August 15 is simply a peculiar date on the calendar. At that time we celebrate the presumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the celebration of the Polish Army, which was established in memory of the winning 1920 Warsaw Battle, which was fought during the Polish-bolshevik War. small known among Polish society is the fact that this conflict is considered to be 1 of 20 groundbreaking battles in planet history. If this clash had taken a different course, the Bolshevik revolution would have spread across the European continent. It was thanks to the heroism of Polish soldiers that all Europe was saved. Therefore, we will look at in more item what holidays we celebrate then and what meaning they have in the life of a Catholic and a Pole.
The doctrine of Mary's ascension was only announced by Pope Pius XII in 1950. He states that after the end of earthly life Mary was taken with her body and soul to Heaven. More about this is recorded in the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus (The Most Generous God). Like Mary, they were taken to heaven by Enoch and Elijah. In Poland, this festival is of large importance, due to the fact that in churches, herbs and flowers are celebrated and the harvest is celebrated, that is, thanks to the parent of God for this year's harvest and harvest.
Protestants and another pseudo-Christian denominations reject the rapture doctrine. Their argument against this is that the Bible does not mention this event. Yes, it is, but the religion of the presumption the Church took from Tradition, which besides consists of the Magisterium of the Church. First, it must be made clear that presumption is the oldest Marian vacation since it was celebrated in the 5th century. The first strong mention of this comes from 450. It was then that Empress Pulcheria wanted to sponsor the construction of a church in honor of Our woman in Constantinople. She wrote a letter to the Bishop of Jerusalem Juwenalis asking for Mary's relic. Then Pulcheria learned that there were no relics, and Our woman was taken with her body and soul to Heaven. Bishop Juwenalis added only at the end of the letter that “we know [this] from an ancient and very certain application.” The next arguments that talk for presumption are the communicative of John Damascus from the 8th century, who wrote that the Apostles had come to Mary's grave 3 days after her death and did not find her body there. Jan Damascusski wrote this: "...the only thing they could think was that the One... who kept her intact virginity even after his birth, saved her body from contamination and moved them to Heaven from the universal bodies of resurrection."
Of course, the conflict of Warsaw is connected with the festival of the presumption of Mary, called the Miracle of the Vistula. This was the decisive start of the Polish-bolshevik War. Explaining the state of the Polish state at the time and how crucial it was in the past of Europe will enable us to realize the importance of the Miracle of Vistula.
“Go to the West! Through the corpse of white Poland to the heart of Europe!” – Lenin and tens of thousands of Bolshevik soldiers shouted with their commanders on May 5, 1920. The Communist dictator took power as a consequence of the October Revolution of 1917. He murdered the Tsar family, led the country to civilian war, and then, in accordance with his criminal demands, he wanted to lead the communists to spread them throughout Europe. Remember, it was 1917-1921. Europe is exhausted by the top armed conflict of its time, or planet War I. War destruction, famine, Spanish flu epidemic, poverty, war backwardness, millions of crippled war veterans, recently created national states (among others Poland) and the decline of the power of the empires of 19th-century Europe specified as Germany, Tsarsk Russia along with France and large Britain. This is what Europe looked like. No 1 always thought of another fight on the fronts but russian Russia, which carried the sick ideals of the revolution aimed to conquer all Europe. Poland regained its independency after 123 years of captivity. Our Homeland does not even have established borders, and where to think about rebuilding the Polish statehood. For Bolsheviks II Rzeczpospolita was an easy target, but how did Tuchaczewski's troops become so close to Warsaw?
The full Polish-bolshevik conflict must now be brought closer. After 1918, it was considered within what limits to recreate the independent Polish state. Józef Piłsudski and their environment had a concept in establishing the east border of Poland. This concept, known as the Federation, assumed the emergence of Poland within its cultural boundaries, adjacent from the east to the national states of Lithuanians and Ukrainians. In this way Poland would separate itself from Russia. Roman Dmowski, along with the National Democracy, preferred an incorporated concept which assumed the incarnation of lands historically connected with Poland even inhabited by another nationalities, but their number could not be large adequate to dominate Poles. This would lead to Poland's border being as far east as possible. Dmowski besides opposed the creation of independent Ukraine and Lithuania. He felt that east areas that would not be incarnated in Poland should be Russia. These concepts are highly crucial given the Treaty of Drawing, which will be discussed at the end.
