Russian westward offensive of 1918-1919
Encyclopedia
The Soviet westward offensive of 1918–1919 was part of the general move of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic into the areas abandoned by the Ober-Ost garrisons, that were being withdrawn to Germany following that country's defeat in the World War I
. The Soviet Western Front offensive against the Republic of Estonia ended in stagnation on the borders of the state. The offensive in the Vistula
river direction by the newly created Western Army
had the aim of establishing Soviet governments in Belarus
, Ukraine
and Poland
and to drive as far west as possible and possibly join up with the German Revolution
. The campaign eventually led to the Estonian Pskov Offensive, the White Russian Petrograd Offensives, and the Polish-Soviet War
.
The best known comprehensive historical analysis of the campaign against Poland was performed by Norman Davies
in his book White Eagle, Red Star
(1972). Davies mentioned the codename for this offensive: Target Vistula; however, it is not commonly used in historiography.
, Bolshevik Russia lost the Europe
an lands it annexed in the 18th century and 19th century. Most of today's Poland
, Belarus
, Ukraine
and the Baltic States
was passed to the government of Germany, which in turn decided to grant these states limited independence as buffer state
s. However, the German defeat on the Western Front and internal dissolution of Austria-Hungary
, made the plans for creation of Mitteleuropa
obsolete.
The German army started a retreat westwards. Demoralised officers and revolting soldiers abandoned their garrisons en masse and returned home. The areas abandoned by the Central Powers
became a field of conflict between the local governments created by Germany as part of their plans, local governments that sprung up after the withdrawal of the Germans and the Bolshevik
s that wanted those areas to be incorporated to the Bolshevik Russia. Nor were Poland and the Bolshevik the only sides attempting to grab power. Belarus
ian, Estonia
n, Lithuania
n, Ukrainian
and even Cossack
national governments were formed. Internal struggle for power prevented any of the governments in Belarus
to gain enough power and the situation in Ukraine
was even more complex with an ongoing conflict between the Makhno's
anarchists, communists
, the White Movement
, various governments of Ukraine
and the reborn Polish Army. The entire region abandoned by the German forces became a gigantic free-for-all theatre, where dozens of factions competed for power.
The Bolsheviks were also implementing a new strategy - "Revolution from abroad" (Revolutsiya izvne, literally "revolution from the outside"); based around the assumption that revolutionary masses desire revolution but are unable to carry it out without help from more organized and advanced Bolsheviks. Hence, as Leon Trotsky
remarked, the revolution should be "brought on bayonets" (of the Red Army
), as "through Kiev leads the straight route for uniting with Austro-Hungarian revolution, just as through Pskov and Vilnius goes the way for uniting with German revolution. Offensive on all fronts! Offensive on the west front, offensive on the south front, offensive on the all revolutionary fronts!". The concept was developed in 1918, but officially published under such name first in 1920 (Wojennaja Mysl i Riewolucija, 3/1920, Mikhail Tukhachevsky
.
The Polish-Soviet war and the Estonian War of Independence, like the majority of the other conflicts in Eastern Europe
of that time, were more of accidents then of a planned design. In the chaos prevailing in the first months of 1919, it was unlikely that anyone in Bolshevik Russia, in the Republic of Estonia, or in the new Second Republic of Poland would have deliberately planned a major foreign war. It was only a matter of luck that Soviet begun organised advance to secure the chaotic territories left in the wake of the German retreat before the Estonian and Polish forces were able to organise and start a move of their own.
