617:, on September 21. Although the Soviet line initially held, Polish forces moved through Lithuania, then swept south into the rear of the Soviet northern flank, which began a disorganized retreat. In the center, the 15th and 16th Armies retreated in an orderly fashion thanks to the actions of the 27th Division, the southernmost of the 15th Army units. By October 1, the units of the two armies were holding positions in a line of old Russian World War I trenches, opposite the former Polish positions from before the July Offensive. The defense line was quickly broken through by the Polish advance, and by the time the Polish troops captured Minsk and reached the Berezina on October 15, the 16th Army had been reduced to a skeleton of its original size. The war ended on the next day when the cease-fire between Poland and the RSFSR took effect. On October 17, the army was reinforced with troops from the disbanded
26:
1048:
1061:
521:
470:
589:, moving towards Vawkavysk, away from the Polish forces. After withdrawing east of the Niemen back into Belarus, Tukhachevsky began preparations for renewing the offensive. As part of the resulting reorganization of the Red Army units of the front, the two best units of the 16th Army, the 2nd and 27th Divisions, were transferred to the 15th Army. In exchange, the army received the
606:
560:
advancing from Warsaw on its front. Under pressure, the three southernmost divisions of the 16th Army began a precipitate retreat to the east, but then were attacked in turn by troops from the
Assault Group. As a result of these actions, the 8th and 10th Rifle Divisions were destroyed, while the 2nd
564:
Out of touch with the situation at the front due to Polish radio jamming, Tukhachevsky ordered
Sollogub to create a defensive line between Radzymin and Brest-Litovsk with his southern divisions to prevent Polish troops from attacking the Soviet rear. For this purpose, the army's commander was given
580:
By August 21, the army's remnants were hurriedly retreating eastwards in small groups, mostly avoiding roads and towns, with the 27th
Division, down to 25% strength, guarding the rear and covering the retreat of both the 16th Army and the Mozyr Group. On August 22, Białystok was captured by the
335:
and units of the 2nd Area of Front
Defense. By the end of 1918, the strength of the Western (16th) Army was around 19,000 men, but had little artillery or cavalry (8 guns and 261 horses total). Over the next few months the strength of the Army grew to 46,000 men due to conscription and the
517:, and captured the town, breaching the fourth and final Polish defensive line in front of Warsaw. The army was unable to exploit its success by quickly advancing on Warsaw, however, because a counterattack by Sikorski in the first week of August threw it back across the Western Bug.
277:. Eventually the Western Curtain was arranged into seven detachments with over 20,000 troops. This number was actually very small in relation to the area it covered, and insufficient in case of any larger battle. Moreover, part of its manpower was moved to other bottlenecks of the
585:, cutting off stragglers from the army and the Mozyr Group. The 27th Division launched a counterattack and briefly opened the road, but Putna left the area after a Polish counterattack retook the gains, leaving the stragglers to capture. Three days later, the division crossed the
552:'s Assault Group began the counteroffensive. They quickly broke through the understrength Mozyr Group on 16th Army's flank, and on 18 August the army came under attack from both the three divisions of the Assault Group's 4th Army on its flank and the
456:
and destroying them there. The attack began on May 14, but failed when the Soviet advance was unable to build momentum and the 15th Army was counterattacked and forced into a disorderly retreat at the beginning of June. The 16th Army crossed the
565:
permission to draw on the 60,000 replacements near Grodno. Sollogub issued the orders on August 19, when army headquarters had lost contact with all of its units, so they were not received. Early on the next day, he was almost captured by
561:
Rifle
Division suffered heavy losses. The 17th Rifle Division lost communication with the rest of the army in the chaos, leaving the Putna's 27th as the only intact unit in the army.
