The year 1815 is the time when Poland disappears from the political map of Europe. The territorial division adopted by the Vienna Congress lasted until 1914. The First World War made its own adjustments. As a result of the Versailles Peace Treaty, the country regained sovereignty over most of the original Polish lands, but was not going to stop there. The government's plans included the full restoration of the territory.
Nicholas II in his own way looked at the future of the Polish people. In August 1914, the Russian government announced its desire to unite the Poles and recreate Polish statehood within the borders of the independent Polish kingdom under the auspices of the Russian emperor.
In 1916, the existence of the kingdom of Poland was proclaimed, but without specifying the territorial boundaries. A little later, the Polish Interim State Council was created. Russia, in turn, announced the creation of independent Poland, including territories that were part of the Russian Empire before the war.
At the beginning of 1917, Emperor Nicholas II abdicated. Thus, dual power in the person of the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Council is established in the country. It was the latter, in March of that year, adopted a declaration on the right of the people to self-determination. The interim government confirmed the need for an independent Polish state.
In November 1918, Pilsudski notified all countries, with the exception of the RSFSR, of his formation. The Soviet government, in turn, expressed its readiness to establish diplomatic relations. In December of the same year, Russia received three more proposals for diplomatic relations, but Poland did not agree to any of them.
The beginning of 1919, marked by the shooting of the Russian Red Cross mission, led to accusations from Russia. But the Polish side was interested only in its own borders, and the main desire of Pilsudski was to remove Russia from the position of the main power of Eastern Europe. In his opinion, Poland should have taken its place.
The Soviet-Polish war of 1920 began on April 25, when the Poles attacked Soviet troops without warning on the territory covering the land from the city of Pripyat to the Dniester River. A little later, the Polish side seized part of the left bank of the Dnieper. The occupied part of Ukraine experienced a terrible time that year. Poles plundered its territory, burned houses, killed civilians.
On May 26, 1920, Soviet troops launched a counterattack from the southwestern front.
The Soviet-Polish war on July 2, 1920 was marked by a counter battle, the end of which was the victory of the Soviet troops.
Therefore, July 1 in Warsaw is the date of the creation of the Defense Council, headed by Pilsudski. A few days later, the Council turned to the Entente for help, asking for assistance in peace negotiations with Russia. So, the note was transmitted to the latter with the demand to stop the offensive from the city of Grodno to the Carpathians. As a result of long negotiations and deliberation, the Russian side decided to refuse, counting on the weakness of the enemy, which, in their opinion, should lead to its collapse. But Russia expressed its readiness to conduct peace negotiations with the Polish side, but without intermediaries. England, in turn, announced the termination of relations with the RSFSR in the event that the offensive continues. The Soviet-Polish war continued with hostilities.
The Polish side was perfectly armed and prepared for the battle on the Vistula, as well as for the defense of the city of Lviv. The leadership of Poland tightened measures to maintain army discipline. Beginning in August 1920, barrage units were introduced to stop the retreating units. This fact could not go unnoticed.
The Russian command of the western front was considering a plan of attack on Warsaw. It should be noted that his troops were somewhat inferior in numbers to the Poles. The Soviet units near the Vistula were also small and tired. The battle began on August 13, 1920. On the same day, Soviet divisions captured the city of Radzymin, located near Warsaw. On August 14, the Polish army came on the offensive , breaking into the headquarters of the Fourth Soviet Army. The imminent retreat led to the loss of communication with the rest of the troops and the headquarters of the front. As a result, the right flank was left without control.
The Soviet-Polish war, the turning point of which occurred on September 21, 1920, when Poland and Russia began negotiations, ended with the signing of the Armistice Agreement. It entered into force on October 18, 1920. Negotiations led to the signing of the Riga Peace Treaty of March 18, 1921.
The Soviet-Polish war of 1920 brought the territory of western Belarus as well as western Ukraine to the Polish side.