The Russo-Polish War (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes

The Russo-Polish War

Background and context

The conflict between Poland and Bolshevik Russia emerged from the complex territorial settlement following the First World War. At the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918, Russia had renounced its claims to Poland. When Germany was defeated later that year, Poland became an independent republic, with this status confirmed by the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919. Poland's frontiers were formally settled in 1922 and received international recognition in 1923. However, defining the borders of this newly restored Poland proved extremely difficult, as the new Polish state contained extensive territories that had previously belonged to the former Tsarist Empire.

The re-creation of an independent Poland represented one of the major commitments made by the Allied Powers during the post-war peace settlement. The new Poland incorporated considerable areas lost by the former Tsarist Empire, and the process of establishing exactly where Poland's borders should lie was not represented at any of the Paris peace conferences. For the Bolshevik regime, fighting against both nationalism and new national states had been a central aspect of the Civil War. There were ongoing conflicts in the north-west against Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (collectively known as the Baltic States), and in the south-east against Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Rival ambitions and incompatible objectives

The ambitions of Poland and Bolshevik Russia made armed conflict between them extremely likely. General Josef Pilsudski, Poland's Head of State, harboured dreams of expanding the borders of Poland far to the east, pushing into Belarus and Western Ukraine. Between 1918 and 1919, Poland fought a complicated war against various Ukrainian nationalists, which resulted in military clashes with the Red Army. For the Polish leadership, territorial expansion eastward offered both strategic depth and the recovery of historic Polish lands.

The Bolsheviks were simultaneously fighting wars to suppress independent nationalist movements in the Baltic states, making Poland part of a broader strategic challenge. In April 1920, Pilsudski made an alliance with a new Ukrainian military leader, Symon Petliura. These former enemies now made common cause against the Bolsheviks and launched an eastern offensive aimed at Kiev.

The course of the war

The Polish offensive (1919-1920)

The first conflicts between Polish and Bolshevik forces erupted in February 1919, marking the beginning of hostilities. In June 1919, the Polish-Ukrainian War came to an end, allowing Pilsudski to concentrate his forces against Bolshevik Russia. The Polish-Ukrainian alliance formed in April 1920 between Pilsudski and Symon Petliura represented a dramatic reversal, as these former enemies joined forces against their common Bolshevik opponent.

The alliance's eastern offensive achieved rapid success initially. Kiev was occupied by Polish-Ukrainian forces in May 1920. This offensive occurred at a moment when the Bolsheviks were on the defensive across many fronts in the Civil War.

The Red Army counter-attack

By 1920, however, the Bolsheviks had achieved a string of victories against White Russian armies. Lenin, who in 1919 had been willing to accept a compromise peace (surrendering much of Russia to his opponents), now felt considerably more confident about Bolshevik strength. With this renewed confidence, hopes of spreading revolution westward had been re-awakened among the Bolshevik leadership.

The Red Army launched a powerful counter-attack that proved devastating. The overstretched Polish forces crumbled under the assault and abandoned Kiev in June 1920. What followed was a rapid and humiliating retreat back towards Warsaw. By August 1920, the Polish army appeared to be on the point of catastrophic defeat. Under the command of General Tukhachevsky, the Red Army drove rapidly westward in July, pushing the Polish forces back from Warsaw after what became known as the 'Miracle on the Vistula'. Throughout August, the Red Army was driven back once more.

The 'Miracle on the Vistula'

Poland's capital city, Warsaw, stands on the banks of the River Vistula. In August 1920, after the rapid westward advance of the Red Army under General Tukhachevsky, it appeared certain that the Polish army would be defeated and Warsaw would fall. Yet a last-gasp counter-offensive led by General Josef Pilsudski achieved a decisive victory.

Until Pilsudski mounted this desperate defence of Warsaw in the battle, the Polish army had seemed destined for complete defeat. The successful defence of Warsaw fundamentally altered the trajectory of the war and prevented the Red Army from advancing further westward.

Outcome and settlement

The Treaty of Riga (1921)

Peace terms were agreed in October 1920, establishing a provisional Polish-Russian peace agreement. The war was formally ended by the Treaty of Riga in March 1921. This treaty established the borders between Poland and Soviet Russia, though these borders did not endure for long. The settlement gave Poland substantial territorial gains at Russia's expense, incorporating parts of Belarus and Western Ukraine into the Polish state.

Long-term consequences

The borders fixed at the Treaty of Riga in 1921 did not last long. In 1940, Poland was carved up between Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany under the terms of the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Following the 'liberation' of Poland by the Red Army in 1945, Stalin enforced new borders on Poland. These new boundaries incorporated parts of eastern Poland into the Soviet Union, while in the west, Poland gained extensive territories from Germany.

For Lenin and the Bolshevik leadership, the failure to break through Poland effectively ended hopes of directly exporting revolution to Germany and Western Europe through military means. The conflict also revealed that by early 1920, the White Armies had been essentially defeated, and the last Allied Intervention forces had been withdrawn from the port of Novorossisk on the Black Sea in May. Yet the Red Army's wars of survival continued against Poland, demonstrating that the Bolshevik regime still faced substantial military challenges even after the main phase of the Civil War had concluded.