1309:
1037:
506:
1304:
1299:
360:
theater of operations. Later the Soviet
Western Army engaged various self-defence and militia groups from Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. Among scores of battles, the
1365:
657:
941:
379:, a Soviet puppet state covering the territory of Lithuania and Belorussia. On June 9, it became the 16th Army after it was pushed out of Lithuania after retreating from
1232:
324:
1360:
344:
Immediately after its formation, on
November 17, 1918, the Western Army started a bloodless advance, following the retreat of the German forces, in the direction of
630:
529:
1334:
1324:
1314:
528:
On August 8, Tukhachevsky issued his order for the capture of Warsaw, in which the 16th Army was to attack the city from the east, covered on its flank by the
1355:
1329:
1319:
1030:
433:
566:
319:
was annulled by the
Soviets on November 13, 1918 the Western Defense Region was transformed into the Western Army (November 15, 1918), garrisoned in
234:(Западный участок отрядов завесы), or simply the Western Curtain. The curtain was a sparse and heterogeneous set of detachments. Its commander was
376:
1023:
675:
375:
on
February 19, and was renamed the Lithuanian-Belorussian Army on March 13. With this redesignation, the army officially became the army of the
336:
mobilization of
Communist Party members. It was considered by the Soviet High Command to be one of the least important armies in that period.
47:
1370:
353:
977:
1375:
292:, and the Western Curtain was further reorganized into the Western Defense Region (Западный район обороны). It was created by the
593:
and 56th Rifle Divisions, bringing it back up to its strength before the Battle of Warsaw, and its headquarters was located at
582:
387:. Around the same time, the army headquarters was moved forward to Mogilev. The army continued to retreat until August, ceding
633:
became part of the 16th Army. The army was disbanded on May 7, 1921, and its troops distributed to other Western Front units.
481:, the renewed Soviet offensive in the war. During the offensive, the army rapidly advanced through Belarus, capturing Igumen,
1006:
622:
537:
305:
961:
987:
955:
930:
230:, the newly established Russo-German border was controlled on the Russian side, by the so-called Western Section of
361:
557:
553:
293:
501:. The 16th Army continued to advance westward, and on the night of August 1, the army attacked Polish general
621:. From October, it was headquartered at Mogilev. Between November and December, the 16th Army fought against
1015:
461:
and created a bridgehead, but was itself counterattacked and forced to retreat back across the Berezina.
663:
614:
1189:
1184:
1179:
533:
1207:
449:
424:
From May 14 to June 8, 1920, the army fought in the Western Front counterattack against the Polish
577:, with only the 27th Division holding a couple of crossings to allow stragglers to pass through.
920:
502:
498:
316:
227:
210:
130:
548:, which changed hands more than five times during the fighting. At the same time, Polish leader
1257:
694:
651:
332:
473:
The Battle of Warsaw before the Polish counterattack, 16th Army positions are east of the city
1237:
1194:
478:
448:, the main force, would advance southwest towards Molodechno, then wheel around and push the
425:
384:
372:
365:
202:
198:
67:
1217:
549:
429:
8:
1222:
590:
328:
289:
238:. (His official rank was "military leader" (военный руководитель), since he was a former
356:
was to take control over the territory abandoned by the German Army retreating from the
681:
1247:
1212:
1154:
1149:
1144:
1139:
1134:
1129:
1056:
1002:
983:
951:
926:
731:
729:
727:
725:
723:
721:
719:
445:
437:
278:
145:
85:
80:
209:
and advanced westwards into Poland in July 1920 before being thrown back during the
1282:
1277:
1124:
1119:
1114:
1109:
1104:
1099:
1094:
1089:
1084:
699:
669:
626:
618:
403:. In September, the army headquarters was relocated back to Smolensk, but moved to
400:
235:
206:
178:
121:
105:
716:
407:
from March and May 1920. Between March and April 1920, the army fought to capture
645:
309:
239:
174:
510:
458:
453:
396:
395:
to Polish troops, and in August took up defensive positions on the line of the
380:
231:
213:
in August. The army retreated east into Belarus and was disbanded in May 1921.
170:
1349:
1047:
1045:
520:
469:
441:
182:
181:
in those territories. The Western Army engaged various local forces from the
25:
1227:
541:
246:
166:
1060:
574:
570:
514:
486:
625:'s troops. On December 7, the army received the troops of the disbanded
444:
and keep it from moving to reinforce threatened Polish units, while the
288:
allowed a reorganization of the detachments of the Curtain into regular
1291:
1252:
600:
404:
388:
274:
428:, the May Offensive. In the counterattack, planned by front commander
950:] (in Russian). Vol. 1. Minneapolis: Eastview Publications.