and Yamburg Detachments of the 7th Red Army attacked the German
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 405
defending the city of Narva
on 22 November 1918. The 6th Red Division captured the railway junction of Tapa
from the freshly formed Estonian
4th and 5th Regiments on Christmas Eve and advanced to 34 kilometers from the capital Tallinn
. The local Bolsheviks declared the Estonian Workers' Commune in Narva. In South Estonia, the 49th Red Latvian Rifle
Regiment took the railway junction of Valga on 17 December and the city of Tartu
on December 24. The Estonian Army stopped the 7th Red Army's advance along the entire front on 2–5 January. Two days later, the Estonian forces began the counteroffensive to expel the Soviet forces from Estonia. A Finnish volunteer marine brigade landed in the rear of the 6th Red Division and the 1st Estonian Division captured Narva on 18 January. Subsequently, the northeastern front stabilized along the Narva River
. In South Estonia, the Estonian commando
-type Tartumaa Partisan Battalion drove the Red Latvian rifle regiments out of Valga
on 31 January. The 7th Red Army was temporally forced out of the boundaries of Estonia. On 16 February, the red army started a counteroffensive to recapture Estonia. The newly formed Estonian Red Army
gained the Setomaa
, Vastseliina
, and Räpina Parishes by 15 March. The Estonian 2nd Division counterattacked and regained Petseri by 28 March. Similar combat took place between the Estonian Army and the Northern Group of the Latvian Red Army along the Ainaži
–Strenči
–Alūksne
front stabilized in northern Latvia
. In the positions along the Narva River, the Estonian 1st Division repelled the 7th Red Army attacks.
was growing in personnel, and Lenin could gather enough strength to replace withdrawing Western curtain forces
("Западная завеса") by solid military and re-take the lands lost by Russia in 1917 by simply following the withdrawing German army. Upon the news about the German Revolution
, on November 13, 1918 the Soviet government annulled the Treaty of Brest Litovsk and issued orders to the Red Army
to move in the direction of Belarus
, Ukraine
and Baltic States
in order to establish Soviet governments there. The move of the newly created (on November 16) Western Army
that started at night of November 17, 1918 in the operational vacuum created by the withdrawing German army, in the geneal direction of Belarus, Ukraine and Poland (parts of the latter within the Imperial Russia were referred to as "Privislinsky Krai" ), According to N. Davies, was code-named Target-Vistula
.
On January 5, 1919, the Red Army entered Minsk
almost unopposed, thus putting an end to the short-lived Belarusian People's Republic. At the same time the Polish and Belarusian self-defence units sprung up across Western Belarus
. Ill-equipped and composed mostly of local recruits, they were determined to defend their homes from what the newspapers described as a Red menace. Similar Bolshevik groups were operating in the sector and a series of skirmishes ensued. The Polish-Soviet struggle over Vilna
in the first week of 1919 was a sign of the things to come, as Polish militia was forced to withdraw after first organised units of the Soviet Western Army entered the city. In response, the Polish Army started sending the units eastwards to help the self-defence, while the Soviets did the same, but in the opposite direction. The open conflict seemed inevitable.
On January 12 Soviet High Command declared the goal of its "Target Vistula" operation: deep scouting towards Neman River
. On February 12 that goal was updated to the Bug
river.(Davies, p. 12) On that day Jukums Vācietis
ordered the new Western Command to carry out a 'reconnaissance in depth' as far as Tilsit, Brest-Litovsk, Kowel and Rowne
. He also ordered securing main railway junctions, including those in Wilno, Lida
, Baranowicze and Luninets.(Davies, p. 39)
Among the aims of the Bolsheviks was to drive through the Eastern and Central Europe and support the Revolutions in Germany
and Austria-Hungary
.(Davies, p. 29) The Bolshevik Russian forces did not anticipate any serious opposition on the way and saw the states of Poland
, Belarus and Lithuania
as mere ephemerides, unable do defend their own temporary borders. However, it is unlikely that the Soviets really expected to reach the Vistula. The military orders were full of propaganda. The main goal of the operation was likely to see how much territory can be captured in the chaotic western areas before any serious opposition arises.(Davies, p. 12 and p. 13)
Finally the first Polish-Soviet clashes happened in the area of the towns of Bereza Kartuska
(February 14) and Mosty
, where both armies clashed in a series of skirmishes. The Bolshevik offensive came to a halt by late February and it became apparent that the Red Army
will not break through the Polish lines by half-hearted attacks. Both the Soviet offensive and the Polish counter-attack started at the same time, which resulted with an increasing number of troops being brought to the area. In April the Bolsheviks captured Grodno and Wilno
, but were soon pushed out by the Polish counter-offensive.
on 25 May. The 7th and 15th Red Armies began a counteroffensive in Ingria
and in the north of Pskov in July 1919, which regained most of the lost territories of Petrograd and northern Pskov regions. With the arms provided by Britain and France, and the operational support by the Estonian Army, Estonian Navy
, and Royal Navy, the White Russian
Northwestern Army began the Offensive Operation "White Sword" on 28 September 1919 with the aim of capturing Petrograd. The Northwestern Army approached to ten miles (16 km) from the city, but the 7th Red Army repulsed the White Russian troops back into Estonia.
