WESTWARD OFFENSIVES

19-21 APRIL 1919 AUGUST 1919

Soviet forces advance into the new republics of Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus and Estonia. These countries fight back with large Polish military support. The Poles directly fight the Soviets on Polish soil from February 1919, but heavy resistance across Eastern Europe forces the Red Army back. The Soviets then reorganise, marking the beginning of the Polish-soviet War.

A Bolshevik propaganda poster depicts the Red Army as a liberating force for the Polish