WesWorld

Quoted

Originally posted by Kaiser Kirk
I rather wonder what Germany could do that would be effective, but not result in a precipitous decline in German-Polish relations. As for direct military action- that would still be bloody and make other nations a bit unsettled. Though I still doubt the Belgians would invade...

Heres the paradox though, Germany doesn't want to ruin relations with Poland so they do nothing, Russia (for the sake of an argument) decided to invade Poland, assuming the Poles aren't going to quit fighting simply because they've been pushed out of Lithuania (which is almost a certainty). Now they have to deal with the one problem they really don't want, a second great war and the Russian bear kicking through the local camp sites.

Hopefully I'm wrong and the Poles call it a day when their pushed out of Lithuania or theres a ceasefire.

Quoted

Poland likely wouldn't be the only country resisting that approach, after all that makes the League a super-government, able to invade on whatever pretext it feels valid. And if the "if you're directly connected to the issue, you get no vote" policy remained in place, the recipient of such attention wouldn't even get a voice. VERY bad precedent. I very much doubt the US would go for this sort of approach, for instance.

I have to agree with Germany using my India hat. Satsuma will view any forced demilitarization and military occupation as a very bad precedent. For exactly the same reasons Germany exposed. Having the League (or the European Powers for that matter) decide to use force on whatever pretext is not in Satsuma's best interests. I can even see nations like Iberia and Italy (the other bad guys in WW) not liking this one bid either.

Heh, Germany is NOT in a good spot in this situation, there aren't any good options, from it's POV, other than the one Germany has been trying to make work: everybody stop shooting, go someplace quiet, and work out the issue.

Germany says "NIMBY!"

Quoted

Originally posted by Brockpaine
Germany says "NIMBY!"

Exactly.

Well the way I see things, Poles are going to get kicked out of Lithuania, that is a certanity, especially considering the fact they don't have Romanian oil coming to them, and they have to go buy from someone else. Id hope that the Russians don't invade, but if they do will France and Atlantis support them? Thats the key defining whether we have a WWI or not. Regarding a League occupation of Poland, first of all thats going to set a very bad precedent. Secondly it not only involves Poland, but could potentially involve all nations, so it should be voted on by all nations, not just the Security Council.

Bulgaria declines to discuss a League occupation of Poland and declines to use its troops to support said mission. It will however volunteer up to two battalions to contribute to a League force in Lithuania, provided the Persian Proposal is accepted.

I could see a border control zone say like a DMZ that is part of both countries

There should be little reason for France or Atlantis to need to support Russia if it invades Poland. Also if I understand the FAR charter correctly, if Russia invades Poalnd, the other two members are actually obligated not to get involved (as it is a defensive treaty only...not an offensive treaty).

As for the League getting involved directly. They have in Bolivia already, so the precident is already there. (I believe there are League sanctioned troops in Peruvian occupied Bolivia, and the Brazilian puppet state of Santa Cruz. The Chilean part of Bolivia is under Chile's control due to Chiile's protest on the matter on the basis of "You took two years to decide to squat on Chilean or Bolivian lands? Now we have thousands dead whille you did nothing, so piss off. We'll handle what we've taken in our own way.")

You'd be correct Ithekro, FAR's charter means that if any of its members is an agressor the others are not obligated to join in on the fighting.

There is nothing stoping them from entering anyway, such as when there is a common interest but given the location of its members thats quite a rare occation. Its not worth it to enter this particular war, doing so would ensure others would be more inclined to do the same.

Attacking a FAR nation is a sure fire way to excalate a war quickly but only if your one of the larger teir nations or part of an alliance. Thats presisely why FAR was created some 15 sim years ago to ensure peace with the guarantee that things would heat up if you attacked certain nations.

Just a note, the Lithuanian entrees of the Polish-Lithuanian Insurrection for the period of July 13th - July 16th, 1935 have been editted to accord with Perdedor99's Polish posts for the same period.

Enjoy,

Agent148

Quoted

Originally posted by perdedor99
I have to agree with Germany using my India hat. .... I can even see nations like Iberia and Italy (the other bad guys in WW) not liking this one bid either.

Excuse me, with your Indian hat on, the Dutch aren't a bad gu... wait, why am I arguing this one?
oh... and it appears the Dutch and Indians might be perilously close in opinion on the precedent issue... obviously the world will end soon...

