Operation Minsk

Not to be confused with the Minsk Offensive of 1944
Operation Minsk
Part of Polish-Soviet War

Polish-Soviet War & Lithuanian-Soviet War of 1919: map showing Polish & Lithuanian counterattacks.
DateEarly August, 1919
Location
Near Minsk, modern Belarus
Result Polish victory
Belligerents
 Poland  Russian SFSR
Commanders and leaders
Stanisław Szeptycki Vasily Glagolev
Strength
14,000 men
40 guns		 Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown but heavy

Operation Mińsk was a military offensive of the Polish Army during the Polish–Soviet War. It resulted in the capture of Minsk from the Red Army around 8 August 1919. The victory allowed the Polish troops to advance further into Russian-controlled Lithuania and Belarus and thus to present the Bolsheviks with a military fait accompli. The main Polish attack was toward Maladzyechna, Minsk, and Polotsk along the railroad lines. On 6 August, the Polish Army took over Slutsk and Minsk was taken two days later. The Polish units fought under command of General Stanisław Szeptycki. Polish control over the railway lines prevented the Russians from bringing in reinforcements. By the end of August, the Polish forces had taken Barysaw and Babruysk.[1]

The main military campaigns of the Polish–Soviet War took place in 1920.[2][3]

  1. ^ Palij, Michael (1995). "The Genesis of the Polish-Soviet Russian War". The Ukrainian-Polish Defensive Alliance, 1919-1921: An Aspect of the Ukrainian Revolution. CIUS Press. pp. 83–84. ISBN 1895571057.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Davies30 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Snyder, Timothy (2007). Sketches from a Secret War: A Polish Artist's Mission to Liberate Soviet Ukraine. Yale University Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-0300125993.