Battle of Warsaw (1920)
The battle of Warsaw was fought from August 12–25, 1920 as Red Army forces commanded by Mikhail Tukhachevsky approached the Polish capital of Warsaw and the nearby Modlin Fortress. On August 16, Polish forces commanded by Józef Piłsudski counterattacked from the south, disrupting the enemy's offensive, forcing the Russian forces into a disorganized withdrawal eastward and behind the Neman River. Estimated Russian losses were 10,000 killed, 500 missing, 30,000 wounded, and 66,000 taken prisoner, compared with Polish losses of some 4,500 killed, 10,000 missing, and 22,000 wounded.
Battle of Praga
After the battle, the commanders of Warsaw and a large part of its inhabitants became demoralised. To spare Warsaw the fate of its eastern suburb, General Tomasz Wawrzecki decided to withdraw his remaining forces southwards and on 5 November Warsaw was captured by the Russians with little or no opposition. It is said that after the battle General Aleksandr Suvorov sent a report to Catherine the Great consisting of only the following words, "Hooray! Warsaw is ours!" The Empress of Russia replied equally briefly, "Bravo, Fieldmarshal. Catherine", promoting him to Field Marshal for this victory. As in Praga, Suvorov soon released most of his Polish captives, numbering 25,469, which caused a critical remark from the Russian State Secretary, and in his report to Catherine II recommended not to levy a contribution on the Polish capital. To prevent any further excesses, his troops stationed in Poland were ordered to keep "serenity, quietness and friendliness" and prohibited, under the threat of punishment, from oppressing the local population or even showing any forms of disrespect towards the Polish people of all ranks.a The Polish term for the massacre, "rzeź Pragi", more literally translates as "Slaughter of Praga", but most English sources translate it as "massacre".