Foreign support – Warsaw 1920

UNITED STATES

As a result of General Tadeusz Rozwadowski’s actions in Paris, plans to create American Legion to support the Polish Army emerged. Ultimately, the 7th Kościuszko Squadron was formed. The most famous member of this unit was Oscar-winner Merian Cooper, creator of King Kong. American volunteers emphasized that by defending Poland against the Red Army they are giving back to the Polish nation for the support that Tadeusz Kościuszko and Kazimierz Pułaski showed to American patriots during the American War of Independence.

During the Warsaw Battle, the Kościuszko Squadron was part of the Third Air Squadron assigned to the 6th Army. Its pilots were to defend Lviv (which was besieged by the Red Army during the Warsaw Operation) and stop the cavalry of Budyonny. On August 16 1920, 18 assault flights were carried out, inflicting severe losses on the Bolsheviks.

The Poles fondly remembered the involvement of American pilots on the Polish side. Ten years after the Battle of Warsaw Polish cinemas aired “The Starry Squadron” – the most expensive movie in the history of Polish interwar cinema. The movie did not survive to our days; after aggression on Poland in 1939 and Poland’s occupation by the Red Army, all the copies of the film were destroyed or taken to the Soviet archives by the NKVD.

The emblem of the Kościuszko Squadron was used by Polish pilots during the Battle of Britain, becoming the symbol of the Polish 303 RAF Squadron. Merian Cooper himself contacted with Polish pilots who continued the tradition of the Kościuszko Squadron in Great Britain.

Apart from military support, Americans send humanitarian aid.

HUNGARY

Several hundred Hungarian volunteers participated in the Polish-Soviet War, serving in various units of the Polish Army. Among them, the most famous was Emánuel Aladár Korompay, later a promoter of Polish-Hungarian friendship and a victim of the Katyn crime.

Poland had to face a major problem, while the Red Army was approaching – shortage of ammunition. According to the Polish intelligence calculations, on August 14, 1920, the Polish Army was to run out of its last supplies. The support from the West was challenging to obtain, because the Communist International agitated, using pacifist slogans, against the support of Poland, and anti-Polish-oriented Germany and Czechoslovakia announced the state of neutrality, being in practice an act of hostility, which made it impossible to transport weapons to Warsaw.

In the face of this challenging situation, on July 8 1920, the government of Pál Teleki decided to donate all weapons and ammunition collected by Hungary to the Polish Army, as well as to start production in Budapest’s armament factories to work for the Polish front only for two weeks. Symbolically, to deliver the supplies, the train had to cross Romanian border. Relationships between the two countries were extremely hostile at the time – yet, they managed to cooperate in that, and on August 12, 1920 the Hungarian transport reached Skierniewice, near Warsaw.

This support was crucial to saving Warsaw from the Red Army.

UKRAINE

As a result of the Piłsudski-Petlura agreement, the Ukrainian People’s Republic became one of Poland’s most important allies in 1920. Symon Petlura’s Army of 20,000 soldiers, known as the Active Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, took sides with Poland. These troops were financed and armed by the Polish state, partially with weapons captured on the Bolsheviks. The most critical Ukrainian troops were the 2nd Sich Shooting Division and the 6th Sich Shooting Division, commanded by Gen. Ivan Omelianovych-Pavlenko, Gen. Mykhailo Omelianovych-Pavlenko and General Marko Bezruchko.

The Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic took part in the Kiev expedition and then secured the Polish retreat from Ukraine to Warsaw. During the Battle of Warsaw Ukrainian units defended the Dniester line and took part in the offensive from Wieprz. The Ukrainians also took part in the defense of Zamość and the capture of Tarnopol and Kamieniec Podolski.

In the autumn of 1920 the Active Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic grew to 70,000 soldiers.

FRANCE

France has been one of the most important allies of the reborn country since Poland regained its independence in 1918. The work of the Polish National Committee in Paris, as well as the pro-French attitude of the Polish National Democracy movement, contributed to perceiving Poland as part of the Entente Powers. French government supported the initiative of the leader of National Democracy, Roman Dmowski, to create a Polish army in the country – the so-called Blue Army.

