The Battle of Daugavpils, or Battle of Dyneburg, was the final battle during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919. A joint

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

n force, operating under Polish Staff orders known as "Operation Winter", attacked 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 ...

garrison in Dunaburg, or

Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...

, from 3 to 5 January 1920.Davies, N., 1972, White Eagle, Red Star, London: Orbis Books, From the Polish perspective, the battle was part of the Polish-Soviet War. In Latvia, it is considered to be part of Latvian War of Independence.

Background

The Polish commander of the

1st Legions Infantry Division Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division () was a tactical unit of the Polish Army between the World Wars. Formed on February 20, 1919, partially of veterans of the I Brigade of the Polish Legions, the unit saw extensive action during the Polish-Bol ...

and 3rd Legions Infantry Division, General (later

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

) Edward Rydz-Śmigły had been occupying the left bank of the Dvina since August. The Latvian Foreign Minister had met with Pilsudski in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

(then Wilno in Polish) in October 1919 and asked for assistance at Dunaburg. The Poles wanted to prevent the Soviet XVth and XVIth armies from consolidating at that juncture and readily agreed. A final agreement was reached on 30 December 1919, and a military alliance was signed between the governments of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

Battle

General Rydz-Śmigły was given the command over a small Operational Group composed of his

, the 3rd Legions Infantry Division and several minor Latvian auxiliary forces. In addition, the force included

Renault FT The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to ...

tanks of the 2nd company, 1st Tank Regiment, which was commanded by the French Captain Jean Dufour. The battle for the city and its surroundings took place under harsh weather conditions. The area was covered with more than of snow and the temperature dropped below , which permitted the Poles to cross the frozen Dvina. The Polish 3rd Legionary Division stormed the Daugavpils fortress, and the 1st Infantry Division attacked from the north. The Red Army garrison retreated to the west, where it surrendered to the Latvians. On 5 January 1920, Dunaburg was turned over to the Latvian Republic.

Aftermath

Interwar relations between Poland and Latvia were mostly good because of the battle although Latvia refused to join Poland in its continued struggle against Soviet Russia. Other problems that precluded the Polish and Latvian governments from expanding their relationship were opposition from Lithuania, which was hostile towards Poland after the Polish-Lithuanian War, and a dispute about six Latvian rural municipalities and the city of

Grīva Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the ...

that had many Poles south of the Daugava River. Several forms of alliance were proposed by Poland, such as Latvia joining the

Międzymorze Intermarium ( pl, Międzymorze, ) was a post-World War I geopolitical plan conceived by Józef Piłsudski to unite former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lands within a single polity. The plan went through several iterations, some of which antic ...

, a federation led by Poland. However, Latvia chose instead to join the Baltic Entente.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 1919 in Poland 1920 in Poland Daugavpils 1919

Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic 1919 in Latvia 1920 in Latvia History of Daugavpils January 1920 events Independence of Latvia

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References