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132-504: The military cemetery holds the graves of many who have fought and died for their country since the early 19th century, including a large number involved in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw , the September 1939 Campaign , and the ill-fated 1944 Warsaw Uprising against Nazi Germany . It was founded in 1912 as an annex to the Catholic cemetery, but after Poland regained independence in 1918, it became

264-600: A peace treaty with the Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine later that year, securing the Polish state's eastern frontiers until 1939. The politician and diplomat Edgar Vincent regards this event as one of the most important battles in history on his expanded list of most decisive battles , since the Polish victory over the Soviets halted the spread of communism further westwards into Europe . A Soviet victory, which would have led to

396-494: A 150-kilometre front line on the left flank of the Soviet 16th Army. On the first day of the counteroffensive, only one of the five Polish divisions reported any sort of opposition, while the remaining four, supported by a cavalry brigade, managed to advance north 45 kilometres unopposed. When evening fell, the town of Włodawa had been liberated, and the communication and supply lines of the Soviet 16th Army had been cut. Even Piłsudski

528-706: A collapse of all Polish fronts . On July 4, Mikhail Tukhachevsky 's Western Front began an all-out assault in Belarus from the Berezina River , forcing Polish forces to retreat . On July 19 the Red Army seized Grodno , on July 22 the Brześć Fortress was captured and on July 28, it reached Białystok . In early August, Polish and Soviet delegations met at Baranavichy and exchanged notes, but their talks came to nothing. 3 Fronts ( Northern, Central, Southern ), 7 Armies,

660-721: A day, disrupting the Soviet "enveloping" northern manoeuvre. On August 16, the Polish Assault Group commanded by Piłsudski began its march north from the Wieprz River. It faced the Mazyr Group, a Soviet corps that had defeated the Poles during the Kiev operation several months earlier. However, during its pursuit of the retreating Polish armies, the Mazyr Group had lost most of its troops and had been reduced to only one or two divisions covering

792-520: A decisive Soviet victory. The Battle of Warsaw was fought from August 12–25, 1920, as Red Army forces commanded by Mikhail Tukhachevsky approached the Polish capital of Warsaw and the nearby Modlin Fortress . On August 16, Polish forces commanded by Józef Piłsudski counterattacked from the south, disrupting the enemy's offensive, forcing the Russian forces into a disorganized withdrawal eastward and behind

924-459: A deeper thrust into Russian lines from the area of Wieprz. However, Piłsudski proposed a large-scale operation, with significant forces committed to beating the enemy forces rather than merely pushing them back. The plan was opposed by the French mission, which did not believe that the Polish army would be able to regroup after a 600-kilometre retreat. Nonetheless, for many years, a myth persisted that it

1056-577: A destruction of a radio station of A. D. Shuvayev's Soviet 4th Army. The latter unit had only one radio station left, fixed on one frequency which was known to the Polish intelligence. Since the Polish code-breakers did not want the Russians to find out that their codes had been broken, the remaining Soviet radio station was neutralized by having the radio station in Warsaw recite the Book of Genesis in Polish and Latin on

1188-609: A frontal attack on Warsaw. By contrast the Poles were speedy, making every day's delay a liability to the Soviets. Furthermore, there was poor coordination between the Soviet Western Command and the three armies of the Southwestern Command. In the political sphere, Davies argues, there was too much friction inside the Soviet Command. According to the historian Thomas Fiddick in 1973, rumors of disobedience to orders on

1320-579: A government and many new groups attempted to fill the void. During this same period, the population was facing food shortages and was, for the most part, demoralized by the losses incurred during the war. Various political parties, ranging from ardent nationalists, to social democrats, to communists attempted to set up governments in the names of the different nationalities. In other areas, existing nation states such as Romania engaged regions that they considered to be theirs. These moves created de facto governments that complicated life for diplomats, idealists, and

1452-884: A lasting independence, though it repeatedly had to fight the Soviet Union for its borders in the Winter War . Armenia , Georgia , and Azerbaijan were established as independent states in the Caucasus region . However, after the withdrawal of the Russian Army in 1917 and during 1920 Turkish invasion of Armenia , Turkey captured the Armenian territory around Artvin , Kars , and Iğdır , and these territorial losses became permanent. As consequence of invasions of Turkey and Russian Red Army all three Transcaucasian countries were proclaimed as Soviet Republics in 1920 and in 1922 were absorbed into

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1584-623: A loan from the United States. Historian Sally Marks claims that while "Allied warships remained in place against a possible resumption of hostilities, the Allies offered food and medicine after the armistice, but Germany refused to allow its ships to carry supplies". Further, Marks states that despite the problems facing the Allies, from the German government, "Allied food shipments arrived in Allied ships before

1716-687: A mass push toward the Polish capital, Warsaw. Its capture would have had a major propaganda effect for the Russian Bolsheviks, who expected the fall of the Polish capital not only to undermine the morale of the Poles , but to spark an international series of communist uprisings and clear the way for the Red Army to join the German Revolution . The Russian 1st Cavalry Army under Semyon Budyonny broke through Polish lines in early June. The effects of that were dramatic; Budyonny's success resulted in

1848-564: A much greater loss in terms of its ratio to the country's prewar territory. However, the new Irish Free State remained a dominion within the British Empire . World War I also caused a major realignment in British parliamentary politics by leading to the rise of the democratic socialist Labour Party and to the break-up and decline of the social liberal Liberal Party . Liberal Prime Minister H. H. Asquith ran into disagreements with not only

1980-474: A normal treatable virus that did not produce a heavy impact on the world's health." After 123 years, Poland re-emerged as an independent country. The Kingdom of Serbia and its dynasty, as a "minor Entente nation" and the country with the most casualties per capita, became the backbone of a new multinational state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , later renamed Yugoslavia. Czechoslovakia , combining

2112-535: A total of 32 divisions: 46,000 infantry; 2,000 cavalry; 730 machine guns; 192 artillery batteries; and several units of (mostly FT-17 ) tanks. Fronts: By the beginning of August, the Polish retreat had become more organized, as their supply lines were steadily shortened. At first, Józef Piłsudski wanted to stop the Soviets at the Bug River and the city of Brest-Litovsk, but the Soviet advance resulted in their forces breaching that line, making that plan obsolete. On