Although the orders for the Target-Vistula operation were never withdrawn, the Russian plans were soon made obsolete by growing Polish resistance and eventually by the Polish counter-offensive in April. Unable to accomplish their objectives, the Red Army withdrew from their positions and started a reorganisation. The Polish-Soviet War
has begun.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The Soviet Western Front offensive against the Republic of Estonia ended in stagnation on the borders of the state. The offensive in the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
river direction by the newly created Western Army
Western Army (Russia)
The Western Army or 16th Army was created on November 15, 1918, by the Russian SFSR for the purpose of recovering territories lost by the Russian Empire during the First World War and establishing Soviet republics in those territories...
had the aim of establishing Soviet governments in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and to drive as far west as possible and possibly join up with the German Revolution
German Revolution
The German Revolution was the politically-driven civil conflict in Germany at the end of World War I, which resulted in the replacement of Germany's imperial government with a republic...
. The campaign eventually led to the Estonian Pskov Offensive, the White Russian Petrograd Offensives, and the Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
.
The best known comprehensive historical analysis of the campaign against Poland was performed by Norman Davies
Norman Davies
Professor Ivor Norman Richard Davies FBA, FRHistS is a leading English historian of Welsh descent, noted for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland, and the United Kingdom.- Academic career :...
in his book White Eagle, Red Star
White Eagle, Red Star
White Eagle, Red Star: The Polish-Soviet War, 1919-20 is a 1972 book covering the Polish-Soviet War written by Norman Davies. This monograph is Davies' first book....
(1972). Davies mentioned the codename for this offensive: Target Vistula; however, it is not commonly used in historiography.
Before the battle
After signing the Treaty of Brest-LitovskTreaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
, Bolshevik Russia lost the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an lands it annexed in the 18th century and 19th century. Most of today's Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and the Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
was passed to the government of Germany, which in turn decided to grant these states limited independence as buffer state
Buffer state
A buffer state is a country lying between two rival or potentially hostile greater powers, which by its sheer existence is thought to prevent conflict between them. Buffer states, when authentically independent, typically pursue a neutralist foreign policy, which distinguishes them from satellite...
s. However, the German defeat on the Western Front and internal dissolution of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, made the plans for creation of Mitteleuropa
Mitteleuropa
Mitteleuropa is the German term equal to Central Europe. The word has political, geographic and cultural meaning. While it describes a geographical location, it also is the word denoting a political concept of a German-dominated and exploited Central European union that was put into motion during...
obsolete.
The German army started a retreat westwards. Demoralised officers and revolting soldiers abandoned their garrisons en masse and returned home. The areas abandoned by the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
became a field of conflict between the local governments created by Germany as part of their plans, local governments that sprung up after the withdrawal of the Germans and the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s that wanted those areas to be incorporated to the Bolshevik Russia. Nor were Poland and the Bolshevik the only sides attempting to grab power. Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n, Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and even Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
national governments were formed. Internal struggle for power prevented any of the governments in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
to gain enough power and the situation in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
was even more complex with an ongoing conflict between the Makhno's
Nestor Makhno
Nestor Ivanovych Makhno or simply Daddy Makhno was a Ukrainian anarcho-communist guerrilla leader turned army commander who led an independent anarchist army in Ukraine during the Russian Civil War....
anarchists, communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, the White Movement
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
, various governments of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and the reborn Polish Army. The entire region abandoned by the German forces became a gigantic free-for-all theatre, where dozens of factions competed for power.
