The Battle of Daugavpils, or Battle of Dyneburg, or Operation Winter was the final battle during the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

of 1919. A joint Polish and

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n force, operating under Polish Staff orders known as "Operation Winter", attacked the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

garrison in Dunaburg, or

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

, from 3 to 5 January 1920.Davies, N., 1972, White Eagle, Red Star, London: Orbis Books, From the Polish perspective, the battle was part of the

. In Latvia, it is considered to be part of

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence (), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invade ...

Background

The Polish commander of the 1st Legions Infantry Division and 3rd Legions Infantry Division, General (later

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

)

Edward Rydz-Śmigły Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz also called Edward Rydz-Śmigły, (11 March 1886 – 2 December 1941) was a Polish people, Polish politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of Poland's armed forces, as well as a painter and ...

had been occupying the left bank of the Dvina since August. The Latvian Foreign Minister had met with Pilsudski in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

(then Wilno in Polish) in October 1919 and asked for assistance at Dunaburg. The Poles wanted to prevent the Soviet XVth and XVIth armies from consolidating at that juncture and readily agreed. A final agreement was reached on 30 December 1919, and a

military alliance A military alliance is a formal Alliance, agreement between nations that specifies mutual obligations regarding national security. In the event a nation is attacked, members of the alliance are often obligated to come to their defense regardless ...

was signed between the governments of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Battle

General Rydz-Śmigły was given the command over a small Operational Group composed of his 1st Legions Infantry Division, the 3rd Legions Infantry Division and several minor Latvian auxiliary forces. In addition, the force included Renault FT tanks of the 2nd company, 1st Tank Regiment, which was commanded by the French Captain Jean Dufour. The battle for the city and its surroundings took place under harsh weather conditions. The area was covered with more than of snow and the temperature dropped below , 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.

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 Polish-Lithuanian War, and a dispute about six Latvian rural municipalities and the city of Grīva that had many Poles south of the Daugava River. Several forms of alliance were proposed by Poland, such as Latvia joining the Międzymorze, a federation led by Poland. However, Latvia chose instead to join the Baltic Entente.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daugavpils 1919-1920 1919 in Poland 1920 in Poland Battles of the Latvian War of Independence Battles of the Polish–Soviet War Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic 1919 in Latvia 1920 in Latvia

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

January 1920 Battles of the Russian Civil War in 1919 Battles of the Russian Civil War in 1920 Tank battles involving Poland Tank battles involving the Soviet Union Latvia–Poland relations

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References