Battle of Bystryk
Battle of Bystryk | |||||||
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Part of Polish-Soviet War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Poland | Russian SFSR | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
At least two regiments | 11th Cavalry Division |
The Battle of Bystrzyk happened on 31 May 1920 near the village of Bystryk near
The Bolshevik assault started on 26 May, with the aim of cutting off the Polish 2nd and 3rd Armies and encircling them in a huge pocket. One of the assaulting divisions of the Cavalry Army, the Soviet 11th Cavalry Division, managed to break the front line between the two Polish armies and assaulted a fortified village of Bystrzyk, defended only by a single infantry company of the Polish 50th Kresy Rifles Regiment. After a short skirmish, the Poles were defeated. As the Cossack cavalry took no prisoners, all 75 Poles were killed, including prisoners and wounded in action. The exact Russian losses are unknown. Shortly after the skirmish, the commander of the Polish 13th Infantry Division, Gen. Franciszek Paulik, dispatched the reserve Polish 40th Infantry Regiment, but it was too late to relieve the defenders of Bystryk and the regiment lacked enough firepower to defeat an entire division. Because of that, the Polish tactical counter-offensive was repelled. The following day, the Russian division expanded the gap, broke through to the other side of the front and managed to drive approximately 15 kilometres towards the rear of the Polish forces.
This created a gap in the Polish front and endangered the rear of the Polish 13th division. The commander of the Polish 6th Army, Gen.
References
- ^ "Bystryk, Battle of, Bystryk, Belarus, 1920 | Open Library". openlibrary.org. Retrieved 2023-05-05.