2244-607: A war that eventually resulted in a massive population exchange between the two countries under the Treaty of Lausanne. According to various sources, several hundred thousand Greeks died during this period, which was tied in with the Greek genocide . A far-left and often explicitly communist revolutionary wave occurred in several European countries in 1917–1920, notably in Germany and Hungary . The single most important event precipitated by

2376-569: Is 1920's 'Miracle on the Vistula'." Diaries from many participants of the battle attribute the outcome to the Blessed Virgin Mary (citing multiple reasons, including widespread national prayer beforehand and subsequent reports of her appearance on the battlefield). The date of the turn of the battle, August 15, is the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is an important date in

2508-596: The Conservative Party opposition but members of his own party led by David Lloyd George who disagreed with his handling of the war. Although Asquith agreed to form a coalition government, the disputes continued and eventually Lloyd George led a faction of the Liberals to form a new coalition government with the cooperation of the Conservatives. During the 1918 "coupon" election Conservatives and Liberals endorsed by

2640-574: The Emirate of Transjordan . Parts of the Ottoman Empire on the Arabian Peninsula became part of what is today Saudi Arabia and Yemen . The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire became a pivotal milestone in the creation of the modern Middle East, the result of which bore witness to the creation of new conflicts and hostilities in the region. The Soviet Union benefited from Germany's loss, as one of

2772-525: The Great Famine of Mount Lebanon . With the fall of the Ottoman government, power vacuums developed and conflicting claims to land and nationhood began to emerge. The political boundaries drawn by the victors of World War   I were quickly imposed, sometimes after only cursory consultation with the local population. These continue to be problematic in the 21st-century struggles for national identity . While

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2904-583: The Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory since 1898. But the western Allies rejected China's request, instead granting transfer to Japan of all of Germany's pre-war territory and rights in China. Subsequently, China did not sign the Treaty of Versailles, instead signing a separate peace treaty with Germany in 1921. The Austro-Hungarian and German concessions in Tianjin were placed under the administration of

3036-547: The Kingdom of Bohemia with parts of the Kingdom of Hungary, became a new nation. Romania would unite all Romanian-speaking people under a single state leading to Greater Romania . Russia became the Soviet Union and lost Finland , Estonia , Lithuania , and Latvia , which became independent countries. The Ottoman Empire was soon replaced by Turkey and many of its territories became mandates under British or French rule. In

3168-567: The Kingdom of Greece , with the backing of Britain, to invade deep into Anatolia in an attempt to deal a blow to the revolutionaries. At the Battle of Dumlupınar , the Greek army was defeated and forced into retreat, leading to the burning of Smyrna and the withdrawal of Greece from Asia Minor. With the nationalists empowered, the army marched on to reclaim Istanbul, resulting in the Chanak Crisis in which

3300-758: The Miracle on the Vistula ( Polish : Cud nad Wisłą ), was a series of battles that resulted in a decisive Polish victory and complete disintegration of the Red Army in August 1920 during the Polish–Soviet War . After the Polish Kiev offensive , Soviet forces launched a successful counterattack in summer 1920, forcing the Polish army to retreat westward. The Polish forces seemed on the verge of disintegration and observers predicted

3432-576: The Modlin Fortress ; when it became feasible they were to strike from behind Warsaw, thus cutting off Soviet forces attempting to envelop Warsaw from that direction, and break through the enemy front and fall upon the rear of the Soviet Northwestern Front. Additionally, five divisions of the 5th Army were to protect Warsaw from the north. General Franciszek Latinik 's 1st Army would defend Warsaw itself, while General Bolesław Roja 's 2nd Army

3564-541: The Neman River . Estimated Russian losses were 10,000 killed, 500 missing, 30,000 wounded, and 66,000 taken prisoner, compared with Polish losses of some 4,500 killed, 10,000 missing, and 22,000 wounded. The defeat crippled the Red Army; Vladimir Lenin , the Bolshevik leader, called it "an enormous defeat" for his forces. In the following months, several more Polish follow-up victories secured Poland's independence and led to

3696-627: The Ottoman Army , left Istanbul for Samsun to organize the remaining Ottoman forces to resist the terms of the treaty. On the eastern front, after the invasion of Armenia in 1920 and signing of the Treaty of Kars with the Russian S.F.S.R. Turkey took over territory lost to Armenia and post-Imperial Russia. On the western front, the growing strength of the Turkish National Movement forces led

3828-528: The Polish–Ukrainian War , amidst competing territorial claims. After early setbacks against Poland in 1919, the Red Army was overwhelmingly successful in a counter-offensive in early 1920 that nullified the Polish Kiev Operation , forcing a Polish retreat. By mid-1920, Poland's very survival was at stake and foreign observers expected it to collapse at any moment. The Russian strategy called for

3960-539: The Red Army 's strength. The Bolshevik's speeches asserted that the revolution was to be carried to western Europe on the bayonets of Russian soldat s and that the shortest route to Berlin and Paris lay through Warsaw . The conflict began when Polish head of state Józef Piłsudski formed an alliance with the Ukrainian leader Symon Petlyura (on April 21, 1920) and their combined forces began to push into Ukraine, liberating Kyiv on May 7. The two sides were embroiled in

4092-662: The Representation of the People Act 1918 . As a result both Liberal factions performed poorly in the 1922 general election while Labour became the Official Opposition for the first time. The Liberals reluctantly collaborated with Labour to help it form a brief minority government under Ramsay MacDonald . The Liberals would not fully reunify until Asquith's death in 1928, and thereafter primarily expressed influence through confidence and supply arrangements and coalitions in

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4224-484: The Rhineland . She further claims that the German government delayed the relief effort by refusing to surrender their merchant fleet to the Allies. Finally, she concludes that "the very success of the relief effort had in effect deprived the [Allies] of a credible threat to induce Germany to sign the Treaty of Versailles. However, it is also the case that for eight months following the end of hostilities, some form of blockade

4356-923: The Romanian Army in the Hungarian-Romanian War . In the late spring of 1918, three new states were formed in the South Caucasus : the First Republic of Armenia , the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic , and the Democratic Republic of Georgia , which declared their independence from the Russian Empire. Two other minor entities were established, the Centrocaspian Dictatorship and South West Caucasian Republic (the former

