The battle of Komarov is one of the most important and least known of the 20th century. If the outcome had been different the history of Europe would also have been completely different. This was avoided thanks to the incompetence of the commander of an army that outnumbered its opponent 10:1 in strength.
In 1920 the young Soviet Union was at war against a reborn Poland. The Soviets, taking advantage of their numerical superiority, had repelled the Polish attacks and were marching towards Warsaw. The capture of the city would result in the establishment of a Soviet regime and the advance of the Soviets into Germany, which was also rocked by political strife.
The Soviets, in addition to their other forces, had also formed the 1st Cavalry Army known as the "Conarmia" whose commander was Semyon Budioni. The 1st SI had the 4th, 6th, 11th and 14th Cavalry Divisions (MI), the 44th Rifle Division (MT) and the Special Brigade (ET). In total it had 17,000 men, 284 machine guns, 48 cannons and a number of armored cars. It was supported by five armored trains and 12 aircraft.
Opposite this force was the Polish 1st MI of then colonel Julius Rommel. The 1st MI had the 6th and 7th Cavalry Brigades (TI). The 6th TI had three regiments of lancers, the 1st, 12th and 14th, with a total strength of 520 men and 8 guns. The 7th TI also had three regiments, two lancers and one light cavalry, with a total strength of 820 men and 11 guns. In total the strength of the 1st MI did not exceed 1,700 men.
Maneuvers
On August 17, 1920 the 1st SI managed to be defeated by very few Poles in the battle of Zadvorste. Thus he failed to coordinate with the other Soviet armies advancing on Warsaw resulting in the Soviet defeat and retreat. Bundioni had buried Lenin's dreams of red European domination. Following this, the supreme Soviet commander Tukhashefki ordered Budioni to attack the right wing of the Polish army in order to facilitate the retreat of the Soviet Western Army and possibly enable a new attack on Warsaw.
However, this Soviet maneuver also failed. The Soviet 1st SI had been in the Zamosc area on 29 August when forces first clashed with the Poles of the 1st MI. The Polish 1st Ulaan Regiment attacked with its 400 men against the Soviets, surprising many units, capturing 150 prisoners and capturing three cannons and several machine guns.
On August 30, the Soviets continued their movement towards Zamosk but the Poles, applying elastic defense tactics, constantly maneuvering, managed to delay them. Zamosk was guarded by only 850 Poles and Ukrainians. But Rommel immediately moved his few men to cover the city, deploying them in the area of Komarov.
Budioni had three options. He could either attack the city, or the Polish 13th Infantry Division (IP) deployed in the area west of the city, or attack the Polish cavalry. He chose the third as he did not believe that the few opponents could resist him.
The greatest horse battle of the 20th century
On the morning of August 31, the Soviet cavalry broke through the marshes north of the Polish position. At the same time, the Soviet 11th MI engaged Polish infantry. But the Poles had made a smart move the night before, encircling the Soviet 6th MI.
At 06.00 in the morning the 200 Poles of the 2nd Regiment they occupied a small hill without meeting any resistance. From there, however, the Poles detected Soviet transports and cavalry moving disorganized. Immediately the Poles charged and inflicted heavy losses on their opponents. But they were very few and receiving a massive Soviet counterattack they were forced to retreat to the village of Volika Sniatiska.
But there the Soviets were intercepted and receiving a counterattack by the 9th Ulan Regiment (350 men), they fled . The Poles recaptured the hill (hill 255). The Soviets attempted several counterattacks but the few Poles held on and held the hill.
At the same time, the 8th Uhlan Regiment (270 men) attacked the Soviets , putting their opponents to flight and even taking possession of Budioni's personal car along with weapons and supplies. The Soviet 4th MI had ceased to exist as an organized fighting force.
At 12.00 the heroic 9th Ulan carried out a new advance from the hill against the entire Soviet 11th MI! The approximately 350 Poles found themselves facing thousands of Soviets . The attack was repulsed but not without first inflicting heavy casualties on the opponents. Soviet morale was so low that the 11th MI also retreated. As well as the Polish 7th TI had been particularly crushed.
So it was withdrawn and its place was taken by the 6th TI that Rommel had kept in reserve until then. The 520 Polish horsemen under Colonel Dunoski immediately charged against their opponents causing panic . Especially the 12th Uhlan Regiment (only 120 men) began to pursue and slaughter the retreating enemies.
The Soviets, however, in the afternoon, attempted a new attack against Volikas Sniatiskas where the 8th Ulan Regiment was located. The Soviets suffocated the few Poles but Rommel reacted immediately. Disregarding the enemy's terrifying numerical superiority, he rallied the 500 men of the 6th TI and threw them into the flanks of the attacking Soviets, surprising and crushing them.
In the meantime the Soviet 6th MI managed to reach the area. The Poles spotted her and Rommel mustered every available man and attacked immediately before the enemy could deploy. The Poles attacked in front with the 8th and 9th Ulan and their other forces on the flanks, while the 12th Ulan, which barely had the strength of an ily, managed to reach the rear of the Soviets.
Within 30 minutes, Budioni's strongest division had fled. However, the Soviet general who shone through his absence during the battle and never managed to coordinate his forces, at least managed to escape from the cordon that the Poles tried to set up around him.
Pursuing
However, the defeated 1st SI had no choice but to retreat badly – badly pursued by the tireless Polish 1st MI. The Polish 6th TI managed to surprise the Soviet 44th MT and inflict terrible losses on it. Of a Soviet infantry regiment only 100 prisoners survived. After this the Soviets fled in disorder. The Soviets had at least 4,000 dead in the battle and apparently many more wounded. The Poles had mourned 500 dead. No Poles were captured.
Bundioni did not suffer any consequences from defeat. Instead he rose to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. In World War II he was responsible for the largest military defeat in world history in a single battle, losing nearly 1,000,000 soldiers in the Uman-Kiev battle. However, it was still not executed. Some said he was too stupid to pose a threat to Stalin...