Quoted

As for the League getting involved directly. They have in Bolivia already, so the precident is already there. (I believe there are League sanctioned troops in Peruvian occupied Bolivia,

League involvement eased the peace process (hopefully) and the post war settlement. Further the league was invited by many of the participants. The Dutch at least viewed it as a neutral party helping provide stability and security, while calming things down.

I don't know about the rest of the troops, but I believe the Kongo's 1st Brigade was withdrawn late 1934-early 1935.

Excellent writing. One minor point, the 1st is the theater reserve and has not seeing combat yet. Everything else is great as always.

Oops! Thanks for the correction Perdedor99, I'll just have to make the that correction, then.

July 17th, 1935:

Wilno Republican Lt.General Bartold Jasunski spends another sleepless night following the defeat of his Army of the Northeast at Giedrikas. It is a bitter pill to swallow for himself and the tired, disheartened men and woman under his command. Jasunski summons his staff to discuss the situation while they are still marching away from Giedrikas in the darkness. His troops are called to a sudden halt just before dawn, exhausted soldiers and horses drop to the ground, many fall asleep immediately.

Jasunski askes his staff, just what the status of his army really is. A quick inventory is done, the results are sobering. The combat units in the 2nd Infantry and 1st Letowska Guards Divisions have been decimated, losses in dead, wounded and missing have reduced many units them to a third of their authorized strengths. Battalions that started the offensive with 800 soldiers on their establishment now count less then 300. One whole artillery battalion - the 7th - has been essentially wiped out and all four of it's 105-mm and all eight of its 75-mm guns captured. The 2nd Infantry Division has lost several of its own guns captured, destroyed or abandoned during the retreat. Estimates place the total lost for the division at ten 105-mm and nine 75-mm weapons from it's three artillery battalions, the 1st Letowska Guards reports a similar loss of six of it's 105-mm and eighteen 75-mm guns for it's single artillery battalion.

The situation of ammunition is even more dire and drives many staff and line officers to despair. Infantry and cavalry units started with offensive with approximately 220 rounds per man, because of the heavy fighting many now only have approximately 30-50 rounds each from their emergency reserve kept in their backpacks or pockets. Each battalion's - those heavily involved in the fighting - reserve of 15,000 rounds to be shared between it's rifles and machineguns has been simply exhausted or captured during the battle. The artillery, excepting the 3rd Infantry Division's, is hardly in a better shape. Most of the 2nd Infantry or 1st Letowska Guards batteries only have a reserve of 100 rounds of one type or another to share between four guns, while the guns themselves only have approximately a dozen rounds per barrel left after the two day action. The reserve artillery battalion of the army is in a somewhat better state of supply.

Jasunski astonishes his staff and divisional commanders when he orders the Army of the Northeast to resume the offensive towards Vilnius. Jasunski orders the 2nd Infantry Division and 1st Letowska Guards Division to hold their current position, Kawecha and Konarski are ordered to dig their troops in and prepare an all round defense as best they can. Further messages are dispatched to Marshal Letowska's Headquarter. Jasunski requests that the 1st Infantry Division (Maj.General Witold Haller) in the Amantas Line, be released to come up as quickly as possible and join the other two divisions.

The army reserve units and the 3rd Infantry Division would move eastward, then loop south before marching westward against Vilnius for the second time, this manuovering would Jasunski hoped put some distance between his second attack and the Lithuanian Northeastern Front. The other divisions would follow as soon as they joined together, under Maj.General Kawecha's command. The move is a complete surprise to Jasunski's subordinates but they realize it will also be a surprise to the Lithuanians and is a worthwhile gamble. Lt.General Jasunski sends out the 6th, 7th and 8th Ulan regiments ahead of his planned second advance with orders to seekout and report any Lithuanian troop concentrations, they are also ordered to try and find any Polish troops and establish a line of communications. Wilno and Polish efforts have been disjointed and working to cross purposes to date, Jasunski hopes to change that if he can.

Marshal Letowska is just as astonished when he gets Jasunski's message reporting that despite the defeat at Giedrikas, that the Army of the Northeast is returning to the attack. Letowska's staff are horrified at the idea. Letowska overrides their objections and flatly orders the 1st Infantry Division forward with all dispatch, a supply train of reserve ammunition for the guns and men of Jasunski's command is also frantically prepared. In the meantime, Marshal Letowska gives some hard thought to how to man the Amantas Line.