4488-684: The Russian Army and since summer 1917 in the Romanian front as part of the Romanian Army . As a supporter of the White movement with the Czechoslovak Legion against the Red Army during the Russian Civil War . In the battles of Montello, Vittorio Veneto, Sisemolet, Piave, Cimone, Monte Grappa, Nervesa and Ponte Delle Alpi as part of the Italian Army against Austria-Hungary and in 1919 as part of

4620-581: The Treaty of Riga was signed, ending hostilities. Bolshevik propaganda before the Battle of Warsaw had described the fall of Poland's capital as imminent, and its anticipated fall was to be a signal for the start of large-scale communist revolutions in Poland, Germany, and other European countries, economically devastated by the First World War . Due to the Polish victory, however, the Soviet attempts to overthrow

4752-525: The Weimar Republic . On 28 June 1919 the Weimar Republic was forced, under threat of continued Allied advance, to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Germany viewed the one-sided treaty as a humiliation and as blaming it for the entire war . While the intent of the treaty was to assign guilt to Germany to justify financial reparations, the notion of blame took root as a political issue in German society and

4884-454: The 1916 Easter Rising and its failed attempt to introduce conscription in Ireland in 1918 , led to an increased support for separatist radicals. This led indirectly to the outbreak of the Irish War of Independence in 1919. The creation of the Irish Free State that followed this conflict in effect represented a territorial loss for the United Kingdom that was all but equal to the loss sustained by Germany, and furthermore, compared to Germany,

5016-408: The 1st and 2nd Armies of General Józef Haller's Central Front ( 10 + 1 ⁄ 2 divisions) to take a passive role, facing the Soviet main westward thrust and holding their entrenched positions, Warsaw's last line of defence, at all costs. At the same time, the 5th Army ( 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 divisions) under General Władysław Sikorski , subordinate to Haller, would defend the northern area near

5148-401: The 3rd, 4th, and 15th. The Modlin sector was reinforced with reserves (the Siberian Brigade and General Franciszek Krajowski 's fresh 18th Infantry Division, both elite, battle-tested units: the 5th Army held out until dawn. The situation was saved around midnight when the 203rd Uhlan Regiment managed to break through the Red Army lines and attack a Soviet command post, which resulted in

5280-434: The Allies as an equal. Lausanne Treaty formally acknowledged the new League of Nations mandates in the Middle East, the cession of their territories on the Arabian Peninsula, and British sovereignty over Cyprus . The League of Nations granted Class A mandates for the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon and British Mandate of Mesopotamia and Palestine , the latter comprising two autonomous regions: Mandate Palestine and

5412-508: The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), celebrates this defining moment. After the Battle of Vimy Ridge, where the Canadian divisions fought together for the first time as a single corps, Canadians began to refer to their country as a nation "forged from fire". Having succeeded on the same battleground where the "mother countries" had previously faltered, they were for the first time respected internationally for their own accomplishments. Like Australia and New Zealand, Canada entered

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5544-474: The British Empire, the war unleashed new forms of nationalism. In the Dominions of Australia and New Zealand, the Battle of Gallipoli became known as those nations' "Baptism of Fire". It was the first major war in which the newly established countries fought, and it was one of the first times that Australian troops fought as Australians, not just subjects of the British Crown , and independent national identities for these nations took hold. Anzac Day , commemorating

5676-408: The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George , was forced to resign. After Turkish resistance gained control over Anatolia and Istanbul, the Sèvres treaty was superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne which formally ended all hostilities and led to the creation of the modern Turkish Republic . As a result, Turkey became the only power of World War I to overturn the terms of its defeat, and negotiate with

5808-452: The Bug River area, those armies had not moved directly toward Warsaw but had crossed the Wieprz River and broken off contact with their pursuers, thus confusing the enemy as to their whereabouts. The Assault Group's assignment was to spearhead a rapid offensive from their southern position in the Vistula-Wieprz River triangle. They were supposed to advance north, targeting a weak spot that the Polish intelligence thought to have found in between

5940-705: The Catholic year. According to documents found in 2005 at Poland's Central Military Archives, Polish cryptanalysts broke Russian ciphers they had intercepted as early as September 1919. At least some of the Polish victories, not only the Battle of Warsaw but also other battles, can be attributed to this. Lieutenant Jan Kowalewski , credited with the original breakthrough, received the Order of Virtuti Militari in 1921. Aftermath of World War I The aftermath of World War I saw far-reaching and wide-ranging cultural, economic, and social change across Europe , Asia , Africa , and even in areas outside those that were directly involved. Four empires collapsed due to

6072-402: The Central Powers may have been exposed to the viral wave before the Allies. The resulting casualties having greater effect, having been incurred during the war, as opposed to the allies who suffered the brunt of the pandemic after the Armistice. When the extent of the epidemic was realized, the respective censorship programs of the Allies and Central Powers limited the public's knowledge regarding

6204-446: The Chinese government; in 1920 they occupied the Russian area as well. The western Allies' substantial accession to Japan's territorial ambitions at China's expense led to the May Fourth Movement in China, a social and political movement that had profound influence over subsequent Chinese history. The May Fourth Movement is often cited as the birth of Chinese nationalism , and both the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party consider

6336-430: The Coalition won a landslide majority in the British Parliament. However, the split between Lloyd George's National Liberals and Asquith's Independent Liberals fatally weakened the party. On the other hand, the Labour Party remained unified despite tensions between pacifist and pro-war leaders; it used the war to expand the British trade union movement , and benefited from the establishment of universal suffrage under

6468-456: The Movement to be an important period in their own histories. Alsace–Lorraine returned to France, the region which had been ceded to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War . At the 1919 Peace Conference, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau 's aim was to ensure that Germany would not seek revenge in the following years. To this purpose, the chief commander of the Allied forces, Marshal Ferdinand Foch , had demanded that for

6600-407: The Polish Northern Front, to start the 5th Army's counterattack earlier than planned. During this time, Piłsudski was finishing his plans for the counter-offensive. He decided to supervise the attack, personally handing in a letter of resignation from all state functions so he could concentrate on the military situation and so that if he died, it would not paralyze the state. He succeeded in raising