494:
301:
939:
735:
497:. On July 25, the Soviet attack on Warsaw began, culminating in the
1052:
545:
482:
357:
320:
285:
141:
57:
573:. By this time, most of the army had fled across the Bug towards
349:
345:
266:
262:
250:
245:) The Western Curtain covered over 800 kilometres along the line
242:
194:
186:
940:
Dvoinykh, L.V.; Kariaeva, T.F.; Stegantsev, M.V., eds. (1991).
594:
586:
490:
297:
190:
408:
392:
323:. It was composed of: the Pskov Infantry Division (later the
270:
258:
254:
764:
762:
760:
758:
756:
609:
Positions at the beginning of the Battle of the Niemen River
1069:
897:
861:
979:
Historical Dictionary of the Russian Civil Wars, 1916-1926
849:
753:
837:
813:
789:
605:
885:
873:
779:
777:
464:
169:
for the purpose of recovering territories lost by the
922:
White Eagle, Red Star: the Polish-Soviet War, 1919-20
825:
801:
613:
However, Pilsudski launched his attack, known as the
160:
135:
1366:
Military units and formations disestablished in 1921
601:
Battle of the Niemen River and operations in Belarus
524:
The Polish counterattack during the Battle of Warsaw
411:. In May, the headquarters moved back to Mogilev.
774:
741:
432:, the 16th Army was to frontally attack the Polish
296:order #3/2 on September 11, 1918, headquartered at
641:The army was commanded by the following officers:
1361:Military units and formations established in 1918
943:Центральный государственный архив Советской армии
569:'s Polish cavalry brigade at his headquarters in
1347:
452:into the rear of the 4th, driving them into the
377:Lithuanian-Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
999:Warsaw 1920: Lenin's Failed Conquest of Europe
477:Between July 4 and 23, the army fought in the
197:, and its actions contributed to starting the
1031:
1356:Soviet field armies in the Russian Civil War
48:Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
201:of 1919–1920. The army fought in the Polish
1038:
1024:
24:
736:Dvoinykh, Kariaeva, Stegantsev, eds. 1991
996:
948:Central State Archive of the Soviet Army
903:
891:
879:
867:
855:
843:
831:
819:
807:
795:
604:
519:
468:
1077:
354:Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919
1348:
918:
747:
399:. From August 14, it was commanded by
284:Eventually, further recruiting by the
1019:
975:
783:
768:
536:between August 13 and 16, the army's
148:era. It was originally formed as the
982:. London: Rowman & Littlefield.
672:(August 14, 1919–September 21, 1920)
414:
678:(September 26, 1920–April 24, 1921)
465:July Offensive and Battle of Warsaw
339:
13:
1371:Lithuania in the Russian Civil War
14:
1387:
364:on February 14, 1919 sparked the
1376:Belarus in the Russian Civil War
1059:
1046:
648:(November 15, 1918–May 31, 1919)
419:
205:Soviet War under the command of
912:
165:) on November 15, 1918, by the
1248:Red Army of the North Caucasus
385:Lithuanian War of Independence
294:Revolutionary Military Council
1:
705:
636:
583:1st Legions Infantry Division
710:
371:The army became part of the
221:
7:
976:Smele, Jonathan D. (2015).
688:
623:Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz
329:17th Vitebsk Rifle Division
304:to the Western edge of the
300:. The Region extended from
161:
136:
10:
1392:
1001:. London: Harper Collins.
615:Battle of the Niemen River
216:
140:) was a field army of the
1290:
1271:
1172:
1068:
666:(July 22–August 14, 1919)
654:(acting, May 31–14, 1919)
362:Battle of Bereza Kartuska
325:Lithuanian Rifle Division
153:
125:
99:
94:
73:
63:
53:
43:
35:
23:
18:
919:Davies, Norman (2003) .
538:27th Omsk Rifle Division
997:Zamoyski, Adam (2008).