The General-secretariats for Military Affairs, Security and the Interior come to the rescue, sending forward troops that they have scrapped up - three battalions of the grandly named Committee for Recruiting Disable Soldiers, one battalion of the newly raised Rear Echelon Volunteers Corps, the 3rd and 16th Letowska Guards Battalions, and the 7th Civil Guard Battalion, Marshal Letowska promotes an officer of his staff, Jaroslaw Laskowska, to the rank of major-general to take command of these troops. Noting the lack of artillery possessed by this motley assemblage, Marshal Letowska orders the Wilno Army Flak battery to be brought forward to stiffen the firepower of Amantas Line.

July 17th, 1935:

For the Polish troops inside the city of Vilnius, the terrible battle of the 16th, continues on into the night. Only there is no night within the city limits, only a eerie blaze of flames, flickering shadows, choaking, blinding smoke and the harsh glare of searchlights or the ghostly sputtering flare of star shells and flares. The fighting between the Russo-Lithuanian troops on one side and the Polish troops on the other has gone beyond savage. The murderous close range fire-fights and brutal hand-to-hand combats that are the order of the day are frequently to the death, the battle grounds are all too often a few feet of street, the ruined shell of a building or a confused tangle of trench line or just the burnt-out bottom of a shell hole.

The Lithuanians carefully screen the redeployment of the Russian 33rd Rifle Division, with a series of violent spoiling attacks on the positions of the 7th Polish Infantry Division. General-leutnant Lechitskiy plans for this division to launch a new attack directed upon the hardpressed Polish 14th Infantry Divison which is already heavily engaged on it's left and front by the Russian 7th and 52nd Rifle Divisions, and supporting Lithuanian elements. At 0300 hrs, the Russians slam full force into the 14th's thinly held right flank, supported by the massed fire of the 19th and 22nd Howitzer Artillery Brigades. Despite determined resistance the Polish 14th Infantry Division's defense begins to fold, under concerted attack from three directions at once and unable to counter the weight of metal being hurled into their tenuously held positions, there is no choice - it can either retreat or die where it stands. The Poles chose to retreat, slowly step by step the 14th Infantry Division is thrown out of Vilnius as dawn breaks over the city.

Only a desperate counter-attack hurriedly put together by Polish officers with Corps reserve units and whatever Polish rear echelon personel that come to hand staves off disaster by blunting the Russian 16th Rifle Corps's assault at the city limits. General Tamassaulo and General-leutnant Lechitskiy are unconcerned by this development, the attack has served it's real purpose of fixing Polish attention totally on what is going on in Vilnius, they are nearly blind to all else that is going on around them.

General-major Zhukov, gives the order to attack just after the clocks strike midnight. The 34th Howitzer Artillery Brigade begins the assault, fires its guns in anger, against the stunned Suwaiska and Wolynska Cavalry Brigades. The hurricane of fire the Russian gunners unleash with their 122-mm howitzers shatters the two cavalry brigades, they are still reelling when the first wave of Russian tanks, Lithuanian armoured cars and combined Russo-Lithuanian cavalry squadrons smash through their devastated battle lines.

This is too much for the Polish cavalrymen, the survivors turn and flee the Russian onslaught, their regimental anti-tank units valiantly stand their ground, trying to by time for their fellows to escape. AT guns and anti-tank rifles are readied and sighted on the oncoming armoured vehicles, but the Russians refuse to play that game firing flares and star shells they light up the Polish weapons teams hastily dug positions, stand off outside of their effective ranges and blast them with artillery. A second wave of Russian cavalry sweeps through this feeble defense, and 7th Cavalry Corps unit commanders report to Zhukov, by 0300 hrs that Polish front before them has been busted wide open. Zhukov doesn't hesitate, and orders his corps to launch it self through the gap his successful flanking assault has created.

The Polish realize that something is terribly wrong, the fragmentary reports from their retreating cavalry brigades tell them a grave danger to their flank is developing. The Polish 1st Division, held in reserve is finally committed to battle, moves with all dispatch southward away from Vilnius to form a blocking line against the onrushing Russian 7th Cavalry Corps. To buy time for this, the 1st Polish Tank Battalion is ordered to make an attack into the flank of the oncoming Russian cavalry. Given the numbers the 1st Tank Battalion will face, it is a suicidal mission but the tanks go in anyway. Initally surprise and the desperate ferocity of the Polish armoured counter-attack stuns the Russians and bluckles their advancing lines, confusion is total for some minutes as the Russian cavalrymen try to sort themselves out under a hail of cannon and machinegun fire. Zhukov quickly makes his presence felt, hurling a counter-attack of his own with several dismounted squadrons, supported by his reserve armoured units at the Poles. For the Polish 1st Tank Battalion, already weakened by past engagements it is the last straw. Smoking and burning Vickers and NC-27 tanks soon litter the battlefield, a handful of survivors hiding behind smoke and dodging between clumps of trees and farm buildings break away from the action and make their way southward.

