The Battle of Chornobyl took place on 27 April 1920, near the town of Chornobyl (

Chernobyl Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about no ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, during the Polish-Soviet War. It was part of the Kiev Operation of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

, and ended in Polish victory. The main Polish unit, which operated in the swampy area of

Polesia Polesia, Polesie, or Polesye, uk, Полісся (Polissia), pl, Polesie, russian: Полесье (Polesye) is a natural and historical region that starts from the farthest edge of Central Europe and encompasses Eastern Europe, including East ...

, was the 9th Infantry Division from

Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...

, commanded by General

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Prior to the First World War, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause for Polish ...

. Its first task was to seize Chornobyl, an important

Prypiat Pripyat ( ; russian: При́пять), also known as Prypiat ( uk, При́пʼять, , ), is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 19 ...

river port, and a base of the Soviet

Dnieper Flotilla The Dnieper Flotilla () is the name given to the various naval flotillas on the Dnieper River. These were particularly active in four conflicts: the Russo-Turkish wars of Russo–Turkish War (1735–1739), 1735–39 and Russo-Turkish War (1787–92) ...

, which operated at the confluence of the Prypiat, and which protected the rear of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

units fighting near Kiev (

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

). To capture Chornobyl, General Sikorski created the Cavalry Group of Major Jaworski, supported by the newly created

Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy The Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy ( pl, Flotylla Rzeczna Marynarki Wojennej), better known as the ''Pinsk Flotilla'', was the inland branch of the Polish Navy operating on the Vistula river and in the area of the Pinsk Marshes (Dnieper– ...

. On 25 April, at 4:00 a.m., the Cavalry Group left the village of Demowicze and headed towards Chornobyl. Together with the cavalry, boats of the Flotilla sailed on the Prypiat. After a few hours, they were attacked by Soviet boats. Polish motorboats destroyed one Soviet unit and forced the enemy into retreat. At the village of Koszarowka, Major Jaworski divided his soldiers into two groups: the first, commanded by him personally, was to attack the town from north. The other, commanded by Colonel Kazimierz Galinski, was ordered to attack from the west. Both attacks were scheduled for 27 April in the morning. Chornobyl was defended by Soviet 61st Rifle Brigade, supported by twelve boats of the Dnieper Flotilla, which were armed with cannons and heavy machine guns. Polish columns left their positions in the evening of 26 April. The next morning, the group of Major Jaworski reached the village of Lelow, where it clashed with parts of the Soviet 61st Rifle Regiment and the Dnieper Flotilla. Thanks to support of the Polish Pinsk Flotilla, Major Jaworski and his soldiers broke through Soviet positions and opened the way towards Chornobyl. Nevertheless, due to this clash, Jaworski was late, compared to the second column, which had already attacked Chornobyl on 27 April, at 5 a.m. Despite Soviet resistance, the infantry of the 34th Regiment, supported by an artillery battery, seized a cemetery and green areas located west of the town. At approximately 5 a.m., the unit of Major Jaworski also appeared on the spot, together with the Pinsk Flotilla. It immediately assaulted Soviet positions, forcing the enemy to retreat. The battle quickly turned into a rout, as Polish units chased fleeing Soviets. The Dnieper Flotilla retreated to the Pripyat estuary, and Polish boats returned to the port of Chernobyl. The Battle of Chornobyl was commemorated on the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ( pl, Grób Nieznanego Żołnierza) is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected af ...

, with the inscription: "CZERNOBYL 27 IV 1920".

References

Sources

* J. Bartlewicz, Flotylla Pińska i jej udział w wojnie polsko-bolszewickiej 1918–1920, Warszawa 1933 * J. Izdebski, Dzieje 9 Dywizji Piechoty 1918–1939, Warszawa 2000 * J. Odziemkowski, Leksykon wojny polsko-rosyjskiej, wyd. RYTM Warszawa 2004 {{in lang, pl * Mullins, Justin. “Chernobyl.” ''New Scientist'', vol. 206, no. 2755, 2010, pp. vi–vii * Polidori, Robert., and Culbert, Elizabeth. ''Sperrzonen : Pripjat und Chernobyl'' . Steidl, 2004.

References

Sources

See also