Battle of Letychiv

The Battle of Latyczów or Letychiv took place between February 18 and 22, 1920, during the Polish-Soviet War. Following the end of the Polish-Ukrainian War, the Polish Podolian Front remained relatively stable and ran along the Southern Bug and Volk Rivers, not far from the Zbruch. During a manoeuvre that was to shorten the Polish lines, the Polish 5th Infantry Division under Gen. Władysław Jędrzejewski encountered elements of the Soviet 44th Rifle Division and cavalry units under Grigore Kotovski.

The Poles assaulted the Bolshevik Russian forces, but with little success. Gen. Jędrzejewski threw in all of his reserves and finally managed to capture the town of Latyczów (modern Letychiv in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine). The new positions became among the concentration points for the Polish and Ukrainian advance on Kiev started in April. In June and July 1920, the town and its outskirts became a battlefield for yet another conflict, sometimes referred to as the Second Battle of Latyczów, in which the Polish Army successfully defended the area against the Soviets advancing on the city of Lvov (modern Lviv, Ukraine).