|
|
|
|
|
Polish-lithuanian WarThe Polish-Lithuanian War refers to the conflict between newly independent nations of Lithuania and the Second Polish Republic that lasted from July 1919 until October 1920. The war Following the start of the Polish-Soviet war in 1919 the majority of Lithuanian territory was soon occupied by the Red Army which defeated and pushed back Polish and Lithuanian self-defence units, but shortly afterwards the Bolsheviks were forced to retreat by the Polish Army. Lithuania joined the Soviet Union side in the Polish-Soviet War in July 1919. This decision was dictated by a desire to incorporate the city of Wilno (Vilnius) and the neighbouring areas into Lithuania and to a smaller extent by Soviet diplomatic pressure backed by the threat of the Red Army stationed on Lithuania's borders. The new Lithuanian government decided to make Wilno the capital of Lithuania (it was the historical capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania), despite it being populated mainly by Poles and Belarussians (Lithuanians made about 2% of the population according to the Russian census of 1915, although this percentage much higher in the neighbouring rural areas). 1920 saw Central Lithuania occupied by the Red Army for the second time, although Russia officially recognized the sovereignty of the Lithuanian Soviet Republic over the city. Lenin was probably waiting for the capture of Warsaw prior to occuppying the remainder of Lithuania. However, when the Red Army was defeated in the Battle of Warsaw, the Soviets made the decision to hand over the city back to Lithuania. Despite the agreement, Lithuania seized the southern Suwalki region as well. The Polish military successes in autumn 1920 allowed Poland to close on to the city but it remained still under Lithuanian control. When the Polish army reached the Lithuanian lines (August 26, 1920), a local war was resumed that lasted for several days until the Lithuanians were pushed back. This made the compromise even harder to achieve and the newly-established state of Lithuania declined to enter into any negotiations on the status of the Vilnius area, claimed it as its capital city and denied any Polish influence over it whatsoever. A cease-fire agreement was signed on October 7 1920, but it did not solve the issue. The Polish commander Jozef Pilsudski ordered his subordinate, General Lucjan Zeligowski, to defect with his '1st Lithuanian-Belarussian Division' and capture the city, without formal declaration of war on Lithuania. With Lithuanians unwilling to enter into an alliance with Poland, and wishing to avoid a full-out conflict and international condemnation, Poland staged a fake rebellion by Polish army units (under command by gen. Lucjan Żeligowski) in the Wilno area, which allowed the Polish army to take control of the city in 9 October 1920. The fighting ended this month. Aftermath Despite Poland's claim to Wilno, the League of Nations chose to ask Poland to withdraw. Poland didn't comply with the request. Theoretically, British and French troops could have been asked to enforce the League’s decision. France, however, did not wish to antagonize Poland, which was seen as a possible ally in a future war against Germany, and Britain was not prepared to act alone. Thus the Poles were able to keep Wilno, where a puppet goverment Komisja Rządząca Litwy Środkowej of Central Lithuania was formed. A plebiscite was carried out and the Wilno Diet has voted on 20 February 1922 for incorporation into Poland as the capital of the Wilno Voivodship. The League of Nations Conference of Ambassadors accepted the status quo in 1923, yet the Wilno region remained a disputed territory between Poland and Lithuania (the latter state still treated Vilnius as its constitutional capital). Lithuania declined to accept the Polish authority over Central Lithuania and it wasn't until the 1938 ultimatum that Lithuania established diplomatic relations with Poland and thus de facto accepted the borders of its neighbour. This contention worsened Polish-Lithuanian foreign relations for decades to come and was one of the reasons Jzef Piłsudski's Miedzymorze federation was never formed.
|
 |
|
| Copyright 2005-2009 OnPedia.com. All Rights Reserved |
|
|