The Russian 7th Cavalry Corps makes one more attack before Zhukov calls a halt to his flanking operation. His scouts have discovered the 220-mm howitzers, still hammering the Lithuanian fortified lines. A quick sortie by some of his cavalry and tanks, over runs the Polish heavy gun line, Polish artillerymen are either slaughtered or quickly surrender as men, horse and tanks sweep into their battery positions.

When dawn finally arrives, the Polish are greeted with a situation that staggers them. The 7th, 14th and 20th Infantry Divisions are being bled to death amid the defenses of Vilnius. Their southern right flank is broken, although the 1st Infantry Division has managed to put together something resembling a creditable defensive front. It is too thin by half, and reports indicate that the Russian 7th Cavalry Corps is reorganizing itself for another blow. The Polish commanders do not fool themselves into thinking that such an attack will be long in coming.

The Polish position is rapidly becoming critical, with three divisions committed in the city, and their armoured unit and heavy artillery support destroyed and their supporting cavalry brigades reduced to shadows of their former strength and forced to retreat. Their route of withdrawal and safety is held open only by the efforts of the 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions. If the Lithuanians or the Russians attack this corridor in strength, then the two Polish divisions widely separated from support, will be hardpressed to keep the lines to Wilno territory open.

General Tamassaulo plans to do just that, he orders the 7th Cavalry Corps to hit the 1st Polish Infantry Division as soon as practical. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Army Reserve Corps is ordered out of Vilnius, it heads west then turns southward, making for a rendevouz with the two field corps opposite the Polish 9th Infantry Division. Tamassaulo intends to bury the Poles in Vilnius, and slam shut their escape corridor.

No one on either the Russo-Lithuanian or Polish side gave any thought to the defeated Wilno Army of the Northeast, which had finally turned westward and at 0630 hrs was readying it self to launch an attack with a single division supported by a mere three cavalry regiments, two rifle battalions and a battalion of artillery

July 17th, 1935:

As the 3rd Wilno Division closes on the city, it's advance so far undetected by either the Northeastern or the Central Fronts, Lt.General Bartold Jasunski reflects that perhaps his decision was a rash one. With only one infantry division and a few support units he couldn't realistically expect to accomplish much, certainly not in the face of an opposition that outnumbered him by several times his own strength.

Still, Jasunski keeps such doubts as he has private, as he rides alongside Maj.General Radowski. Both generals get worried when the three ulan regiments scouting ahead report no enemy forces ahead of them. Radowski orders the 3rd Ulan regiment to trail the division, screening against a possible attack upon his rear. He orders his division to assume it's attack posture, the 9th Infantry Battalion takes the lead, with the 10th behind it in reserve, while the 11th and 12th Infantry Battalions fan out to the left and right respectively. Jasunski recalls the 6th and 8th Ulans to guard the 3rd Division's flanks, ordering the 7th Ulans to proceed on ahead as the division's vanguard until they reach the outskirts of Vilnius. Radowski orders his two artillery battalions to join up with the 11th and 12th Infantry battalions, the 1st Reserve Artillery Battalion, follows up at a short distance from the 10th Infantry Battalion, with the 1st and 2nd Rifle Battalions marching abreast either side of the artillery, covering their flanks. The Wilno troops say a quick prayer as they march, they expect to be in battle soon and there will be little time for prayer then.

The 7th Ulan moving cautiously towards the eastern side of the city, unexpectedly it's leading elements come across the debris of the night battle between the Polish cavalry brigades and the Russian 7th Cavalry Corps. It is not an encouraging sight for the Wilno cavalrymen. They see smoke and flames amid the buildings of Vilnius, and the echo of massed artillery fire drifts towards them. The commander of the Ulan regiment makes a decision he splits his command into three groups, the 1st goes on towards the city to better find out what is happening, the 2nd swings northward to search that direction, while the 3rd swings southward, looking for signs of the Polish Army.

