At the Cemetery of Soldiers of the Polish-Bolshevik War in Radzymin, north-east of the Polish capital, Błaszczak laid a wreath on the graves of those who died in fighting a hundred years ago.
The cemetery contains the remains of several hundred soldiers who battled to save the town from the Bolsheviks between August 13 and 16, 1920.
The Battle of Radzymin was a key part of the wider Battle of Warsaw, which is believed to have saved Poland’s newly regained independence after the end of World War I and prevented the Bolshevik revolution from spreading into western Europe.
Many say that battle, often described as the “Miracle of the Vistula,” was one of the world’s most important.
It was fought from August 12 to 25 in 1920 as Red Army forces commanded by Mikhail Tukhachevsky approached the Polish capital.
Polish forces headed by military leader and chief of state Józef Piłsudski counterattacked, forcing the Soviets to withdraw.
At a square in central Warsaw named after Piłsudski, top officials including President Andrzej Duda on Saturday attended a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to mark both the 1920 battle and Poland’s Armed Forces Day.
A special website focusing on the historic battle 100 years ago and using recordings from Polish Radio archives was launched in the run-up to the centennial, at bitwa1920.gov.pl.
(pk)
Source: PAP