In 1919, Poland was to become the first victim of aggression by the Red Army. This war was extremely difficult and important for the newly reborn Polish state, because if the Bolsheviks had won it, they would probably not have stopped at the western border of Poland, but would have gone further into Europe.
In 1920, when the Red Army reached Warsaw, the war seemed to have been a victory for them. At the most difficult moment, the Polish army managed to stop the forces of the Russians, and then perform a brilliant manoeuvre on the outskirts of Warsaw, thereby crushing the Bolshevik armies and distancing the danger from the capital.
Interestingly, during the war Poles broke the ciphers of the Red Army, which had a big impact on the final victory. Volunteers from other countries also fought in Polish ranks (such as pilots from the USA), and the country received loads of weapons and ammunition from Hungary.
British politician and diplomat Edgar D’Abernon placed Warsaw Battle on the 18th place of the most important battles in the history of the world. We wrote more about this ranking recently.
Below is a video spot recorded by the Polish National Foundation, in which the famous actor Liam Neeson tells the story of the Miracle on the Vistula, also called “the first key victory of the free world over communism”.