6732-414: The Polish morale. From that moment on, Sikorski's 5th Army pushed exhausted Soviet units away from Warsaw, in an almost Blitzkrieg -like operation. Sikorski's units were given the support of almost all of the small number of mechanized units— tanks and armoured cars —that the Polish army had, as well as that of the two Polish armoured trains . It was able to advance rapidly at the speed of 30 kilometres

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6864-419: The Polish–Soviet War. Stalin's secretary, Boris Bazhanov argued that the offensive against Warsaw failed because Stalin and his army did not comply with the orders of the commander in chief. Tukhachevsky himself blamed Stalin for his defeat at the Battle of Warsaw. While the Red Army pushed forward, Gayk Bzhishkyan 's Cavalry Corps, together with the 4th Army, crossed the Wkra River and advanced towards

6996-422: The Red Army did not succeed completely. On July 4, four Soviet armies of the North-Western Front began to advance on Warsaw. After initial successes, by the end of August, three of them—the 4th, 15th and 16th Armies, as well as the bulk of Bzhishkyan's 3rd Cavalry Corps—had all but disintegrated, their remnants either taken prisoner or briefly interned after crossing the border into German East Prussia. The 3rd Army

7128-407: The Red Army managed to reach the village of Izabelin, 13 kilometres northwest of the capital, but this was the closest that Russian forces would come. Tukhachevsky, certain that all was going according to plan, was actually falling into Piłsudski's trap. There were only token Polish resistance in the path of the main Russian advance north and across the Vistula, on the right flank of the battle (from

7260-413: The Red Army's forces had been routed and no longer posed a threat to the Poles. Semyon Budyonny's 1st Cavalry Army, besieging Lwów, had been defeated at the Battle of Komarów on August 31 and the Battle of Hrubieszów. By mid-October, the Polish army had reached the Tarnopol – Dubno –Minsk– Drysa line. Tukhachevsky succeeded eventually in reorganizing his eastward-retreating forces, but not in regaining

7392-433: The Ruhr until 1925. The treaty required Germany to permanently reduce the size of its army to 100,000 men, and destroy their tanks, air force, and U-boat fleet (her capital ships, moored at Scapa Flow , were scuttled by their crews to prevent them from falling into Allied hands). Germany saw relatively small amounts of territory transferred to Denmark , Czechoslovakia, and Belgium, a larger amount to France (including

7524-446: The Ruhr, and then the Young Plan in 1929. Also extremely important in the War was the participation of French colonial troops (who amounted for around 10% of the total number of troops deployed by France across the war), including the Senegalese tirailleurs , and troops from Indochina , North Africa , and Madagascar . When these soldiers returned to their homelands and continued to be treated as second class citizens, many became

7656-422: The Russian plan was the poorly defended southern flank, secured only by the Pinsk Marshes and the weak Mazyr (Mozyrska) Group. That unit consisted of the 57th Infantry Division, 8,000 strong, and acted as the link between the Soviet two fronts (the majority of the Russian Southwest Front was engaged in the Battle of Lwów ). Davies argues that the Soviet failure was caused by its tardiness in moving forces in for

7788-612: The Soviet Union as the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic . Romania gained Bessarabia from Russia. The Russian concession of Tianjin was occupied by the Chinese Beiyang government in 1920; in 1924 the Soviet Union renounced its claims to the district. In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , funding the war had a severe economic cost . From being the world's largest overseas investor, it became one of its biggest debtors with interest payments forming around 40% of all government spending. Inflation more than doubled between 1914 and its peak in 1920, while

7920-511: The Soviet Western and Southwestern Fronts , where their communications relied on the weak Mozyr Group. The aim of this operation was to throw the Soviet Western Front into chaos and separate it from its reserves. According to the plan, Sikorski's 5th Army and the advancing Assault Group would meet near the East Prussian border, leaving the Soviets trapped in an encirclement . Although based on fairly reliable information provided by Polish intelligence and intercepted Soviet radio communications,

8052-445: The Soviet fronts. They exploited it ruthlessly, continuing their northward offensive with two armies following and falling on the surprised and confused enemy. On August 18, Tukhachevsky, in his headquarters in Minsk , some 300 miles (480 km) east of Warsaw, realized the extent of his defeat, quickly issuing the orders for the Red Army to retreat and regroup. He wanted to straighten the front line to improve his logistics, regain

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8184-644: The Soviet side by General Semyon Budyonny, or possibly even Joseph Stalin , were baseless. Moscow had decided for political reasons to reinforce the Crimean front at the expense of the Polish front. It meant it was replacing its goals of Europe-wide Communist revolution with a sort of "peaceful coexistence" with the West amidst internal consolidation. However, more recent historians have stated that Stalin disobeyed orders in early August 1920 when he attempted to conquer Lvov rather than transfer his troops to assist Tukhachevsky's forces that were attacking Warsaw. In Moscow, Lenin and Trotsky blamed him for his behaviour in

8316-678: The Stalinist period, which lie under the graves of Communist figures. It took a change in the law to enable researchers to begin the recovery of these remains. As of August 2015, that work was ongoing. In 1964, communist authorities renamed the cemetery to "Communal Cemetery". The traditional name was restored in 1998. Those buried at the cemetery include: 52°15′30″N 20°57′11″E  /  52.25833°N 20.95306°E  / 52.25833; 20.95306 Battle of Warsaw (1920) [REDACTED] Russian SFSR The Battle of Warsaw ( Polish : Bitwa Warszawska ; Russian : Варшавская битва , Varshavskaya bitva ), also known as

8448-418: The Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919, between Germany on the one side and France, Italy, Britain and other minor allied powers on the other, officially ended war between those countries. Other treaties ended the relationships of the United States and the other Central Powers. Included in the 440 articles of the Treaty of Versailles were the demands that Germany officially accept responsibility "for causing all

8580-402: The United States to support Germany culminated in the British government's Balfour Declaration of 1917, endorsing creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. A total of more than 1,172,000 Jewish soldiers served in the Allied and Central Power forces in World War   I, including 275,000 in Austria-Hungary and 450,000 in Tsarist Russia. The establishment of the modern state of Israel and