The Bolsheviks were also implementing a new strategy - "Revolution from abroad" (Revolutsiya izvne, literally "revolution from the outside"); based around the assumption that revolutionary masses desire revolution but are unable to carry it out without help from more organized and advanced Bolsheviks. Hence, as Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
remarked, the revolution should be "brought on bayonets" (of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
), as "through Kiev leads the straight route for uniting with Austro-Hungarian revolution, just as through Pskov and Vilnius goes the way for uniting with German revolution. Offensive on all fronts! Offensive on the west front, offensive on the south front, offensive on the all revolutionary fronts!". The concept was developed in 1918, but officially published under such name first in 1920 (Wojennaja Mysl i Riewolucija, 3/1920, Mikhail Tukhachevsky
Mikhail Tukhachevsky
Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, commander in chief of the Red Army , and one of the most prominent victims of Joseph Stalin's Great Purge.-Early life:...
.
The Polish-Soviet war and the Estonian War of Independence, like the majority of the other conflicts in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
of that time, were more of accidents then of a planned design. In the chaos prevailing in the first months of 1919, it was unlikely that anyone in Bolshevik Russia, in the Republic of Estonia, or in the new Second Republic of Poland would have deliberately planned a major foreign war. It was only a matter of luck that Soviet begun organised advance to secure the chaotic territories left in the wake of the German retreat before the Estonian and Polish forces were able to organise and start a move of their own.
Estonian direction
The GdovGdov
Gdov is a town and the administrative center of Gdovsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Gdovka River, just from its outflow into Lake Peipus. Population:...
and Yamburg Detachments of the 7th Red Army attacked the German
German Army (German Empire)
The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 405
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 405
Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 405 was a war-time formation in the German Imperial Army during the First World War. It was created late 1916 and was attached to the 405. Infanterie-Brigade of the 203. Infanterie-Division. It defended the Narva town against the Gdov and Yamburg Detachments of the 7th Red...
defending the city of Narva
Narva
Narva is the third largest city in Estonia. It is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, by the Russian border, on the Narva River which drains Lake Peipus.-Early history:...
on 22 November 1918. The 6th Red Division captured the railway junction of Tapa
Tapa, Estonia
Tapa is a town in Lääne-Viru County, Estonia. Located at the junction of the country's Tallinn-Narva and Tallinn-Tartu-Valga railway lines, it is an important centre of transit for freight as well as rail passengers...
from the freshly formed Estonian
Maavägi
The Estonian Ground Force is the name of the unified ground forces among the Estonian Defence Forces where it has an offensive military formation role...
4th and 5th Regiments on Christmas Eve and advanced to 34 kilometers from the capital Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
. The local Bolsheviks declared the Estonian Workers' Commune in Narva. In South Estonia, the 49th Red Latvian Rifle
Latvian Riflemen
This article is about Latvian military formations in World War I and Russian Civil War. For Red Army military formations in World War II see Latvian Riflemen Soviet Divisions....
Regiment took the railway junction of Valga on 17 December and the city of Tartu
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...
on December 24. The Estonian Army stopped the 7th Red Army's advance along the entire front on 2–5 January. Two days later, the Estonian forces began the counteroffensive to expel the Soviet forces from Estonia. A Finnish volunteer marine brigade landed in the rear of the 6th Red Division and the 1st Estonian Division captured Narva on 18 January. Subsequently, the northeastern front stabilized along the Narva River
Narva River
The Narva is a river flowing into the Baltic Sea, the largest river in Estonia. Draining Lake Peipsi, the river forms the border of Estonia and Russia and flows through the towns of Narva/Ivangorod and Narva-Jõesuu into Narva Bay. Though the river is only 77 km long, in terms of volume...
. In South Estonia, the Estonian commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
-type Tartumaa Partisan Battalion drove the Red Latvian rifle regiments out of Valga
Battle of Paju
The Battle of Paju was fought in Paju, near Valga, Estonia, on 31 January 1919 during the Estonian War of Independence. After heavy fighting, the Tartu–Valga group of the Estonian Army pushed the Red Latvian Riflemen out of the Paju Manor. It was the fiercest battle in the early period of war...
on 31 January. The 7th Red Army was temporally forced out of the boundaries of Estonia. On 16 February, the red army started a counteroffensive to recapture Estonia. The newly formed Estonian Red Army
Estonian Red Riflemen
Estonian Riflemen, Estonian Red Riflemen, Estonian Red Army, Estonian Red Guards were military formations assembled starting 1917 in the Soviet Russia.- Formation :...
gained the Setomaa
Setomaa
Setomaa is a region south of Lake Peipus and inhabited by the Seto speaking Setos. Seto language belongs to south Estonian dialect of Estonian language. The historic range of Setomaa is located on territories of present day Estonia and Russia...
