Battle of Lwów (1920)

During the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 the city of Lwów (modern Lviv, Ukraine) was attacked by the forces of Alexander Yegorov. Since mid-June 1920, the 1st Cavalry Army of Semyon Budyonny had been trying to reach the city from the north and east. At the same time, Lwów was preparing its defenses. The inhabitants raised and fully equipped three regiments of infantry and two regiments of cavalry, and constructed defensive lines. The city was defended by the equivalent of three Polish divisions aided by one Ukrainian infantry division. Finally, after almost a month of heavy fighting, on August 16 the Red Army crossed the Bug River and, reinforced by additional 8 divisions of the Red Cossacks, started an assault on the city. The fighting occurred with heavy casualties on both sides, but after three days the assault was halted and the Red Army retreated. With the crushing defeat of the main forces of the Red Army in the battle of Warsaw, and the Polish victories at Komarów and Zadwórze, the Russian forces were forced to retreat from Lwów.

For the heroic defense with large units of locally raised volunteers the city was awarded with the Virtuti Militari medal on 11 November 1920.