Battle of Daugavpils
Battle of Daugavpils | |||||||
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Part of Renault FT tanks of the Polish 2nd Tank Regiment preparing for the battle | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Poland Latvia |
Russian SFSR Latvian SSR | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Edward Rydz-Śmigły Jānis Puriņš | Vladimir Gittis | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
22,000 Latvians 20,000 Poles | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The Battle of Daugavpils, or Battle of Dyneburg, was the final battle during the
From the Polish perspective, the battle was part of the
Background
The Polish commander of the
Battle
General Rydz-Śmigły was given the command over a small
The battle for the city and its surroundings took place under harsh weather conditions. The area was covered with more than 1 metre (3.3 ft) of snow and the temperature dropped below −25 °C (−13 °F), which permitted the Poles to cross the frozen Dvina. The Polish 3rd Legionary Division stormed the Daugavpils fortress, and the 1st Infantry Division attacked from the north. The Red Army garrison retreated to the west, where it surrendered to the Latvians. On 5 January 1920, Dunaburg was turned over to the Latvian Republic.[1]: 77
Aftermath
Interwar relations between Poland and Latvia were mostly good because of the battle although Latvia refused to join Poland in its continued struggle against Soviet Russia. Other problems that precluded the Polish and Latvian governments from expanding their relationship were opposition from Lithuania, which was hostile towards Poland after the
Several forms of alliance were proposed by Poland, such as Latvia joining the
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 9780712606943
- OCLC 22656693. Retrieved 25 October 2006.