8712-434: The Western allies themselves, and other agendas such as a desire to implement the spirit of the Fourteen Points. For example, in order to live up to the ideal of self-determination laid out in the Fourteen Points, Germans, whether Austrian or German, should be able to decide their own future and government. However, the French especially were concerned that an expanded Germany would be a huge security risk. Further complicating

8844-434: The Western allies. The Western forces were officially supposed to occupy the old Empire, but rarely had enough troops to do so effectively. They had to deal with local authorities who had their own agenda to fulfill. At the peace conference in Paris the diplomats had to reconcile these authorities with the competing demands of the nationalists who had turned to them for help during the war, the strategic or political desires of

8976-409: The battle started on August 12, with a Red Army frontal assault on the Praga bridgehead. In heavy fighting, Radzymin changed hands several times and most foreign diplomats left Warsaw; only the British and Vatican ambassadors chose to remain. On August 14, Radzymin fell to the Red Army, and the lines of Sikorski's Polish 5th Army were broken. The 5th Army had to fight three Soviet armies at once:

9108-457: The battle. The Polish 5th Army counterattacked on August 14, crossing the Wkra River. It faced the combined forces of the Soviet 3rd and 15th Armies (both numerically and technically superior). The struggle at Nasielsk lasted until August 15 and resulted in near-complete destruction of the town. However, the Soviet advance toward Warsaw and Modlin was halted at the end of August 15, and on that day Polish forces recaptured Radzymin, which boosted

9240-444: The blockade after the fighting ended, as author Robert Leckie wrote in Delivered from Evil , did much to "torment the Germans ... driving them with the fury of despair into the arms of the devil." The terms of the Armistice did allow food to be shipped into Germany, but the Allies required that Germany provide the means (the shipping) to do so. The German government was required to use its gold reserves, being unable to secure

9372-421: The capital. With 24 divisions in four armies under his command, he planned to repeat the classic maneuver of Ivan Paskevich , who in 1831, during the November Uprising , had crossed the Vistula at Toruń and reached Warsaw practically unopposed, crushing the Polish uprising. This move would also cut the Polish forces off from Gdańsk , the only port open to shipments of arms and supplies. The main weakness of

9504-476: The center of the 1918 flu pandemic. A significant precursor virus was harbored in birds, and mutated to pigs that were kept near the front. The exact number of deaths is unknown but about 50 million people are estimated to have died from the influenza outbreak worldwide. In 2005, a study found that, "The 1918 virus strain developed in birds and was similar to the 'bird flu' that in the 21st century spurred fears of another worldwide pandemic, yet proved to be

9636-420: The centre of the front fell into chaos. Some divisions continued to fight their way toward Warsaw, while others retreated, lost their cohesion and panicked. Tukhachevsky lost contact with most of his forces, and the Soviet plans were thrown into disorder. Only the 15th Army remained an organized force; it tried to obey Tukhachevsky's orders, shielding the withdrawal of the westernmost extended 4th Army. However, it

9768-440: The charge made at Versailles". This position is also supported by Elisabeth Gläser who notes that an Allied task force, to help feed the German population, was established in early 1919 and that by May 1919 Germany "became the chief recipient of American and Allied food shipments". Gläser further claims that during the early months of 1919, while the main relief effort was being planned, France provided food shipments to Bavaria and

9900-427: The creation of a Soviet-established government in Poland, would have put the Soviets directly on the German border, where they were expecting or were promised aligned forces, as well as other such areas. In the aftermath of World War I , Poland fought to preserve its newly regained independence , lost in the 1795 partitions of Poland , and to carve out the borders of a new multinational federation ( Intermarium ) from

10032-658: The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War   I was pivotal in contributing to the modern political situation of the Middle East, including the Arab-Israeli conflict , the end of Ottoman rule also spawned lesser-known disputes over water and other natural resources. The prestige of Germany and German things in Latin America remained high after the war but did not recover to its pre-war levels. Indeed, in Chile

10164-467: The early 1950s, brothers-in-arms of many dead soldiers organised exhumations of their colleagues on their own, and there are many quarters where soldiers of specific units are buried. Also in the cemetery are several mass graves of (mostly unknown) civilian victims of the German terror during World War II, especially during the Warsaw Uprising. There are mass graves of political prisoners executed during

10296-429: The enemy's retreat, carried out a forced march, going on the move for up to 21 hours a day, from Lubartów to Białystok—covering 163 miles (262 km) in only six days. Throughout that period, the division engaged the enemy twice. The division's rapid advance allowed it to intercept the 16th Soviet Army, cutting it off from reinforcements near Białystok and forcing most of its troops to surrender. The Soviet armies in

10428-534: The event of a hung parliament . The Republic of China had been one of the Allies; during the war, they had sent thousands of labourers to France. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 , the Chinese delegation called for an end to Western imperialistic institutions in China, but was rebuffed. China requested at least the formal restoration of its territory of Jiaozhou Bay , under German colonial control as

10560-437: The first terms of the armistice was the abrogation of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk . At the time of the armistice Russia was in the grips of a civil war which left more than seven million people dead and large areas of the country devastated. The nation as a whole suffered socially and economically. Lithuania , Latvia and Estonia gained independence. They were occupied again by the Soviet Union in 1940. Finland gained

10692-577: The first time in history, as in Germany ( 1919 German federal election ), Great Britain ( 1918 United Kingdom general election ), and the United States ( 1920 United States presidential election ). Through the period from the Armistice of 11 November 1918 until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles with the Weimar Republic on 28 June 1919, the Allies maintained the naval blockade of Germany that had begun during

10824-513: The frequency used by the 4th Army. It thus lost contact with its headquarters and continued marching toward Toruń and Płock , unaware of Tukhachevsky's order to turn south. The raid by the 203rd Uhlans is sometimes referred to as "the Miracle of Ciechanów ". At the same time, the Polish 1st Army under Latinik resisted a direct Red Army assault on Warsaw by six rifle divisions. The struggle for control of Radzymin forced Józef Haller, commander of