The 1st Group/7th Ulans reachs the outskirts of Vilnius quickly, drawing fire from the Lithuanian units holding the city's outer defensive lines. The Wilno Ulans make a few probing attacks but the fire being directed at them is too great for them to over come. They fall back rapidly towards the oncoming 3rd Wilno Division. The 2nd Group/7th Ulans is less fortunate, they run into a column of Lithuanian troops marching to reinforce the Russian 7th Cavalry Corps. The result is a blazing fire-fight as the two forces clash, the fighting is desperate and bitter but the Lithuanian force - the 300 Ulans don't realize it in the morning gloom but they have just ran headlong into the VII Field Corps - being the larger and equiped with both field artillery and plenty of machineguns, the contest's result is never in doubt. The survivors of the 2nd Group/7th Ulans scatter and flee back towards Radowski's command. This skirmish clears the way for the passage of the VII Field Corps, and for the II Field Corps marching swiftly behind them, southwards. The 3rd Group/7th Ulans, hunting southwards narrowly comes into contact with the Russian Cavalry Corps facing off against the Polish 1st Infantry Divison.

The commander of the 3rd Group/7th Ulans quickly establishes contact with the commander of the Polish Division, frantically warning him that the Russians are massed for an attack, with more Lithuanian troops coming out of Vilnius to aid them (hard riding survivors of the 2nd Group have warned the 3rd Group what has happened to the north). The 1st Infantry Division quickly appraises the Polish High Command that the Russian cavalry corps and at least two Lithuanian field corps will soon be attacking them.

The Lithuanians are counting on a two pronged attack to inflict a massive defeat upon the Polish before Vilnius. The Reserve Corps, III and VI Field Corps will attack the Polish left flank and smash the 9th Infantry Division, while the Russian 7th Cavalry Corps, assisted by the II and VII Field Corps hit the 1st Infantry Division. In and around Vilnius, the I and II Army Corps, I Field Corps, Vilnius Corps and Russian 16th Rifle Corps, will entertain the attentions of the Polish 7th, 12th, 14th, and 20th Divisions. The Lithuanians also form a new 'XI' Field Corps around newly created field units of the Legion Oranje which are being forwarded into Vilnius to join the Van Der Slagt detachment already there.

Radowski and Jasunski learn something of this development from the remainants of the 2nd Group/7th Ulans. They are aghast, momentarily both officers are shaken in their confidence in their planned attack. Jasunski briefly considers sending for the other divisions of his command, but there is no time for it, even if they marched at top speed, they wouldn't be in the best shape to fight when they did arrive. Neither general realizes that the Lithuanians of the Northeastern Front have also begun moving again and their troops now stand directly astride the line of communications between the 3rd Wilno Division and the rest of the Army of the Northeast.

Jasunski, Radowski and their staffs quickly discuss the news they have and what they can possibly accomplish. Most of the staffs are for retreating now and as quickly as possible. A third offensive can be tried once the Army of the Northeast is reassembled. Radowski disagrees, they have come too far now to turn back, even a limited attack would be of some benefit both to the Polish, and to the Wilno Republic as a matter of military and political necessity. Jasunski agrees with Radowski, the light of morning is coming on and the Lithuanians will sooner or later realize the Wilno troops are close by and attack.

While neither side yet realizes it, the stage - on this day of the 17th of July, 1935 - is set. The Polish struggle to hold their precarious position, while the Lithuanians and their Russian allies seek to destroy it.

July 17th, 1935:

Jasunski faces a difficult choice, he and Radowski consider their three possible lines of attack. They can move west and attack the city, this given the repulse of the 1st Group/7th Ulans isn't a particularly promising prospect. Their second option is to make a detour southward and link up with the Polish 1st Infantry Division, while decidedly better then attacking the city, Jasunski isn't all that sure the Polish will want to co-operate with him, given that his rank makes him the senior officer, abait in an as yet unrecognized state's provisional military. The third option is less complicated but more dangerous, that is to attack the Russian 7th Cavalry Corps, that lies between him and the Polish infantry division. Given the obvious power of the Russian unit and the fact that it is supported by at least two Lithuanian field corps, this option is by far the riskest.

