Battle of Wołodarka

Battle of Wołodarka
	Part of Polish-Soviet War
Date	29–31 May 1920
Location	Volodarka, near Kyiv, Ukraine
Result	Polish tactical victory
Belligerents
Poland	Russian SFSR
Commanders and leaders
Stefan Dąb-Biernacki	Alexander Yegorov
Strength
2 infantry regiments ; 1 cavalry regiment ; 1 artillery group	4th Cavalry Division
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Wołodarka was a clash between the

Polish-Soviet War

.

Before the battle

After the

Symon Petlura's small contingent of Ukrainian People's Republic

troops.

The Soviet advance finally began on 26 May 1920, with the Red 12th Army and

Khvastiv

.

However, apart from the fresh and battle-proven units of the First Cavalry Army, the Russian commander of the

Dnieper River and was concentrating near Uman. From there, it easily broke the thin line of Polish defenses and began a fast advance toward the strategically important railway node of Koziatyn

.

The battle

On 29 May 1920, the Soviet 1st Cavalry Army's 4th Cavalry Division attacked Polish positions at the villages of Volodarka, Berezno and Novokhvastiv. The area was defended by the Polish 44th Kresy Rifle Regiment, 16th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment, elements of the 1st Krechowce Uhlan Regiment, and the 7th Mounted Artillery Group. The Polish defenders formed strong pockets of resistance in the villages — a tactic that had shown itself to be superior to an attempted defense of an entire frontline.

Due to this, the Soviet forces could not fully exploit their numerical advantage. In addition, poor command procedures caused the Soviet cavalry regiments to begin their attacks on the Polish positions in piecemeal fashion. Moreover, instead of simply bypassing the Polish positions, the Russian commander decided to attack them frontally. After the initial

cavalry counter-charged the Cossacks, and an intense hand-to-hand cavalry battle with sabres

ensued. Both sides suffered major casualties. For example, the Polish 1st Krechowce Uhlan Regiment's third squadron lost 30 of 72 men and a similar number of horses. The Polish charge succeeded. When further reinforcements arrived and joined in, the Cossacks fled the field.

After the Battle

The following day, the

White Russian army and then been forcibly drafted into the Red Army, approached Polish positions and, after brief negotiations, switched sides to fight on the Polish side against the Bolsheviks, under the name of Free Cossack Brigade. Colonel Vadim Yakovlev

would remain the brigade's commander until it was disbanded in 1923.

Due to the Polish forces' strong resistance and high mobility, the 1st Cavalry Army's assault was repelled. Only the 6th Cavalry Division managed to break through the lines of the Polish 13th Infantry Division, but was repulsed the following day (31 May 1920) and, after three days of heavy fighting, forced to retreat to its initial positions near Uman.

Before the battle

The battle

After the Battle

References