10956-461: The front lines, and all of that a mere week before the planned date of the counterattack. All regrouping was within striking distance of the enemy; if Piłsudski and his staff mistimed when the Soviet offensive would begin, the Polish counter-attack and even the cohesion of the entire Polish front would be in chaos. Piłsudski himself admitted in his memoirs that it was a gamble; he decided to go forward with it due to politicians' defeatist stance, fear for

11088-449: The future protection of France the Rhine river should now form the border between France and Germany. Based on history, he was convinced that Germany would again become a threat, and, on hearing the terms of the Treaty of Versailles that had left Germany substantially intact, he observed that "This is not Peace. It is an Armistice for twenty years." The destruction brought upon French territory

11220-564: The government of Lithuania (planned for August) had to be cancelled. The Soviet defeat was therefore considered a setback for Soviet leaders supportive of that plan (particularly Vladimir Lenin). A National Democrat Sejm deputy, Stanisław Stroński , coined the phrase, "Miracle on the Vistula" ( Polish : Cud nad Wisłą ), to underline his disapproval of Piłsudski's earlier "Ukrainian adventure". In response, Poland's Prime Minister Wincenty Witos commented, "Whatever you want to write and say – whoever you want to dress in laurels and merits – this

11352-399: The greatest outrage . Nazi propaganda would feed on a general German view that the treaty was unfair – many Germans never accepted the treaty as legitimate, and lent their political support to Adolf Hitler . At the end of the war, the Allies occupied Constantinople ( Istanbul ) and the Ottoman government collapsed. The Treaty of Sèvres , designed to repair damage caused by Ottomans during

11484-433: The initiative and push the Poles back again, but the situation had progressed beyond salvaging. His orders either arrived too late or failed to arrive at all. Soviet General Bzhishkyan's 3rd Cavalry Corps continued to advance toward Pomerania , its lines endangered by the Polish 5th Army, which had finally managed to push back the Red Army and switched over to pursuit. The Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division , in order to cut

11616-537: The initiative. In September, he established a new defensive line near Grodno. In order to break it, the Polish army fought the Battle of the Niemen River (September 15–21), once again defeating the Red Army. After the Battle of the Szczara River, both sides were exhausted. On October 12, under heavy pressure from France and Britain , a ceasefire was signed. By October 18, the fighting was over, and on March 18, 1921,

11748-419: The loss and damage" of the war and pay economic reparations . The treaty drastically limited the German military machine: German troops were reduced to 100,000 and the country was prevented from possessing major military armaments such as tanks, warships, armored vehicles and submarines. Historians continue to argue about the impact the 1918 flu pandemic had on the outcome of the war. It has been posited that

11880-470: The monarchy. The economic disruption of the war and the end of the Austro-Hungarian customs union created great hardship in many areas. Although many states were set up as democracies after the war, one by one, with the exception of Czechoslovakia, they reverted to some form of authoritarian rule. Many quarreled amongst themselves but were too weak to compete effectively. Later, when Germany rearmed ,

12012-551: The morale of the troops, between August 12 and August 15, visiting units of the 4th Army concentrating near Puławy , about 100 kilometres south of Warsaw. At that time, Piłsudski also commented on the dreadful state of logistics of the Polish army: "In the 21st Division, almost half of the soldiers paraded in front of me barefoot." The newly created Polish army had little choice in its equipment; its rifles and artillery pieces were produced in at least six countries, each of them using different ammunition. The 27th Infantry Division of

12144-571: The morning, he received Rozwadowski and together they worked out the details. Rozwadowski pointed out the value of the River Wieprz ... by the evening, Order No. 8358/3 ... was ready and issued." Gen. Weygand admitted in his memoirs that "the victory was Polish, the plan Polish, the army Polish". Mikhail Tukhachevsky planned to cross the Vistula River northwest of Warsaw, around the city of Włocławek , and then attack from that direction to encircle

12276-462: The nation states of south-central Europe were unable to resist its attacks, and fell under German domination to a much greater extent than had ever existed in Austria-Hungary. In Germany, there was a socialist revolution which led to the brief establishment of a number of communist political systems in (mainly urban) parts of the country, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II , and the creation of

12408-484: The new states built around ethnic nationalism . The Jews were especially distrusted because of their minority religion and distinct subculture. This was a dramatic come-down from the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although antisemitism had been widespread during Habsburg rule , Jews faced no official discrimination because they were, for the most part, ardent supporters of the multi-national state and

12540-590: The newly created countries as minorities. More than two million ethnic Hungarians found themselves living outside of Hungary in Czechoslovakia, Romania and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Many of these national minorities found themselves in hostile situations because the modern governments were intent on defining the national character of the countries, often at the expense of the other nationalities. The interwar years were hard for religious minorities in

12672-613: The night of August 5–6, Piłsudski, staying at the Belweder Palace in Warsaw, conceived a revised plan. In the first phase, it called for Polish forces to withdraw across the Vistula River and defend the bridgeheads at Warsaw and at the Wieprz River , a tributary of the Vistula southeast of Warsaw. A quarter of the available divisions would be concentrated to the south for a strategic counteroffensive. Next, Piłsudski's plan called for

12804-514: The nuclei of pro-independence groups. Furthermore, under the state of war declared during the hostilities, the French economy had been somewhat centralized in order to be able to shift into a " war economy ", leading to a first breach with classical liberalism . Finally, the socialists' support of the National Union government (including Alexandre Millerand 's nomination as Minister of War) marked

12936-655: The perspective of the Soviet advance). At the same time, south of Warsaw, on the battle's left front, the vital link between the Northwestern and Southwestern Fronts was much more vulnerable, protected only by a small Soviet force, the Mozyr Group. Further, Budyonny, commanding the 1st Cavalry Army, a unit much feared by Piłsudski and other Polish commanders, disobeyed orders by the Soviet High Command, which at Tukhachevsky's insistence, ordered him to advance at Warsaw from

13068-403: The plan is a matter of some controversy. Due to Piłsudski's political image, he was largely unpopular with the right wing of Polish politics . Furthermore, Paderewski told top Allied leaders that French general Maxime Weygand had the idea; Paderewski knew better, but he was trying to use American support for a comeback in Polish politics. After the battle, many reports suggested that the plan

