BATTLE // February 18, 1920

Battle of Letychiv

Name: Battle of Letychiv
Start: 1920-02-18
End: 1920-02-18
Location: Battle of Letychiv

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Overview

The Battle of Latyczów or Letychiv took place between 18 and 22 February 1920, during the Polish-Soviet War. Following the end of the Polish-Ukrainian War, the Polish Podolian Front remained relatively stable and ran along the Southern Bug River, not far from the Zbruch. During a manoeuvre that was to shorten the Polish lines, the Polish 5th Infantry Division under Gen. Władysław Jędrzejewski encountered elements of the Soviet 44th Rifle Division and cavalry units under Grigore Kotovski.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Letychiv occurred in February 1920 during the broader Polish–Soviet War, at a period when the Polish Podolian Front had stabilized along the Southern Bug River following the conclusion of the Polish–Ukrainian War. The engagement arose directly from a Polish operational maneuver intended to shorten the front line, bringing the Polish 5th Infantry Division under Jędrzejewski into contact with Soviet 44th Rifle Division infantry and Kotovsky's cavalry. Because the outcome is not recorded, the battle's decisive weight within the campaign cannot be established, but the encounter reflects the fluid, encounter-battle character of the front in early 1920, where realignment operations routinely produced unplanned engagements along the Southern Bug axis.

Tactics

The Polish 5th Infantry Division was conducting a maneuver designed to shorten Polish lines when it encountered elements of the Soviet 44th Rifle Division and cavalry units under Kotovsky. The engagement thus developed as a meeting action rather than a prepared assault, with Polish infantry coming into contact with a combined Soviet force of rifle and cavalry elements in the vicinity of the Southern Bug River front.