The Polish Armed Forces Day is celebrated on 15 August, to commemorate the last great victory of the Polish Army against the Bolshevik offensive on Warsaw in 1920. The Battle of Warsaw, sometimes called the Miracle of Vistula, changed the course of history and saved Europe from the spread of the communist revolution. Lord Edgar Vincent D’Abernon called the battle one of the 18 most important battles in the history of mankind. 

“The 18th most decisive battle in history (…). Had the Battle of Warsaw ended with a Bolshevik victory, it would have been a turning point in the history of Europe; as there is no doubt that with the fall of Warsaw, Central Europe would have been left open to Communist propaganda and Soviet invasion,” Lord D’Abernon, head of the Interallied Mission to Poland wrote. 

An author and historian, Simon Goodenough described Marshall’s Józef Piłsudski command in his Tactical Genius in Battle as one of the most outstanding in military history. It is also important to mention the master plan of the counterattack prepared by General Tadeusz Rozwadowski. 

The Polish Army was forced to fight the Bolshevik forces due to a counterattack to the Polish operation aimed at liberating Ukraine in 1919. Because of the low mobilisation potential of Simon Petlura’s forces in Ukraine, the Soviets were able to outnumber the Polish and Ukrainian forces and drive them out of Ukraine and Belarus. The final battle was to be fought on the outskirts of Warsaw. 

Days before the final attack Józef Piłsudski and General Tadeusz Rozwadowski prepared a master plan for a counterattack from the height of the Wieprz river, south of Warsaw. The plan requires a lot from the units that will have to defend the capital until the regrouping is done. 

The attack breaks the Bolshevik ranks and makes Budionny and Tukhachevsky forces fully retreat. The charges of Polish cavalry remained a symbol of Polish military excellence through the next 20 years. 

The celebration of the Armed Forces Day of the Republic of Poland, celebrated on 15 August to commemorate the victorious Battle of Warsaw in 1920, fought during the Polish-Bolshevik war, was established by an act of the Parliament of 30 July 1992.

It is a bank holiday, as 15 August is also the catholic holiday of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for which the Parliament introduced a day off.

The name Miracle of Vistula was used to connect the event with the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary but also as a part of a political dispute between the right and left in Poland, as many viewed the victory to be partially impossible due to lack of faith in Piłsudski’s command skills. 

On this day Poland traditionally holds a general military parade to show its modern military might. Today Poland is considered the 3rd military power within NATO and is considered to be the country spending the most on armaments next to the largest alliance forces, namely up to 4% of its GDP. 

Photo: X @KancelariaPrezydenta

Tomasz Modrzejewski