13200-493: The plan was called 'amateurish' by many high-ranking army officers and military experts, from Polish officers to the advisors from the French Military Mission to Poland who were quick to point out Piłsudski's lack of formal military education. Criticism was levied on the logistical side, as suggested concentration points were as far as 100 to 150 miles (160 to 240 km) from many Polish units, most of them engaged on

13332-517: The pre-war average rate and more than replaced by 1928. Material loss was "slight": the most significant being 40% of the British Merchant Navy sunk by German U-boats . Most of this was replaced in 1918 and all immediately after the war. The military historian Correlli Barnett has argued that "in objective truth the Great War in no way inflicted crippling economic damage on Britain" but that

13464-541: The preceding fifty years. This hope proved far too optimistic. Changes in territorial configuration after World War I included: These changes were recognized in, but not caused by, the Treaty of Versailles. They were subsequently further elaborated in the Treaty of Saint-Germain and the Treaty of Trianon . The 1919 treaties generally included guarantees of minority rights , but there was no enforcement mechanism. The new states of eastern Europe mostly all had large ethnic minorities . Millions of Germans found themselves in

13596-644: The privations of World War I was the Russian Revolution of 1917 . With the war having turned decisively against the Central Powers , the people of Austria-Hungary lost faith in their allied countries, and even before the armistice in November, radical nationalism had already led to several declarations of independence in south-central Europe after November 1918. As the central government had ceased to operate in vast areas, these regions found themselves without

13728-575: The purchases of foreign currency required to pay off the reparations, the new German republic printed tremendous amounts of money—to disastrous effect. Hyperinflation plagued Germany between 1921 and 1923. In this period the worth of fiat Papiermarks with respect to the earlier commodity Goldmarks was reduced to one trillionth (one million millionth) of its value. In December 1922 the Reparations Commission declared Germany in default, and on 11 January 1923 French and Belgian troops occupied

13860-533: The roots of the continuing Israeli–Palestinian conflict are partially found in the unstable power dynamics of the Middle East that resulted from World War   I. Before the end of the war, the Ottoman Empire had maintained a modest level of peace and stability throughout some parts of the Middle East, although during the war the Ottomans conducted the ethnically and religiously motivated Greek genocide , Armenian genocide and Assyrian genocide , as well as overseeing

13992-442: The safety of the capital, and the prevailing feeling that if Warsaw were to fall, all would be lost. Only the desperate situation persuaded other army commanders to go along with it. They realized that under the circumstances, it was the only possible way to avoid a devastating defeat. The plan seemed so desperate and inept, that when the Soviets intercepted a copy of it, it was discarded as a poor deception attempt. The authorship of

14124-470: The situation, delegations such as the Czechs and Slovenians made strong claims on some German-speaking territories. The result was treaties that compromised many ideals, offended many allies, and set up an entirely new order in the area. Many people hoped that the new nation states would allow for a new era of prosperity and peace in the region, free from the bitter quarrelling between nationalities that had marked

14256-592: The south. Budyonny resented this order, influenced by a grudge between commanding South-Western Front generals Alexander Ilyich Yegorov and Tukhachevsky. In addition, the political games of Stalin, at the time the chief political commissar of the South-Western Front, further contributed to Yegorov's and Budyonny's disobedience. Stalin, looking for personal glory, aimed to capture the besieged Lwów (Lviv), an important industrial center. Ultimately, Budyonny's forces marched on Lwów instead of Warsaw, and thus missed

14388-557: The state cemetery, where some of the most notable people of the period were buried, regardless of their faith. A large part of the cemetery is occupied by graves of Polish soldiers who died in the Warsaw Uprising . Most of the graves were exhumed between 1945 and 1953 from the streets of Warsaw. In many cases, the names of the soldiers remain unknown, and the graves are marked only by the Polish Red Cross identification number. Until

14520-587: The temporary French occupation of the Rhineland) and the greatest portion as part of a reestablished Poland. Germany's overseas colonies were divided between a number of Allied countries, most notably the United Kingdom in Africa, but it was the loss of the territory that composed the newly independent Polish state, including the German city of Danzig and the separation of East Prussia from the rest of Germany, that caused

14652-518: The territories of their former partitioners, Russia , Germany , and Austria . At the same time in 1919, the Bolsheviks had gained the upper hand in the Russian Civil War , having dealt crippling blows to the Russian White Movement . Vladimir Lenin viewed Poland as a bridge to bring communism to Central and Western Europe , and the Polish–Soviet War seemed the perfect way to test

14784-430: The town of Włocławek, the 15th and 3rd Armies were approaching Modlin Fortress and the 16th Army moved towards Warsaw. The final Russian assault on Warsaw began on August 12. The Soviet 16th Army commenced the attack at the town of Radzymin (only 23 kilometres east of the city) and captured it the following day. This initial success of the Red Army prompted Piłsudski to move up his plans by 24 hours. The first phase of

14916-571: The true extent of the disease. Because Spain was neutral , their media was free to report on the Flu, giving the impression that it began there. This misunderstanding led to contemporary reports naming it the " Spanish flu ". Investigative work by a British team led by virologist John Oxford of St Bartholomew's Hospital and the Royal London Hospital , identified a major troop staging and hospital camp in Étaples , France as almost certainly being

15048-523: The value of the Pound Sterling (consumer expenditure ) fell by 61%. War reparations in the form of free German coal depressed local industry, precipitating the 1926 United Kingdom general strike . British private investments abroad were sold, raising £550 million. However, £250 million in new investment also took place during the war. The net financial loss was therefore approximately £300 million; less than two years investment compared to

15180-492: The war "crippled the British psychologically but in no other way". Less concrete changes include the growing assertiveness of Commonwealth nations. Battles such as Gallipoli for Australia and New Zealand, and Vimy Ridge for Canada led to increased national pride and a greater reluctance to remain subordinate to Britain, leading to the growth of diplomatic autonomy in the 1920s. These battles were often decorated in propaganda in these nations as symbolic of their power during

15312-458: The war as a Dominion of the British Empire and remained so, although it emerged with a greater measure of independence. When Britain declared war in 1914, the dominions were automatically at war; at the conclusion, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa were individual signatories of the Treaty of Versailles. Lobbying by Chaim Weizmann and fear that American Jews would encourage

