in Lviv and the General Command of the Polish Army in Poznan. Warsaw: Main Military Bookstore, 1920.
- Adam Przybylski: Polish War 1918-1921. Warsaw: Military Scientific and Publishing Institute, 1930.
- Adam Przybylski: Preliminary activities in the Polish-Russian War 1918-1920. Warsaw: Military Scientific and Publishing Institute, 1928.
- Jerzy Wroczyński: An outline of the war history of the 34th Infantry Regiment. Warsaw: Military Historical Office, 1929, series: An outline of the military history of Polish regiments 1918-1920.
- Wiesław Wysocki: Following the trail of Polish weapons; vademecum of battle sites and defensive structures. T. 2, outside the borders of modern Poland. Warsaw: Publishing House "Gamb", 2005. ISBN 83-7399-050-X.
- Lech Wyszczelski: The war for the Polish borders 1918-1921. Warsaw: Bellona SA Publishing House, 2011. ISBN 978-83-11-12866-8.
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