Battles for Vilnius (1918–1919)

The Battles for Vilnius in 1918–1919 (Polish: Walki o Wilno, Russian: Сражения за Вильно) were a series of battles fought in Vilnius between the pro-Polish Self-Defence of Lithuania and Belarus who were initially against the Imperial German Army retreating from the city and the Bolshevik paramilitaries (31 December 1918 – 3 January 1919) and then against the attacking Red Army (4–5 January 1919). The fighting resulted in the temporary capture of most of the city of Vilnius by the Poles, who eventually had to retreat before the Red Army came. Some historians consider this as the beginning of the Polish–Soviet war.

Battles for Vilnius (1918–1919)
Part of Soviet westward offensive of 1918–1919

The Red Army in Vilnius, January 6, 1919
Date31 December 1918 – 5 January 1919
Location
Vilnius (Wilno) and Naujoji Vilnia (Nowa Wilejka)
Result Bolshevik victory
Belligerents
Polish self-defense Bolsheviks
Vilnius Soviet
Germany
Commanders and leaders
Władysław Wejtko
Władysław Dąbrowski
Zygmunt Klinger
Vladimir Olderogge
Kazimierz Cichowski 
unknown
Strength
~ 1,640 Red Army, unknown, but much bigger than the Polish forces.
Vilnius Soviet ,at least 84 people
unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown Red Army: Unknown
Vilnius Soviet See Siege of the Vilnius Soviet
Unknown
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.