Polska - Litwa: u progu niepodległości (1918-1920)

ENThe future of Vilnius was uncertain for two years. The struggle over the town was among the most significant elements of the Polish-Bolshevik war and the reason for mutual hostility between Lithuania and the Republic of Poland. The multiethnic Town on the Villya River had been predominantly inhabited by Poles for centuries. Polish culture predominated and historical arguments provided considerable support to Polish political endeavors. The first battle over Vilnius was fought at the turn of 1918 and 1919. After a short, yet heroic struggle self-defense gave way to the prevailing Bolshevik troops. The capital of the Grand Duchy was soon restored (21 April, 1919) after the action of the Polish army, headed by Józef Piłsudski himself. A demarcation line between the two states was then determined thanks to international mediation. The Vilnius region was lost again in July 1920 as a result of a Bolshevik army offensive, headed by Mikchail Tuchaczewski. By virtue of a former Lithuanian-Bolshevik agreement (12 July, 1920) the Vilnius region was turned over to the Kowno government. A military operation to seize Vilnius, headed by General Lucjan Żeligowski, on 8-9 October, 1920 resulted in the town and region being recaptured and transformed into the so-called Middle Lithuania on 12 October, 1920. The struggle between the troops of Kowno Lithuania and Middle Lithuania were finally concluded by a truce signed on 29 November.