Battle of Radzymin (1920) - Result and Assessment

Result and Assessment

The battle was a success for the Poles at both the tactical level (the battle of Radzymin itself) and the strategic level (its role in the battle of Warsaw). After several days of constant fighting for the town of Radzymin and its immediate vicinity, the Russian attack was repelled and the Poles were able to mount a successful counteroffensive, forcing the Russian armies out of Poland and in the end destroying them completely.

However, the conduct of the Polish forces and their commanders at Radzymin in the early part of the battle has been criticised by historians since the 1920s. It was noted by General Lucjan Żeligowski that the importance of the northern approach to Warsaw was poorly understood by the Polish commanders prior to the battle, and that the untested and relatively weak 10th Division was chosen for the task of defending Radzymin "out of sheer incompetence". In his memoirs he also heavily criticised the commanding officers of the division, whose "military prowess and punctuality in carrying out orders was little more than irony". Other post-war authors argued that on August 13, when the first Russian forces appeared in front of Radzymin, the 1st Army had more than enough time to reinforce the weak Polish forces there. Instead, it took several days to recapture what could have been held from the start.

Despite the lack of strategic flair in the Polish defence of Radzymin, it was one of the cornerstones of the overall success in the Battle of Warsaw. Although it was Piłsudski's Assault Group that defeated the Russians, the forces at Radzymin and Sikorski's 5th Army were responsible for stopping them at the gates of Warsaw. Żeligowski noted in his memoirs that "Warsaw was saved thanks to Polish successes at Mokra, Wólka Radzymińska and Radzymin".