15444-642: The war bought an end to a period of intense scientific and cultural influence writer Eduardo de la Barra scornfully called "the German bewitchment" ( Spanish : el embrujamiento alemán ). The Transylvanian and Bukovinian Romanians who were taken prisoners of war fought as the Romanian Volunteer Corps in Russia , Romanian Legion of Siberia and Romanian Legion in Italy. Taking part in the Eastern Front as part of

15576-462: The war to the winning Allies, was signed by Ottoman Empire on 10 August 1920, but was never ratified by the Sultan. The occupation of Smyrna by Greece on 18 May 1919 triggered a nationalist movement to rescind the terms of the treaty. Turkish revolutionaries led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , a successful Ottoman commander, rejected the terms enforced at Sèvres and under the guise of General Inspector of

15708-485: The war, old countries were abolished, new ones were formed, boundaries were redrawn, international organizations were established, and many new and old ideologies took a firm hold in people's minds. Additionally, culture in the nations involved was greatly changed. World War I also had the effect of bringing political transformation to most of the principal parties involved in the conflict, transforming them into electoral democracies by bringing near- universal suffrage for

15840-589: The war. Overseas possessions such as British India and Nigeria also became increasingly assertive, because of their participation in the war. The populations in these countries became increasingly aware of their own power and Britain's fragility. In Ireland , the delaying of the Government of Ireland Act 1914 , which was enacted to resolve the Home Rule issue , later exacerbated by the Government's severe response to

15972-526: The war. As the German economy was dependent on imports, it is estimated that around half a million civilians had died. N. P. Howard, of the University of Sheffield , estimates that a quarter of a million excess deaths occurred in eight-month period following the conclusion of the conflict, 40% of which took place in November 1918, making for 474,085 excess deaths for the entire 1914–1919 period. The continuation of

16104-410: Was continually in place, with some contemporary estimates that a further 100,000 casualties among German civilians due to starvation were caused, on top of the hundreds of thousands which already had occurred. Food shipments, furthermore, had been entirely dependent on Allied goodwill, causing at least in part the post-hostilities irregularity. After the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the signing of

16236-706: Was created in the spring of 1918, but this collapsed in May when the Georgians asked for and received protection from Germany and the Azerbaijanis concluded a treaty with the Ottoman Empire that was more akin to a military alliance. Armenia was left to fend for itself and struggled for five months against the threat of a full-fledged occupation by the Ottoman Turks before defeating them at the Battle of Sardarabad . Greece fought against Turkish nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal ,

16368-566: Was defeated twice on August 19 and 20 and joined the general rout of the Red Army's North-Western Front. Tukhachevsky had no choice but to order a full retreat toward the Western Bug River. By August 21, all organized resistance ceased to exist, and by August 31, the Soviet Southwestern Front was completely routed. Although Poland managed to achieve victory and push back the Russians, Piłsudski's plan to outmanoeuvre and surround

16500-546: Was in fact prepared either by Weygand or by the Polish Chief of Staff Tadeusz Jordan-Rozwadowski . According to recent research, the French Military Mission proposed only a minor tactical counter-attack of two divisions towards Mińsk Mazowiecki . Its aim would have been to push the Red Army 30 kilometres back in order to ease subsequent ceasefire negotiations. On the other hand, General Rozwadowski's plan called for

16632-529: Was liquidated by Azerbaijan in the autumn of 1918 and the latter by a joint Armenian-British task force in early 1919). With the withdrawal of the Russian armies from the Caucasus front in the winter of 1917–18, the three major republics braced for an imminent Ottoman advance, which commenced in the early months of 1918. Solidarity was briefly maintained when the Transcaucasian Federative Republic

16764-639: Was never accepted by nationalists, although it was argued by some, such as German historian Fritz Fischer . The German government disseminated propaganda to further promote this idea, and funded the Centre for the Study of the Causes of the War to this end. 132 billion gold marks ($ 31.5 billion, 6.6 billion pounds) were demanded from Germany in reparations, of which only 50 billion had to be paid. In order to finance

16896-411: Was surprised by the extent of these early successes. The Assault Group units covered about 70 kilometres in 36 hours. As planned, it split the Soviet fronts, disrupting the offensive, all without encountering any significant resistance. The Mazyr Group had already been defeated on the first day of the Polish counterattack. Consequently, the Polish armies found what they had hoped for—a large opening between

17028-597: Was the least affected; due to the speed of its retreat, the pursuing Polish troops could not catch up with it. Red Army losses were about 15,000 dead, 500 missing, 10,000 wounded and 65,000 captured, compared to Polish losses of approximately 4,500 killed, 22,000 wounded and 10,000 missing. Between 25,000 and 30,000 Soviet troops managed to reach the borders of Germany. After crossing into East Prussian territory, they were briefly interned, then allowed to leave with their arms and equipment. Poland captured about 231 pieces of artillery and 1,023 machine guns . The southern arm of

17160-455: Was the timely arrival of Allied forces that had saved Poland, a myth in which Weygand occupied the central role. Davies points out Piłsudski "was left with only one serious possibility—a counter-offensive to the right of centre, at a point where a strike-force could be assembled from both northern and southern fronts. He pondered and checked these considerations during the night of 5–6 August, ruminating alone in his study at Belweder in Warsaw. In

17292-503: Was to be indemnified by the reparations negotiated at Versailles. This financial imperative dominated France's foreign policy throughout the 1920s, leading to the 1923 Occupation of the Ruhr in order to force Germany to pay. However, Germany was unable to pay, and obtained support from the United States. Thus, the Dawes Plan was negotiated after Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré 's occupation of

17424-505: Was to hold the Vistula River line from Góra Kalwaria to Dęblin . The crucial role, however, was assigned to the approximately 20,000-strong, newly formed Task Force (also translated as "Strike Group" or "Strike Army", from Polish Grupa Uderzeniowa ), under the personal command of Piłsudski. This unit, composed of the most elite Polish units from the southern front, was to be reinforced by General Leonard Skierski 's 4th Army and General Zygmunt Zieliński's 3rd Army. After retreating from

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