During the Polish-Soviet war, France loyally supported Poland, despite some differences in their assessment of the situation in the region. Paris supported the Whites in the Russian Civil War, while Piłsudski believed that the restoration of the Tsarate was as dangerous for Poland as the Bolsheviks’ internationalism, and would lead to Poland losing its independence again.

France supported Poland in two directions – with military experts and arms. The French Military Mission in Poland was set up to help the young Polish Army to shape its structure and prepare Polish officers. One of the officers sent to Poland was Charles de Gaulle, who, thanks to his presence on the Vistula River during the Polish-Soviet war, could see the threat to the European civilization represented by Communism with his own eyes. The French is considered a great friend of Poland.

Another body that provided Poland with experts was Franco-British Interallied Mission to Poland. One of its members was Maxime Weygand, who took part in the preparation of the plan to defend Warsaw against the Bolsheviks. Piłsudski’s political opponents created a narrative, attributing the victory to Weygand. The French commander, however, always highlighted that Pilsudski was the architect of the triumph.

In total, the French government sent to Poland over a thousand officers supporting the Polish Army with their experience and knowledge.

As we said before, France supported Poland with the equipment as well – in particular, firearms of French and German production. Apart from that, the French Military Mission was to coordinate the supply of Renault engines for Polish aviation. Among the most critical weapons were Renault FT-17 tanks, which, especially in the first battles (such as Battle of Dyneburg) of the Polish-Soviet war were hugely successful over the Bolsheviks. Although French officers were ordered not to participate in combat, they were often fighting in French tanks, wearing Polish uniforms.

The Battle of Warsaw is also known as “Miracle on the Vistula” – reference to the French “Miracle on the Marne”. This was, however, coined by Polish politicians and journalists, rather than French officers.

France also served as headquarters for ‘Polish Military and Purchasing Mission’ – a body created to buy equipment abroad, particularly in Great Britain and Italy.

GREAT BRITAIN

The United Kingdom’s was not as eager to help Poland as France; however, several actions deserve to be mentioned here. The Interallied Mission to Poland included the British officers Edgar Vincent D’Abernon, Maurice Hankey and General Percy Radcliffe. The liaison between the British government and the Polish command was Adrian Carton de Wiart, who tried to persuade London to take a more pro-active stance concerning Poland.

The United Kingdom provided substantial quantities of weapons. Apart from that, it’s worth mentioning an act of support from General Richard Haking, commander of the British military mission stationing in the Free City of Danzig. German dockers sympathizing with the Bolsheviks refused to unload French arms intended for Poland. Haking ordered the British soldiers to discharge them.

BELARUS

The Belarusian support is connected with the history of the unit led by General Stanislaw Bułak-Bałachowicz, a tsarist soldier who, after the outbreak of the Bolshevik Revolution, started his fight against the Red Army, fighting against the communists in Russia, Estonia (during the Estonian-Bolshevik War) and finally in Poland. The Bułak-Bałachowcz formation was, in fact, a multinational unit, with most Russians, followed by Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Finns, Swedes, Latvians, Estonians and Caucasian people. Soldiers commanded by the Belarusian patriot subordinated themselves to the 3rd Polish Army in 1920.

The soldiers of Bułak-Bałachowicz took part in the Battle of Warsaw and the confrontation from the Wieprz River, and then captured Pinsk, where they achieved a great victory over the Red Army, taking 2400 Soviet soldiers, including the staff of the 4th Army.

After the Battle of Warsaw, since most of the unit’s members were Russians, Bułak-Bałachowicz agreed to subordinate the pro-Polish Russian Political Committee in Warsaw.

In autumn 1920, Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz attempted to win independence for Belarus on his own, but was defeated by the Bolshevik forces. In September 1939 he was fighting for Polish independence again – this time against German aggression. A year later, as a result of his activity in the Polish independence underground, he was killed by the Germans.

RUSSIA

Poland’s attitude towards anti-Bolshevik Russians was rather distrustful. Politicians and commanders (Józef Piłsudski in particular) were wary of Russian conservative circles, as they believed that the Whites would seek to reconstruct the Russian Empire within its former borders and thus threaten Polish independence. Talks between Poland and the Whites did not lead to positive results. Negotiations between the Polish Army and General Anton Denikin failed – the commander of the White Guard did not intend to accept Polish independence. The Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army informed General Aleksander Karnicki, who cooperated with Denikin, that Poland is neutral towards the White troops and does not exclude cooperation in the future, but the Polish government considers the alliance possible only if the White Army will change its attitude towards Polish independence. The Polish society and soldiers, in turn, looked distrustfully upon the Russians because they remembered the 123 years of Russian captivity, the Russian attempts at denationalizing and the bloody repressions for the anti-Tarist uprisings.

