Forgotten Battle 7

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This month's Forgotten Battle is...

The Battle of Komarów 

Intro

The battle of Komarów occurred on August 31, 1920. It was fought at the Komarów-Osada village in Eastern Poland between the armies of Poland and the Soviet Union. This battle was part of the climax of one of the most dramatic conflicts fought in the aftermath of World War I. It would also be the last major battle to involve traditional cavalrymen.

Part I

The Polish-Soviet War began in the year 1919. It was a theatre of the Russian Civil War that began after the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I. It began with the Soviet Red Army invading the neighboring country of Belarus. From there, they launched further incursions into Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

After successfully overrunning Ukraine and annihilating multiple Polish armies that had attempted to intervene, the Soviets became convinced that they could conquer Poland itself. At the urging Leon Trotsky, the Soviet dictator (Vladimir Lenin) ordered an invasion of Poland. Leading the invasion was, General Mikhail Tukhachevsky. Their main target was the Polish capital of Warsaw.

Part II

At first the Red Army won multiple battles and pushed deep into Poland. In July, they captured the Polish city, Białystok. General Tukhachevsky's army wiped out the Poles that were intervening in Belarus while General Semyon Budyonny's army converged on Warsaw. The climactic battle for Poland's capital began on August 12.

The battle in Warsaw quickly turned into a vicious street-by-street fight that took the lives of thousands on both sides. On August 13, the Soviet 16th Army broke through the first Polish line of defense at the town of Radzymin. The next day, the Polish 5th Army counter-attacked at the Wkra River. Inside Warsaw, the Red Army pushed through to the city's center. For a few days, it seemed like they were going to win. 

But then the Poles got resupplied by airdrops from the Western Allies. Planes from Great Britain and the United States dropped thousands of weapons and ammunition to the Poles that allowed them to successfully stop the Red Army's advance. And when some of the Red Army top generals began quarreling among themselves, the Poles launched a counter-attack and forced the Soviets out of Warsaw.

Part III

On August 25, the Red Army began to retreat eastwards with the Polish Army (under the command of General Józef Piłsudski) in hot pursuit. General Tukhachevsky ordered General Semyon Budyonny to attack the right flank of Piłsudski's army and enable the Soviet Western Army to escape and regroup in Ukraine. He assigned this task to the Soviet 1st Cavalry Army (which had been unable to engage in the battle of Warsaw). Their target was the Polish historical city of, Zamość. 

Facing them, were only a few Polish cavalry regiments under the command of their own officers. Among them were, Major Stanisław Maczek and Captain Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski (both of whom would play major roles in World War II). Their numbers were less than 2,000 horsemen and only a few machine gunners. They gathered near the village of Komarów and awaited the oncoming Bolshevik cavalry. The two forces finally met on August 30.

First, the Polish cavalry rode around the Soviets and attacked their rear. After several hours of fighting, the Poles were forced to fall back when the Soviets threatened to overwhelm them. Early the next morning,  the Polish 2nd Uhlan Cavalry Regiment (with just over 200 men) ambushed and captured a Soviet position at Hill 255 (outside of Komarów). The Soviets attempted retake the hill, but their attacks were all repelled with heavy casualties. At 10 AM, the Polish 8th Uhlan Cavalry Regiment charged the Soviet 4th Cavalry Division occupying the town of, Wolica Śniatycka. After less than 20 minutes of hand-to-hand fighting, the 4th Cavalry was routed and scattered (General Budyonny himself barely managed to escape capture). This coupled with the routing of the Soviet 6th Cavalry Division, forced the Red Army into a disorganized retreat.

Epilogue 

Fierce fighting continued around Komaróv for the next two days. It finally ended on September 2. The casualties for the Poles were at least 500 killed and an unknown number wounded. The casualties for the Soviets are unclear but are believed to have been over 4,000. For the Soviet Union, this battle was a decisive defeat. And it would not be the last. On September 16, the Red Army suffered a final devastating defeat at the battle of the Niemen River. On October 18, 1920, the Soviet Union and Poland signed a ceasefire which brought the war to an end. 

Today, the battle of Komaróv is considered by historians to be the greatest cavalry battle of the 20th Century (due to the number of soldiers involved). It would also be the last to involve traditional sword-fighting cavalrymen in Europe (cavalry would continue to be used as mounted infantry for many years). In Poland, the battle is referred to as the, "Miracle at Zamosć", and is commemorated every year as a brave stand against overwhelming odds.

https://en.topwar.ru/174491-bitva-pri-komarove-porazhenie-1-j-konnoj-armii.html

https://polishhistory.pl/the-polish-bolshevik-war/

https://www.pygmywars.com/rcw/history/czesniki/czesnikiintro.html

https://historicaleye.com/ww1/broken-lances-and-bloody-sabres/index.html