660:(June 14–July 22, 1919)
317:Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
308:, and was commanded by
228:Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
695:Western Rifle Division
684:(April 24–May 7, 1921)
631:Gomel Fortified Region
610:
525:
474:
333:Western Rifle Division
39:November 1918–May 1921
1243:Lithuanian-Belarusian
1213:Army of Soviet Latvia
771:, pp. 1050–1051.
608:
530:Mozyr Group of Forces
523:
472:
352:. The purpose of the
544:, fought to capture
430:Mikhail Tukhachevsky
30:Flag of the Red Army
1310:2nd Special Railway
1208:10th Terek-Dagestan
925:. London: Pimlico.
906:, pp. 125–130.
870:, pp. 102–103.
513:after crossing the
858:, pp. 97–101.
682:Yevgeny Shilovskiy
611:
534:Battle of Radzymin
526:
503:Wladyslaw Sikorski
475:
1343:
1342:
1305:2nd Revolutionary
1300:1st Revolutionary
1203:
1202:
1168:
1167:
1057:Russian Civil War
1008:978-0-00-722552-1
846:, pp. 90–91.
822:, pp. 72–73.
798:, pp. 40–41.
658:Alexander Novikov
415:Polish-Soviet War
366:Polish–Soviet War
279:Russian Civil War
199:Polish–Soviet War
177:and establishing
159:
146:Russian Civil War
134:
111:
110:
86:Polish-Soviet War
81:Russian Civil War
1383:
1170:
1169:
1075:
1074:
1063:
1050:
1040:
1033:
1026:
1017:
1016:
1012:
993:
972:
970:
969:
960:. Archived from
936:
907:
901:
895:
889:
883:
877:
871:
865:
859:
853:
847:
841:
835:
829:
823:
817:
811:
805:
799:
793:
787:
781:
772:
766:
751:
745:
739:
733:
700:Nikolai Sollogub
670:Nikolai Sollogub
629:. In March, the
499:Battle of Warsaw
401:Nikolai Sollogub
340:Westward advance
236:Vladimir Egoryev
211:Battle of Warsaw
207:Nikolai Sollogub
179:Soviet republics
164:
162:Zaladnaya Armiya
158:romanized:
157:
155:
139:
129:
127:
106:Nikolai Sollogub
28:
16:
15:
1391:
1390:
1386:
1385:
1384:
1382:
1381:
1380:
1346:
1345:
1344:
1339:
1286:
1267:
1199:
1164:
1064:
1044:
1009:
990:
967:
965:
958:
933:
915:
910:
902:
898:
890:
886:
878:
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866:
862:
854:
850:
842:
838:
830:
826:
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806:
802:
794:
790:
782:
775:
767:
754:
746:
742:
734:
717:
713:
708:
691:
664:Vasily Glagolev
646:Andrei Snesarev
639:
603:
567:Feliks Jaworski
550:Józef Piłsudski
540:, commanded by
467:
450:1st Polish Army
422:
417:
342:
310:Andrei Snesarev
224:
219:
175:First World War
114:
101:
90:
31:
12:
11:
5:
1389:
1379:
1378:
1373:
1368:
1363:
1358:
1341:
1340:
1338:
1337:
1332:
1327:
1322:
1317:
1312:
1307:
1302:
1296:
1294:
1288:
1287:
1285:
1280:
1275:
1273:
1269:
1268:
1266:
1265:
1260:
1255:
1250:
1245:
1240:
1235:
1230:
1225:
1223:Crimean Soviet
1220:
1215:
1210:
1204:
1201:
1200:
1198:
1197:
1192:
1187:
1182:
1176:
1174:
1166:
1165:
1163:
1162:
1157:
1152:
1147:
1142:
1137:
1132:
1127:
1122:
1117:
1112:
1107:
1102:
1097:
1092:
1087:
1081:
1079:
1072:
1066:
1065:
1051:Armies of the
1043:
1042:
1035:
1028:
1020:
1014:
1013:
1007:
994:
988:
973:
956:
937:
931:
914:
911:
909:
908:
896:
894:, p. 124.
884:
882:, p. 108.
872:
860:
848:
836:
824:
812:
800:
788:
786:, p. 681.
773:
752:
740:
738:, p. 349.
