The battle of Warsaw during the Polish-Soviet war can be considered as one of the turning points in the history of mankind. It was fought from July 27th until August 28th, 1920 over a large area from East Prussia in the north to the lower and middle Vistula in the west, and to the river Wieprz in the south. On the Polish side 18 infantry divisions, a cavalry division and three cavalry brigades fought in the battle whereas the Russian forces were composed of 17 infantry divisions and two cavalry divisions. Lord Edgar Vincent D'Abernon, head of the British Military Mission in Poland, wrote in an article published on August 17th, 1930: "The history of civilisation knows few events which are more significant than the Battle of Warsaw of 1920.

However, it does not know of any event which would be more underestimated (...) Had the Battle of Warsaw ended in the Bolshevik victory it would have become a turning point in the history of Europe, and it is beyond any doubt that with the fall of Warsaw Central Europe would have opened for communist propaganda and a Soviet invasion".

The main characters of the drama, which took place on the outskirts of Warsaw were on the Polish side: Commander-in-Chief, Marshal Józef Piłsudski, Chief of Staff, General Tadeusz Rozwadowski, the commander of the Northern Front, General Józef Haller and the commander of the Middle Front, General Edward Śmigły-Rydz. Moreover, an important role was also played by the commander of the 5th army, General Władysław Sikorski, the commander of the 1st army, General Franciszek Ludwik Latinik and the chief of the French Military Mission, General Maxime Weygand.

On the other side of the front line the most important leaders were: the commander of the Western Front, Front Commander Mikhail Nikolaevich Tukhachevskii, the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Republic, General Commander Sergey Sergeyevich Kamenev, and commanders of armies: of the 4th army - Army Commander Alexander Dimitryevich Shuvaev, of the 15th army - Army Commander August Ivanovich Kork, and of the 3rd army - Army Commander Vladimir Salomonovich Lazarevich. The army commander who could not take an active part in the battle due to the actions undertaken by Joseph Stalin, then a member of the Military Revolutionary Council of the South-Western Front, was the commander of the 1st Mounted Army, Army Commander Semyon Budyonny.

The implementation of the plan to fight the battle began with the Order to regroup no 8358/III of August 6th, 1920. The main idea of the order was based on a classic Napoleonic scheme: a part of the forces was to stop and engage on the outskirts of Modlin and Warsaw the armies advancing westwards while the other part concentrated on the line of the river Wieprz would launch a strong and decisive counterattack to the north to attack the flank and the rear of Tukhachevskii's forces engaged in the battle on the outskirts of Warsaw. This manoeuvre would cut off communications and supply lines and would make it impossible for the Bolshevik armies to retreat.

One might say that Marshal Piłsudski proved to be a talented disciple of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. In order to do carry out the plan it was necessary to increase the distance from enemy lines, regroup and move the front line to the banks of the rivers Narew, Vistula and Wieprz and fight the decisive battle on the far outskirts of the capital of Poland.

The basic document of the Soviet plan how to fight the battle of Warsaw is The directive of the commander of the Western Front on crossing the Vistula no 236/op/sek. It was issued on August 10th, 1920 in Minsk. According to the directive Shuvaev's fourth army was to defend the right flank of the frontline and with a part of its forces seize the area of Jabłonowo - Grudziądz - Toruń whereas the rest of the army was to cross the Vistula on August 15th in the Włocławek - Dobrzyń area.

Tukhachevskii wanted to keep an additional division on standby in the area of Ciechanów - Płońsk whereas the 15th and 3rd armies were to cross the Vistula by August 15th at the latest. Moreover, the 3rd army was ordered to launch an attack from Załubice in the direction of Praga in order to push the enemy beyond Warsaw. The attack was to be launched against the retreating Polish forces pushed by the 16th army which was to cross the Vistula on August 14th to the north of Warsaw.

The Mozyr Army Group, active on the southern flank of Tukhachevskii's forces, was ordered to capture the Kozienice - Dęblin area. The 58th Infantry Division on the order of the commander-in-chief also joined the group. Tukhachevskii was convinced that the bulk of Polish forces retreating from the line of the middle Bug and Niemen would concentrate to the north of the lower Bug and would pose a threat to the right flank.

The actual course of events did not fully match the plans. The Polish side was more effective in implementing their strategy. In phase 1 of the battle, Polish forces halted Bolshevik forces moving westwards on the outskirts of Warsaw. Not only did heavy fighting on the Wkra, and on the outskirts of Radzymin and Ossowo engage the bulk of the Red Army but it also inflicted heavy losses. In phase 2, Polish forces attacking from the direction of the Wieprz, under the command of Marshal Józef Piłsudski himself, attacked and defeated the Mozyr Army Group and without any special difficulties advanced towards the rear of the 16th army

Phase 3 of the battle consisted of chasing partly destroyed Bolshevik tactical units, which were retreating southeast in a chaotic manner. It began on August 18th and lasted until August 28th, 1920.

As a result of the defeat of the Red Army in the battle of Warsaw the bulk of the forces of the Western Front were destroyed, forced to cross the border with East Prussia (ca. 50 thousand soldiers) or to retreat beyond the river Niemen. Moreover, around 75-80 thousand Red Army soldiers were taken prisoner. The march of the Red Army towards the West was halted and at the same time Poland saved her newly regained independence. But the outcome of the war was not decided yet. It was decided in another great battle known as the battle on the Niemen, which began on August 29th and lasted until October 18th, 1920. It ended in a truce on a line, which was accepted in 1921 with minor changes by the Riga peace treaty.

The documentation of military activities relating to the battle constitutes 50 per cent of the original documentation and is comprised of 20 archival units, which include records produced by the central command, commanders of fronts, armies and operational groups, as well as reports, studies and photographs.

The documentation is comprised of orders, directives, operational guidelines, situation reports, announcements, and reconnaissance and intelligence reports. It also includes quartermaster and technical documents as well as those relating to supplies. Of special importance are reports written in the heat of the battles summarizing the achievements of armies and operational groups.