, Vastseliina
Vastseliina
Vastseliina is a small borough in Vastseliina Parish, Võru County in southeastern Estonia.Vastseliina is the birthplace of wrestler and 1924 Olympic Gold Medalist Eduard Pütsep....
, and Räpina Parishes by 15 March. The Estonian 2nd Division counterattacked and regained Petseri by 28 March. Similar combat took place between the Estonian Army and the Northern Group of the Latvian Red Army along the Ainaži
Ainaži
Ainaži is a harbour town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. The town is located near the Estonian border on the site of an ancient Liv fishing village. Before 1917, it was known by its German name Haynasch ....
–Strenči
Strenci
-See also:*List of cities in Latvia...
–Alūksne
Aluksne
Alūksne is a town on the shores of Lake Alūksne in northeastern Latvia near the borders with Estonia and Russia. It is the seat of Alūksne municipality.- History :...
front stabilized in northern Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. In the positions along the Narva River, the Estonian 1st Division repelled the 7th Red Army attacks.
Polish direction
The newly formed Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
was growing in personnel, and Lenin could gather enough strength to replace withdrawing Western curtain forces
Curtain forces
Curtain forces were military forces used by Soviet Russia in 1918 in the Western and Northern directions...
("Западная завеса") by solid military and re-take the lands lost by Russia in 1917 by simply following the withdrawing German army. Upon the news about the German Revolution
German Revolution
The German Revolution was the politically-driven civil conflict in Germany at the end of World War I, which resulted in the replacement of Germany's imperial government with a republic...
, on November 13, 1918 the Soviet government annulled the Treaty of Brest Litovsk and issued orders to the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
to move in the direction of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
in order to establish Soviet governments there. The move of the newly created (on November 16) Western Army
Western Army (Russia)
The Western Army or 16th Army was created on November 15, 1918, by the Russian SFSR for the purpose of recovering territories lost by the Russian Empire during the First World War and establishing Soviet republics in those territories...
that started at night of November 17, 1918 in the operational vacuum created by the withdrawing German army, in the geneal direction of Belarus, Ukraine and Poland (parts of the latter within the Imperial Russia were referred to as "Privislinsky Krai" ), According to N. Davies, was code-named Target-Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
.
On January 5, 1919, the Red Army entered Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
almost unopposed, thus putting an end to the short-lived Belarusian People's Republic. At the same time the Polish and Belarusian self-defence units sprung up across Western Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. Ill-equipped and composed mostly of local recruits, they were determined to defend their homes from what the newspapers described as a Red menace. Similar Bolshevik groups were operating in the sector and a series of skirmishes ensued. The Polish-Soviet struggle over Vilna
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
in the first week of 1919 was a sign of the things to come, as Polish militia was forced to withdraw after first organised units of the Soviet Western Army entered the city. In response, the Polish Army started sending the units eastwards to help the self-defence, while the Soviets did the same, but in the opposite direction. The open conflict seemed inevitable.
On January 12 Soviet High Command declared the goal of its "Target Vistula" operation: deep scouting towards Neman River
Neman River
Neman or Niemen or Nemunas, is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the northern border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches...
. On February 12 that goal was updated to the Bug
Bug River
The Bug River is a left tributary of the Narew river flows from central Ukraine to the west, passing along the Ukraine-Polish and Polish-Belarusian border and into Poland, where it empties into the Narew river near Serock. The part between the lake and the Vistula River is sometimes referred to as...
river.(Davies, p. 12) On that day Jukums Vācietis
Jukums Vacietis
Jukums Vācietis was a Latvian Soviet military commander. He was a rare example of notable Soviet leaders who were not members of the Communist Party ....
ordered the new Western Command to carry out a 'reconnaissance in depth' as far as Tilsit, Brest-Litovsk, Kowel and Rowne
Równe
Równe may refer to:*Polish name for Rivne in Ukraine*Równe, Masovian Voivodeship *Równe, Opole Voivodeship *Równe, Pomeranian Voivodeship *Równe, Subcarpathian Voivodeship...