However, the Russian Political Committee, which united the Russian democrats and functioned in the Polish capital with the Polish government’s consent, was successfully established in Warsaw, headed byBoris Sawinkow. Polish politicians believed that this environment is, on the one hand, anti-communist and, and at the same time, will respect the right of the Polish people to self-determination.

The Committee’s armed strength was the 3rd Russian Army in Poland, consisting of former participants of the Russian civil war fighting on the side of the White Guard, as well as Bolshevik prisoners recruited to fight against the Red Army.

Other units of the Polish Army were also enlisted among the Bolshevik prisoners of war, allowing them to fight against the totalitarian regime that enslaved their homeland.

Among the former Russian officers fighting on the Polish side Aleksander Karnicki, a general associated with Denikin, was a prominent figure. He joined the Polish Army and commanded the 8th Driving Brigade within the 5th Army, and in August 1920 distinguished himself in fighting against the 1st Army of Budyonny.

COSSACKS

In the spring of 1920, Vadim Jakowlew came to Poland from the Democratic Republic of Georgia, and proposed to the Supreme Command of the Polish Army to create Cossack troops fighting on the Polish side.

The original plans were to form three Cossack regiments (Don, Kuban and Terek), and then to form two brigades (Don and Kuban). In mid-July, Józef Piłsudski agreed to organize Cossack troops as part of the Polish Army and the Active Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic.

The first Cossack formation was the Horse Brigade under the command of Jakowlewo. A unit of about 750 soldiers appeared on the front in mid-August and was subordinated to the 6th Army fighting on the territory of Ukraine against the 1st Calvary Army. The brigade was sent to the rear of the front, but at the end of August it was sent under the command of General Stanislaw Haller in order to take action against Budyonny’s cavalry near Zamosc. The first battle of the unit was the battle of Komarowo on 30-31 August 1920. The formation was then subordinated to the 3rd Russian Army.

Yakovlev believed that the creation of Cossack formations in the Polish Army would be a great propaganda success – he was not mistaken. Cossacks serving in the Red Army were moving to the Polish side en masse. At the end of the war the number of Cossacks supporting the Polish military effort was about six thousand soldiers.

After a ceasefire between Poland and Bolshevik Russia, the Cossacks, together with the Ukrainians, set off to the east to take back part of Ukraine from the hands of the Bolsheviks, but they failed and retreated to Poland.

OTHER FRIENDS OF POLAND

The anti-communist sentiment, sympathy for Poland, and sometimes care for one’s own national interest – different factors brought foreigners to fight along the Polish army.

Members of many nations of the former Russian Empire fought in the Polish Army – among them Latvians, Estonians and Finns. One of the most famous was Kaarlo Kurko, a participant of the Finnish Civil War, who also fought against the Bolsheviks in Latvia and Estonia. He described his memories of the Polish-Bolshevik war in his book “The miracle of Vistula. Memories of a Finnish volunteer in the Polish-Russian war in 1920”.

A Japanese officer, subsequently a general and deputy minister of defense of Japan, Yamawaki Masataka, also participated in the Battle of Warsaw. After being sent by his government to Europe, Yamawaki came to Poland to observe Russia and the ongoing revolution in Russia. After a meeting in Paris with the leader of National Democracy Roman Dmowski and the famous pianist Ignacy Paderewski, he decided settle in Poland as part of his mission. During his stay in Poland, he promoted Polish-Japanese cooperation in the field of cryptology. During his stay in Poland, he developed Polish-Japanese cooperation in cryptology. He took part in the Battle of Warsaw, and for his participation in the clashes near Radzymin he was awarded the most famous Polish military award, the The War Order of Virtuti Militari . After the Polish-Soviet War, for the next years he worked in a Japanese diplomatic post in Warsaw, fostering cordial relations between Poland and Japan in the field of intelligence.

Foreign support