The Bolsheviks were the first to attack from February 1919. At Piłsudski's command, an offensive to the east began. Poles occupied Vilnius and Minsk. In the fall of 1919, the run was halted to start talks about the creation of an independent Ukrainian state. The Ukrainian People's Republic was headed by Semen Petlura, whose forces assisted Polish troops in the Kiev expedition and its liberation on May 7, 1920. However, the Ukrainian population did not support Petlura – they considered it a traitor who gave Lviv to Poles.
The presence of Polish troops on Dnieprem was utilized by Bolsheviks who accused Poles of imperialism. Then the Bolshevik counteroffensive began. The Red Army was commanded by Mikhail Tuchaszewski. The millions of russian army moved with large momentum to Poland. In the meantime, the puppet government of the Polish Socialist russian Republic began to be created with Felix Dzierżynski at the head. In the summertime of 1920 the Polish army was tired of long fights. Let us remember that any soldiers taking part in the Warsaw conflict have been on the front... for six years, as they began their service in the military since 1914. There was to be a decisive clash.
Soviet troops were on the outskirts of Warsaw. In August 1920, virtually everywhere was prayed. The churches were open all day. Day and night were prayed to Our woman of Grace, or patroness of Warsaw. An episcopate with believers prayed on Jasna Góra. Practically all men capable of fighting, frequently under 18, are on the front. Warsaw is vulnerable. Everyone knew how dangerous the situation was. Failure would lead to a fall in the second Poland, and the young Polish state is only 2 years old. Tuchaszewski set the day of Warsaw's acquisition on 15 August. The Polish command, together with Piłsudski and Rozwadowski, took the lead in a risky plan to defeat the overwhelming enemy forces. The plan was to hit the left wing of the Red Army from the Pig, at the same time tying the main forces of the Bolsheviks in the prefields of Warsaw. The most interesting, however, is that on 15 August, or on the day of the Marian feast, the Blessed parent appeared to hundreds of Bolsheviks in the sky. This caused large fear and fear. Remember, the Bolsheviks are atheists, but the phenomenon they saw then led to mass escapes from the battlefield, and the Red Army soldiers were perfectly aware that the death punishment was for desertion.
Warsaw was saved. The decisive triumph of Poland was determined by the German Operation of September 1920. Europe and the independent Polish state were saved. Marshal Tuchaczewski blamed Józef Stalin for the defeat. another high-ranking commanders, including Budionny, blamed Tuchachevsky. The most interesting thing is that Tuchaczewski along with another officers who blamed him for the defeat in 1920 were murdered as a consequence of the large purgatory of 1937, and those who did not blame Stalin lived long years and experienced advanced degrees. After September 17, 1939, Stalin pursued and murdered the officers and commanders who beat the Bolsheviks at Warsaw with utmost brutality. Many of them were murdered in Katyn. The treaty that ended the war was a 1921 cartoon treaty. That's erstwhile the corporate concept was guided. Ukraine and Belarus were incorporated into russian Russia.
In memory of the events of August 15, 1920, the Polish Army Day has been celebrated in Poland since 1992. Now we see how crucial the date of August 15 is. Let us remember the importance of this day in the calendar. A Pole and a Catholic should know and cultivate the tradition of the 1920 events and remember that prayer and religion combined with the wisdom and courage of the commanders of the Polish Army saved Poland and Europe.
Bibliography:
Baldock J., Women in the Bible, Warsaw 2008
Tarczyński M., Warsaw conflict 1920, Warsaw 1996
Wyszczelski L., War for East Crests 1918–1921, Warsaw 2011