. He also ordered securing main railway junctions, including those in Wilno, Lida
Lida
Lida is a city in western Belarus in Hrodna Voblast, situated 160 km west of Minsk. It is the fourteenth largest city in Belarus.- Etymology :...
, Baranowicze and Luninets.(Davies, p. 39)
Among the aims of the Bolsheviks was to drive through the Eastern and Central Europe and support the Revolutions in Germany
German Revolution
The German Revolution was the politically-driven civil conflict in Germany at the end of World War I, which resulted in the replacement of Germany's imperial government with a republic...
and Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
.(Davies, p. 29) The Bolshevik Russian forces did not anticipate any serious opposition on the way and saw the states of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Belarus and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
as mere ephemerides, unable do defend their own temporary borders. However, it is unlikely that the Soviets really expected to reach the Vistula. The military orders were full of propaganda. The main goal of the operation was likely to see how much territory can be captured in the chaotic western areas before any serious opposition arises.(Davies, p. 12 and p. 13)
Finally the first Polish-Soviet clashes happened in the area of the towns of Bereza Kartuska
Battle of Bereza Kartuska (1919)
Battle of Bereza Kartuska was one of the first clashes between the organised forces of the Second Polish Republic and Soviet Russia and considered by some historians the first battle of the Polish-Soviet War....
(February 14) and Mosty
Mosty
Mosty may refer to:* Dlouhé Mosty, part of Františkovy Lázně, Czech Republic* Mosty u Českého Těšína, village near Český Těšín, Czech Republic, now part of that town* Mosty u Jablunkova, village in Frýdek-Místek District, Czech Republic...
, where both armies clashed in a series of skirmishes. The Bolshevik offensive came to a halt by late February and it became apparent that the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
will not break through the Polish lines by half-hearted attacks. Both the Soviet offensive and the Polish counter-attack started at the same time, which resulted with an increasing number of troops being brought to the area. In April the Bolsheviks captured Grodno and Wilno
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, but were soon pushed out by the Polish counter-offensive.
Aftermath
The Estonian and Polish armies proved to be far more difficult opponents than the Red Army had assumed. The Pskov Offensive of the Estonian Petseri Battle Group destroyed the Estonian Red Army, captured Pskov, and expelled the Soviet forces from the territory between Estonia and the Velikaya RiverVelikaya River
For the Velikaya river in Far East Siberia, see Velikaya River .Velikaya River is located in western Russia . It starts in highlands in the south of Pskov Oblast, flows north through the cities of Opochka, Ostrov, and Pskov into Lake Peipus, which is drained by the Narva River....
on 25 May. The 7th and 15th Red Armies began a counteroffensive in Ingria
Ingria
Ingria is a historical region in the eastern Baltic, now part of Russia, comprising the southern bank of the river Neva, between the Gulf of Finland, the Narva River, Lake Peipus in the west, and Lake Ladoga and the western bank of the Volkhov river in the east...
and in the north of Pskov in July 1919, which regained most of the lost territories of Petrograd and northern Pskov regions. With the arms provided by Britain and France, and the operational support by the Estonian Army, Estonian Navy
Estonian Navy
The Merevägi is the navy of Republic of Estonia and is part of the unified Kaitsevägi .In total, there are about four commissioned ships in the Estonian Navy, including three auxiliary ships; the displacement of the navy is under 10,000 tonnes making it one of the smallest navies in the world...
, and Royal Navy, the White Russian
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
Northwestern Army began the Offensive Operation "White Sword" on 28 September 1919 with the aim of capturing Petrograd. The Northwestern Army approached to ten miles (16 km) from the city, but the 7th Red Army repulsed the White Russian troops back into Estonia.
Although the orders for the Target-Vistula operation were never withdrawn, the Russian plans were soon made obsolete by growing Polish resistance and eventually by the Polish counter-offensive in April. Unable to accomplish their objectives, the Red Army withdrew from their positions and started a reorganisation. The Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
has begun.