Jasunski makes his decision in a matter of minutes, the 3rd Infantry Division will attack the Russians. The Polish are in an extremely awkward position before and in Vilnius, if the Russians knock the Polish 1st Infantry Division out of play their main line of withdrawal into Wilno territory (and ultimately Polish territory) will be closed. A message from Maj.General Kawecha warns Jasunski that his own line of retreat is cut by the Lithuanian Northeastern Front's renewed advance. Kawecha warns his army commander that he is falling back towards the Amantas Line, the Lithuanian troops are much to close to it for comfort.
This news doesn't alter Jasunski's decision if his attack fails he can still withdraw by a more southeasterly route and eventually gain the cover and relative safety of the Amantas Line.

For the Central Front, the action starts off with three Lithuanian formations making an unexpected attack on the immobile Polish 9th Infantry Division, far to the south of Vilnius guarding the other flank of the Polish escape and communications corridor. These units are the Lithuanian Reserve Corps, composed of the 1st Cavalry Division, the 1st and 3rd Life Guards Battalions (now swelled to regimental status by new recruits) and the Lithuanian Naval Brigade, and the III and VI Field Corps. The III and VI Field Corps launch a cautious attack upon the Polish 9th's right flank. This assault is ment more to draw the Poles attention then seriously endanger their position. Thirty minutes later the Lithuanian Naval Brigade hits the Polish 9th's left flank, this attack is more substancial and seriously threatens to turn the Poles' left.

The Polish 9th Infantry Division holds on grimly against this two assaults. However the Polish divisional commander is wary, he suspects the Lithuanians are up to something, as he doesn't think the III and VI Field Corps would engage him again, if they weren't being supported by a larger force. The Lithuanian 1st Cavalry Division slams a series of dismounted attacks into his center, slowly driving his troops back from their forward positions. The 9th is rapidly becoming endangered by this attack as more and more of it's reserves are being committed to halt it, allowing the Lithuanian units on the flanks to gain ground. Within two hours, the Poles realize they are losing the battle.

In Vilnius, the Poles of the 7th, 12th, and 14th Infantry Divisions are coming to the same conclusion. The Lithuanian I and II Field Corps has hit the Polish 7th with a full scale assault, while the Lithuanian I Army Corps directed it's attention upon the 12th, and the II Army Corps hit the 14th. General Tamassaulo held, the XI Field Corps and the Vilnius Corps in reserve with a mind to exploiting either a local success or perhaps launching another attack along a different line of approach. The Russian 7th, 33rd and 52nd Rifle Divisions, filter back through the Lithuanian positions and also go into reserve positions. The Polish High Command, realizes the danger of it's position pulls back the 20th Infantry Division, before it is attacked and isolated from the other Polish units. With the committment of the 1st, a reserve for emergencies is more badly needed then before.

General-major Zhukov is surprised when scouts report the presence of a enemy force to his rear, just as he is putting the finishing touches on his planned attack on the Polish 1st Infantry Division. He is even more surprised when it is reported to him, that the force approaching his rear lines is Wilno rather then Polish. Zhukov however isn't so easily detered by sudden reversals of fate, and details the attached Lithuanian II and VII Field Corps to deal with the advancing Wilno attack. The Lithuanian battalions reverse their planned advance and move to meet the 3rd Wilno Division. The Russian 7th Cavalry Corps in the meantime begins to hammer the Polish 1st, with it's ownl artillery and the supporting guns of the 34th Howitzer Artillery Brigade. Zhukov masses his armoured units with several mounted squadrons, the rest dismount and prepare to go in on foot. Once the artillery has softened up the Poles, the dismounted cavalry squadrons will go in pinning the Polish in place for the fast moving armoured stroke. Zhukov and his men confidently expect to repeat the successes of last night.

Jasunski and his men however have other ideas. Seeing that 1st Infantry Division will be soon in dire straits, he orders Radowski to hit the two Lithuanian field corps as hard as he can with the units of his division. Jasunski takes personal charge of his army support units, the 6th, 7th (what's left of it) and 8th Ulan Regiments, the 1st, 2nd Rifle and 1st Letowska Guards Battalions and the 1st Reserve Artillery Battalion. He moves away from the 3rd Wilno Division as it collides with the Lithuanian attack, swings wide to the south and makes for the rear of the 7th Cavalry Corps.

