Russo-Polish War

▪ 1919–20

      (1919–20), military conflict between Soviet Russia and Poland, which sought to seize Ukraine. It resulted in the establishment of the Russo-Polish border that existed until 1939.

      Although there had been hostilities between the two countries during 1919, the conflict began when the Polish head of state Józef Piłsudski (Piłsudski, Józef) formed an alliance with the Ukrainian nationalist leader Symon Petlyura (Petlyura, Symon) (April 21, 1920) and their combined forces began to overrun Ukraine, occupying Kiev on May 7. In June the Soviet Red Army launched a counteroffensive, reaching the former Polish border by the end of July. In a wave of revolutionary enthusiasm, Soviet forces advanced through Poland to the outskirts of Warsaw (early August). The western European powers, fearing that the Russians might succeed in establishing a Soviet government in Poland and perhaps proceed to Germany, sent a military mission, headed by the French general Maxime Weygand, to advise the Polish army. Piłsudski devised a strategy of counterattack, and in mid-August the Poles forced the Russians to retreat.

      An armistice was signed in October 1920. The Treaty of Riga, concluded on March 18, 1921, provided for the bulk of Ukraine to remain a Soviet republic, although substantial portions of Belorussia (Belarus) and Ukraine were ceded to Poland.

* * *