Soviet westward offensive of 1918–1919

Target Vistula was the code-name applied to the Bolshevik offensive during the opening stage of Polish-Bolshevik War in 1919. Its' aim was to drive the Red Army through Belarus and Poland as far west as possible and possibly join up with the German Revolution.

Before the battle

After signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Russia lost all of the European lands it seized in 18th century and 19th century. Most of today's Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and the Baltic States was passed to the government of Germany, which in turn decided to grant these states limited independence as buffer states. However, the German defeat on the Western Front and internal dissolution of Austria-Hungary, made the plans for creation of Mitteleuropa obsolete.

The German army in the east collapsed and, without any pressure from the outside, started a retreat westwards. Demoralised officers and revolted soldiers abandoned their garrisons en masse and returned home. Only a limited number of units was routed and still preserved any combat strength. The areas abandoned by the Central Powers became a field of conflict between the local governments created by Germany as part of their plans, local governments that sprung up after the withdrawal of the Germans and the Bolsheviks that wanted those areas to be incorporated to the Bolshevik Russia. Internal struggle for power prevented any of the governments in Belarus to gain enough power and the situation in Ukraine was even more complex with an ongoing conflict between the Makhno's anarchists, communists, White Russians, various governments of Ukraine and the reborn Polish Army.

Offensive

Vladimir Lenin saw this situation as a perfect moment for taking the upper hand. The Russian Civil War was nearing an end and he could gather enough forces to re-take the lands lost by Russia in 1917 by simply following the withdrawing German army. On November 18, 1918, he issued orders to the Red Army to start an operation code-named Target-Vistula. The basic aims of the operation was to drive through the Eastern and Central Europe and support the Revolutions in Germany and Austria-Hungary. The Bolshevik Russian forces did not anticipate any serious opposition on the way and saw the states of Poland, Belarus and Lithuania as mere ephemerides, unable do defend their own temporary borders.

After initial struggles with the local opposition and self-defence forces, the Red Army finally started a slow offensive in late December 1918. On January 5, 1919, it entered Minsk almost unopposed, thus putting an end to the short-lived Belarusian National Republic. At the same time the Polish and Belarusian self-defence units sprung up across western Belarus. Ill-equipped and composed mostly of local recruits, they were determined to defend their homes from what the newspapers described as a Red menace. Similar Bolshevik groups were operating in the sector and a series of skirmishes ensued. The Polish Army started sending the units eastwards to help the self-defence, while the Russians did the same, but in the opposite direction. The open conflict seemed inevitable.

Finally the first clashes happened in the area of the towns of Bereza Kartuska (February 14) and Mosty, where both armies clashed in a series of skirmishes. The Bolshevik offensive came to a halt by late February and it became apparent that the Red Army will not break through the Polish lines by half-hearted attacks. Both the Russian offensive and the Polish counter-attack started at the same time, which resulted with an increasing number of troops being brought to the area. In April the Bolsheviks captured Grodno and Wilno, but were soon pushed out by the Polish counter-offensive.

Aftermath

The Polish Army proved to be a far more difficult opponent than the Russians had assumed. Although the orders for the Target-Vistula operation were never withdrawn, the Russian plans were soon made obsolete by growing Polish resistance and eventually by Polish counter-offensive in April. Unable to accomplish their objectives, the Red Army withdrew from their positions and started a reorganisation, after which the Polish-Bolshevik War started for good.