page_title: Battle of Zadwórze
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Zadwórze / History / Battle
caption_attribution_description: made during a summer day in Warsaw's Museum of the Polish Army; Commemorative badge for the battle of Zadwórze. For obvious reasons it was awarded posthumously only.
context_page_description: Battle of Zadwórze was a battle of the Polish-Soviet War. It was fought on August 17, 1920 near the train station of Zadwórze, a small village located 33 kilometres from the city centre of Lwów. The battle, lasting roughly 24 hours, resulted in the complete destruction of the Polish forces but at the same time halted the Soviet advance, preventing the forces of Siemion Budionnyi from seizing Lwów and so contributing to the successful defence of Warsaw. The battle has been called a Polish Thermopylae.
context_section_description: Among the volunteer units organized in Lwów was a group of soldiers of Major (later a general) Roman Abraham. On the morning of August 16, the 1st battalion of the 54th Kresy Rifles Infantry Regiment was sent from Lwów towards the village of Nowosiółki (east of the town of Krasne) in order to help the endangered units formed by Roman Abraham. Upon its arrival, the battalion found the town occupied by the Red Army and recaptured it. However, the following day it was endangered by encirclement and was ordered to withdraw towards Lwów. In the morning of August 17 it was taken by surprise near a train station in the village of Zadwórze and was completely destroyed by forces of the Red 6th Cavalry Division of the 1st Cavalry Army. All Polish soldiers, approximately 200, were killed or missing.
  At the same time, a battalion of approximately 500 volunteers organized by Roman Abraham under command of Captain Bolesław Zajączkowski was marching from Krasne along the Lwów-Tarnopol railroad. On August 17, shortly before noon, when the group reached the village of Kutkorz it was attacked with machine gun fire from the nearby village of Zadwórze. Capt. Zajączkowski ordered his men to form a line and started an assault towards the village. After a short fight, 330 Poles captured the train station. However, the village was not taken and soon the Polish forces were counter-attacked by 
  units of the 6th Cavalry Division.
  By dusk, the Poles' ammunition was almost completely depleted, yet the Polish unit managed to repel six consecutive cavalry charges. Captain Zajączkowski decided that further defense of the station was impossible and ordered his units to retreat towards Lwów. However, the retreat was halted by three Bolshevik airplanes strafing the Polish defenders. After suffering heavy casualties, Zajączkowski ordered his men to organize a last pocket of resistance near the lineman's hut. After hand-to-hand combat with sabers and bayonets, the Polish resistance was broken. Out of 330 Polish soldiers who seized the train station earlier that day, 318 were dead. Several dozen wounded Poles were captured by the Red Army and are assumed murdered. Captain Zajączkowski himself committed suicide in order not to be captured by the enemy. Only twelve Polish soldiers returned to the Polish lines to recount what had happened during the battle.
caption: Battle of Zadwórze commemorative medal
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