Similar First Battle of Grodno, Vilna offensive, Battle of Daugavpils, Soviet westward offensive, Battle of Dytiatyn | ||
The First Battle of Berezina was a battle fought around the Russian town Berezina in the Polish-Soviet war. It ended with the Polish capture of the town and the capture of 1000 Russian prisoners.
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Berezina (1919)
The Soviet Western Army retreated to the Rivers Dvina and Berezina following the successful capture of Wilno, Minsk and Lwow in the Borders region. Pilsudski's Polish Army, consisting of the Northern Group, commanded by General Stanisław Szeptycki, and the Southern Group, commanded by General Władysław Sikorski, were linked by the end of Autumn.
Battle of Berezina (1920)
Led by Chuikov, six divisions of the Soviet XV Army, crossed the Dvina River on 15 May 1920 under orders from Trotsky and Tukhachevsky, and attacked the left wing of the Polish Army, before Pilsudski could attack the Zhlobin-Mogilev rail network. The Soviet XVI Army soon took Borisov under siege. Advancing seventy miles, the Soviet line extended from Koziany to Lake Pelic before Polish General Kazimierz Sosnkowski formed the First Army at Švenčionys and General Leonard Skierski formed a second group in Lahoysk, and prepared to encircle the Soviet advancement. However, on 8 June, Tukhachevsky retreated to the Auta and Berezina rivers.