The Russians their attention fixed on the Polish in front of them, are surprised when artillery fire begins to fall amoung their positions, that is obviously not coming from the Polish 1st Infantry Division. Moments later the ground begins to shake as nearly two thousand Wilno Ulans make a mounted charge into their midst. All hell breaks loose inside the 7th Cavalry Corps lines, as Russian units try and turn to face the new threat, without quite turning their backs on the threat they thought they were dealing with. The wave of Wilno cavalry crashes over the rear lines, overruning reserve units and batteries, General-major Zhukov himself is nearly captured or killed several times in the ensuing mayhem. The hardpressed Russians are given a reprieve when Lithuanian armoured cars and Lipka Tartars, detached by their field corps commanders, charge into the midst of the Wilno Ulans, turning the tables on them. Jasunski who has led this wild attack, claws his way free of it and orders his three infantry units into the fray.

The 7th Cavalry Corps's carefully planned assault is in ruins, but Zhukov isn't a man to give up so easily. He rallies his troops and hits back against the Wilno infantry, even turning the 122-mm howitzers of his supporting artillery brigade upon them. The brutal combination of close-range artillery and machinegun fire is too much for the 1st and 2nd Rifles, and the 1st Letowska Guards. Whole platoons are shot flat by the Russian fire, companies disintigrate as they loss officers and ncos in a matter of minutes. As the Wilno infantry flee, Zhukov turns his attention on the Wilno Ulans, who realize it is time to beat a hasty retreat.

To complicate things, the Polish 1st Infantry Division launches several attacks of it's own, they don't achieve much - the mounted Russian cavalry units and tanks reposit in repeated fients and sorties against them often stopping the Polish in their tracks - however they do give the Russians another thing to worry about.

Radowski and his men, fight the Lithuanians of the II and VII Field Corps to a standstill, many of his men have run out of ammunition and are fighting their enemy with rifle butts, bayonets, knifes, entrenching spades, rocks even their own fists. Slowly Radowski realizes his men are being pushed back, the Lithuanians have more fire-power and more ammunition, his casualties are apalling, easily matching those suffered by the other units of the Army of the Northeast at Giedrikas. Radowski orders his men to withdraw, he has no idea if Lt.General Jasunski has succeeded in aiding the Poles, and desperately hopes that the Army reserve units are in a position to safely retreat themselves.

At noon, General Tamassaulo releases the 16th Rifle Corps to rejoins the attack, with the guns of it's three artillery brigades well to the fore, hitting the center of the Polish line in Vilnius. Already under terrible pressure - and with battle losses quickly bleeding combat units white - from the Lithuanian attacks, the Polish front begins to slowly bend, then with alarming rapidcy buckle, then it begins to warp, and finally tear apart. The 1st, 7th, 12th Infantry Divisions find themselves being ejected from Vilnius by the weight of the Russo-Lithuanian attack. The Polish 14th Infantry Division already outside the city, launches a series of furious counter-attacks, and while they ultimately fail at the price of heavy losses in men and materials, they allow the other three mauled Polish divisions a chance to reform a coherent defense.

The Polish High Command sizes up the situation for it's attack force, it is not a good one. The 1st Polish Infantry Division, while aided by the Wilno attack is in serious trouble. The Russian 7th Cavalry Corps has finally cleared it's lines and belatedly begun it's planned attack. General Tamassaulo has released the XI Field Corps to strengthen Zhukov's assault. For the moment though, the 1st is holding it's side of the Polish line of communications corridor open. As too is the hard pressed 9th Polish Infantry Division, although it's commander warns that his troops could give way any minute.

In a daring move, the Polish 20th Infantry Division turned south, it becomes a battering ram - opening the way - for the retreating Polish force, while rearguard units from the 7th, 12th and 14th Infantry Divisions valiantly hold the following Russians and Lithuanians now streaming out of Vilnius at bay. The 9th is forced into retreat by the Lithuanian Reserse Corps, but the Lithuanians exhausted and low on ammo are forced to fall back before the fast advancing 20th. Lithuanian skirmishers trying to block or at least slow the Polish division's passage are batted or brushed aside. As the other divisions clear the escape corridor, the 20th Infantry Division turns again and holds it's ground in the face of mounting Lithuanian and Russian attacks, keeping open an escape route for the 1st Polish Infantry.

It seems the LON discussions have failed to have a timely effect on the apparent outcome of the war. Now it merely remains to clean up the mess and make sure the Poles don't do it again.

...dang, that's a bloody little dust-up they got into there. What do the casualties for the war look like so far?

That it was im thinking best way to deal with the Russians is massed counter-battery artillery, combined with massed anti-tank guns, something I think im going to want to invest in.