714:
712:
709:
707:
704:
703:
702:
697:
690:
687:
686:
685:
679:
673:
667:
661:
655:
652:Filipp Mironov
649:
638:
635:
602:
599:
558:15th Divisions
479:July Offensive
466:
463:
454:Pripet marshes
426:Kiev offensive
421:
418:
416:
413:
397:Berezina River
341:
338:
306:Southern Front
232:Curtain Troops
223:
220:
218:
215:
171:Russian Empire
154:Западная Армия
112:
109:
108:
103:
97:
96:
92:
91:
89:
88:
83:
77:
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33:
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29:
21:
20:
9:
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4:
3:
2:
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1233:East Siberian
1231:
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1004:
1000:
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989:9781442252813
985:
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974:
964:on 2016-11-12
963:
959:
957:1-879944-02-2
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949:
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938:
934:
932:0-7126-0694-7
928:
924:
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917:
916:
905:
904:Zamoyski 2008
900:
893:
892:Zamoyski 2008
888:
881:
880:Zamoyski 2008
876:
869:
868:Zamoyski 2008
864:
857:
856:Zamoyski 2008
852:
845:
844:Zamoyski 2008
840:
834:, p. 80.
833:
832:Zamoyski 2008
828:
821:
820:Zamoyski 2008
816:
810:, p. 63.
809:
808:Zamoyski 2008
804:
797:
796:Zamoyski 2008
792:
785:
780:
778:
770:
765:
763:
761:
759:
757:
750:, p. 39.
749:
744:
737:
732:
730:
728:
726:
724:
722:
720:
715:
701:
698:
696:
693:
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683:
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677:
676:Alexander Kuk
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588:
584:
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562:
559:
555:
551:
547:
543:
539:
535:
532:. During the
531:
522:
518:
516:
512:
511:Brest-Litovsk
508:
507:Polesie Group
504:
500:
496:
492:
488:
484:
480:
471:
462:
460:
455:
451:
447:
443:
439:
435:
431:
427:
420:May Offensive
412:
410:
406:
402:
398:
394:
390:
386:
382:
378:
374:
373:Western Front
369:
367:
363:
359:
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183:Baltic States
180:
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132:
123:
119:
113:Military unit
107:
104:
98:
93:
87:
84:
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78:
76:
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69:
68:Western Front
66:
62:
59:
56:
52:
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64:Part of
1218:Azerbaijani
748:Davies 2003
515:Western Bug
487:Baranovichi
173:during the
144:during the
74:Engagements
1350:Categories
968:2017-05-25
784:Smele 2015
769:Smele 2015
706:References
637:Commanders
405:Novozybkov
389:Molodechno
315:After the
275:Novy Oskol
226:After the
152:(Russian:
126:16-я армия
102:commanders
95:Commanders
1335:Ukrainian
1325:Petrograd
1315:Caucasian
1258:Turkestan
1195:Ukrainian
1173:Ukrainian
711:Citations
575:Białystok
571:Ostrożany
495:Vawkavysk
485:, Minsk,
446:15th Army
381:Panevėžys
302:Petrograd
290:divisions
222:Formation
131:romanized
118:16th Army
19:16th Army
1330:Siberian
1238:Estonian
1078:Numbered
1053:Red Army
689:See also
627:3rd Army
619:4th Army
546:Radzymin
483:Bobruisk
459:Berezina
434:4th Army
358:Ober-Ost
321:Smolensk
286:Red Army
142:Red Army
58:Red Army
1320:Donetsk
1272:Cavalry
1263:Western
1228:Donetsk
1055:of the
581:Polish
438:Borisov
383:in the
350:Ukraine
346:Belarus
327:), the
267:Zhlobin
263:Mogilev
251:Polotsk
243:general
240:Tsarist
217:History
195:Ukraine
187:Belarus
133::
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100:Notable
44:Country
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587:Niemen
493:, and
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442:Igumen
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298:Kaluga
191:Poland
54:Branch
36:Active
1292:Labor
1253:Taman
946:[
409:Mozyr
393:Minsk
271:Gomel
259:Orsha
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247:Nevel
1003:ISBN
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