Poland marks anniversary of 1920 Battle of Warsaw
Officials in Poland held a series of patriotic and religious ceremonies on Sunday to mark the 96th anniversary of the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, in which Polish forces defeated the invading Red Army, thus helping defend the country’s newly regained independence.
The ceremonies were attended by officials including Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz and Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.
A letter from President Andrzej Duda was read out, in which the Polish head of state wrote that the Battle of Warsaw not only a clash of two armies, but also a clash of two different visions of the world.
While addressing those gathered in Ossów near Warsaw, Macierewicz said that the memory of the heroes of the past is the foundation of the nation's future.
The ceremonies included prayers at a monument to Fr. Ignacy Skorupka, a Polish priest and army chaplain who died during the Battle of Warsaw, and a religious service dedicated to the heroes of 1920, in addition to a roll call honouring those killed.
The ceremonies also included a reenactment of the historic battle, which historians say cemented Poland’s newly regained independence and stopped the progression of the Red Army, forcing the Bolsheviks to abandon their plans of igniting a global revolution.
According to many historians, the Battle of Warsaw was one of the most important battles in world history because it helped save Europe from a communist onslaught. It went down in Polish history as the "Miracle of the Vistula."
