Battle of Kaniów
Battle of Kaniów | |||||||
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Part of the Eastern Front (World War I) | |||||||
Commemorative brass award awarded to Polish soldiers years after the battle. Text reads: "1918 - Kaniów - II Korpus". | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Polish II Corps in Russia | German Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Józef Haller von Hallenburg | Franz Hermann Zierold | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
1,000 dead or wounded,[contradictory] 3,250 captured | 1,500 dead or wounded |
Battle of Kaniv, or Battle of Kaniów took place during
Background
On 15 February, protesting against the
On 18 April the II Corps was ordered by the Regency Council to stop near Kaniv in Ukraine; in a triangle between Potik, Kozyn and Stepantsi.[2] Soon it began to be surrounded by nearby German units.[2] On 6 May the commander of the 28th German Landwehr Brigade, General Zierold, subordinate of Marshal Hermann von Eichhorn, issued an ultimatum to the II Corps, demanding it lay down its arms and surrender.[2] II Corps readied for battle and surprised Zierold, who was unprepared for battle.[2] Zierold backed down saying that the ultimatum was a miscommunication.[2] Soon however Zierold received reinforcements, which convinced him he had enough strength to force the issue.[2]
Battle
On the night of the tenth of May to the eleventh of May 1918, II Corps was surrounded and attacked by German units.[2] Polish units, initially surprised, formed on the village of Yemchykha and took defensive positions.[2] The II Corps resisted for about a day, and both sides sustained heavy losses.[2] By the evening of 11 May the Germans, who did not expect the Poles to put such stiff resistance, proposed a ceasefire and negotiations.[2] With supplies running low the Poles accepted the offer to negotiate, and eventually agreed to an honorable capitulation.[2]
Aftermath
The battle resulted in heavy losses for the Germans, estimated at about 1,500 dead and 273 wounded.
Notes
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8153-3351-7. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o (in Polish) Jacek Woyno, MATERIAŁY ARCHIWALNE DO DZIEJÓW POLSKICH FORMACJI WOJSKOWYCH W ROSJI (19141920) Archived December 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, B I U L E T Y N Nr 25 WOJSKOWEJ SŁUŻBY ARCHIWALNEJ 2002
- ^ a b Mieczysław Wrzosek (1969). Polskie korpusy wojskowe w Rosji w latach 1917-1918. Książka i Wiedza. p. 339. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ISBN 978-83-86079-02-5. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ^ Kresy wschodnie Rzeczypospolitej w obronie polskości. Muzeum Niepodległosći. 1999. p. 107. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ISBN 978-83-86170-22-7. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ^ Catholic World. Paulist Fathers. 1921. pp. 484–485. Retrieved 15 November 2012. (public domain)
- ^ William Fiddian Reddaway (1971). The Cambridge History of Poland: From the origins to Sobieski (to 1696). CUP Archive. pp. 475–. GGKEY:2G7C1LPZ3RN. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ISBN 978-83-88542-69-5. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ^ Andrzej Hlawaty (1973). Dzieje 6 Pułku Ułanów Kaniowskich. Wydawn. Przeglądu Kawalerii i Broni Pancernej. p. 55. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
External links
- (in Polish) List Prezydenta RP w 90. rocznicę bitwy pod Kaniowem, 11 May 2008
Further reading
- Valasek, Paul S. Haller's Polish Army in France Chicago, 2006
- (in Polish) Rena Marwicz, KANIÓW - W 15 lecie bitwy....dnia 11 Maja 1918, KURYER LITERACKO-NAUKOWY, 1933