1/ On the centenary of the Soviet counter-offensive that threatened Warsaw during the Russo-Polish War of 1920 a short thread ...

2/ It's frequently as cast one of the most decisive battles in history, in which the westward spread of Soviet communism was checked at the gates of Warsaw, sparing Europe being subjected to Soviet totalitarianism, etc., as per below https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/how-poland-saved-the-world-russia-15657

3/ It's a historiographical tradition that dates back a long way, e.g., it formed one of the chapters of JFC Fuller's 'Decisive Battles of the Western World, and their Influence on History'

4/ This is not least because it fits an easy time-worn narrative - massed Asiatic hordes descending on the peaceful lands of Europe from the East

5/ In truth, the Soviets' chances were slim: Trotsky (and Victor Serge too if memory serves) saw it as one of Lenin's greatest mistakes, overestimating the strength of a war-weary Red Army and underestimating the strength of Polish nationalism ...

6/ ... and Trotsky felt it was crucial to draw attention to this in the post-war period, as the Soviet cult of Lenin began to coalesce around Lenin as an infallible guide and leader

7/ The focus on fronts, exposed flanks, over-extended supply lines, etc., makes for dramatic history but takes away from the sobre reality that the fate of revolution in Europe was decided in Germany, not at the gates of Warsaw.

8/ Had the Soviets taken Warsaw, would they have been able to hold it? And even if they had been able to hold it, would it have made any difference to the fate of revolution in Germany?

9/ The whole debate is ironic, as the idea that plucky Poland saved Europe from Soviet totalitarianism inverts the reality that not only was it Poland that made the land grab, but also that it was the containment of the revolution that condemned it to totalitarianism ...

10/ ... but again, that was decided in Germany, not at the gates of Warsaw. As you can read about in my book : / ENDS

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenin-Lives-Reimagining-Revolution-1917-2017/dp/1785356976