Before Ukraine There Was Poland
Before Ukraine There Was Poland
History may not repeat, but it rhymes. In 1920 Russia pulled a Ukraine on Poland.
Russian propaganda poster from the Soviet-Polish War of 1920
There was a Poland, but not between 1795 and 1918, when the nation was partitioned. There was, however, always the “Polish Question,” (Polish: kwestia polska or sprawa polska) which plagued 19th century statesmen, over which of three squabbling empires would overlord the Polish people. At the climax of World War I, the Poles answered the question for themselves. Poland, in fact, was reestablished not by the postwar Treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919), but by the force of Polish arms. By the time the conference delegates met the Polish people were well on their way to carving out their nation in a series of battles between between the crumbling German Empire and a Russia distracted by revolution.
In July of 1920, however, Lenin decided to do to Poland what Putin wanted to do to Ukraine. A massive Soviet offensive led by General Mikhail Tukhachevsky, the so called “Red Napoleon,” swept across the fledgling state. For a moment, it looked like Poland would once again disappear from the maps of Europe. What happened next changed history—eerily reminding of our own times.
From A Sketch-map History of the Great War and After, 1914-1939
What happened? In a rapid six week campaign (rapid by World War I standards where armies fought for years over inches of ground), Tukhachevsky’s had reached the gates of Warsaw. Some European papers had already carried headlines about the fall of the city. Then the Polish delivered a decisive counterattack from the south that split Tukhachesky’s army and cut his lines of supply. Part of the army retreated into East Prussia and surrendered. The rest dissolved and fled back to mother Russia.
Mikhail Tukhachevsky (1893–1937) a renowned Soviet military officer and theoretician, was nicknamed the Red Napoleon by foreign newspapers.
Why did the invasion fail? Lenin failed for the same reasons Putin dropped the ball-over confidence. (We covered the Ukraine counteroffensive in another story.) Lenin didn’t really believe that Poles would fight for Poland. He expected his army to be welcomed by the people with open arms. He also grossly underestimated the fighting ability of the Polish military and employed a risky strategy attacking on a single front with wide open flanks.
Soviet prisoners of war, 1920
What was the bad news? The Polish Republic didn’t last very long. Hitler invaded on September 1, 1939. The Poles were actually holding their own, inflict 50,000 casualties on German armed forces. Then Stalin got into the act, attacking Poland on September 17. Poland once again disappeared from the maps not resurrected until 1945.
What’s the lesson? There are two crucial differences between the Poland of the interwar years and contemporary Ukraine. Poland had no friends of consequences, and certainly none close at hand, pinned on their borders between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. Ukraine, on the other hand, may have Putin on one flank, but they also have a resolute NATO on the other.
Poland’s other problem was a laggard economy hampered by a lack of resources and industry and a global depression. Further, political infighting and corrupt governance plagued the country. It was a wonder the Poles could muster a military of any consequence at all, certainly not enough force to deter the Nazis or the Russians.
Contemporary Ukraine, in contrast, has a fighting chance. Ukraine has received substantial aid, in addition to having the tenacity and resolve to soldier on.
Still, Ukraine’s future is an open question. It could win the war, but like interwar Poland in the long-term lose the peace. Much hinges on how Ukraine is reconstructed (see our concerns and solutions in previous reports). Securing a future will mean more than just winning on the battlefield. Ukraine will need a strong military, good governance, and a thriving economy.
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A very similar situation as an today's war between Ukraine and Russia.After the war,Poland reappears as an indenpendent state.Just like Ukraine today, Poland managed to oppose Russia(Poland won).
Soviet hopes of spreading the revolution Westward were dashed (same as Putin )
Ukrainians were disappointed because they lost their chances for indenpendent statehood.
Very interesting article.I love history and because of this war I renewed my knowledge