On 20 September 1920 Polish troops opened the Battle of the Niemen. A month after his defeat at Warsaw, Mikhail Tukhachevsky had pulled his Western Front back behind the Niemen and the Szczara and was preparing a new offensive toward Białystok and Brest. The Polish Commander-in-Chief, Józef Piłsudski, struck first. While the 2nd Army fought its way toward Grodno, a strike group swung north through Lithuanian-held territory and over the Niemen toward Lida, deep in the Soviet rear. Grodno fell on 25 or 26 September, depending on the source, and Lida soon after. The Red Army fell back east, and a ceasefire followed in October.
Battle of the Niemen, 1920: the final blow of the war
20 to about 28 September 1920 · 106 years ago
The Polish 2nd and 4th Armies under Józef Piłsudski broke Mikhail Tukhachevsky's new Soviet front on the Niemen. A northern hook through Druskieniki outflanked Grodno, the Red Army fell back, and an armistice followed on 12 October.
Read the full story of Battle of the Niemen, 1920: the final blow of the war ›Battle of Valmy, 1792: the cannonade that saved the French Republic
20 September 1792 · 234 years ago
Near Valmy in Champagne, French troops under Kellermann and Dumouriez stopped the Duke of Brunswick's Prussian army on its march to Paris early in the French Revolutionary Wars. The small but unexpected victory saved the Revolution, and the monarchy was abolished soon after.
Read the full story of Battle of Valmy, 1792: the cannonade that saved the French Republic ›Battle of the Alma, 1854: the first clash of the Crimean War
20 September 1854 · 172 years ago
Britain and France beat Menshikov's Russians at the Alma on 20 September 1854, the first major battle of the Crimean War. The armies, the losses and a map.
Read the full story of Battle of the Alma, 1854: the first clash of the Crimean War ›
