Today, military cemeteries scattered across Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine serve as a reminder of the battles between the Polish Army and the Red Army in 1919–1920. Although at first glance these are similar plots – with rows of simple, small crosses made of concrete or stone – each of these places has its own distinctive character. The military plot at the parish cemetery in Grodno stands as a beautiful testament to the self-sacrifice of the entire society in the fight against the Bolsheviks – the soldiers buried here came from many regions of Poland and represented various social groups, regiments and military traditions.

The military plot at the parish cemetery in Grodno is situated in its north-eastern part, adjacent to Przedmiejska Street. Its location here was certainly no coincidence, as a large complex of barracks and military warehouses had been built in the immediate vicinity, in the suburb of Pohulanka, even before the First World War. The section comprises around 150 small, simple concrete crosses, erected during the interwar period in burial plots demarcated by concrete borders set into the ground.

Although constructed from fragile materials and left unrepaired for decades, most of the graves fortunately survived the Soviet period. This was made possible thanks to the dedication of the Poles of Grodno, and in particular the schoolteacher Waleria Borewicz, who, right up until her death in 1991, regularly looked after the cemetery and protected it from vandalism. Despite this, some of the crosses were smashed or damaged. A dozen or so years ago, thanks to the efforts of the Poles of Grodno, the section underwent a makeshift restoration, and some of the damaged crosses were partially reconstructed. Unfortunately, some of the crosses bear incorrectly inscribed surnames or military ranks, which is likely the result of misreading faded or damaged inscriptions. A number of surnames are difficult to identify and do not appear in the most comprehensive list of victims of the Polish–Bolshevik War, published in 1934. (“List of Casualties of the Polish Army. Those Killed in Action and Deceased in the Wars of 1918–1920”).

The fallen buried in the cemetery in Grodno
Some of the crosses have been erected on the graves of unknown soldiers, as indicated by a corresponding inscription. It can be surmised that these are mainly the fallen gathered from various battlefields in the vicinity of Grodno. As the use of identification tags (dog tags) was rare during the Polish–Bolshevik War, establishing the identities of the fallen was very difficult, even immediately after the fighting. In several cases, the crosses were destroyed during the Soviet era and have been replaced by secondary crosses bearing no inscriptions.

A large proportion of those buried in this cemetery died in Grodno hospitals as a result of illness or injury, and these soldiers were usually buried under their full names and with the date of death.

The soldiers buried in the military plot at the parish cemetery represent various units of the Polish Army. Particular attention is drawn to representatives of the two largest groups.

The first consists of local men – soldiers from the infantry regiments of the Lithuanian-Belarusian Division (mostly from the rifle regiments: Grodno and Kaunas), the Tatar Uhlan Regiment (‘Tatar Cavalry’), the 13th Vilnius Uhlan Regiment and the Grodno Uhlan Regiment. To a large extent, these were volunteers who, as early as the turn of 1918/1919, had formed units of the so-called Self-Defence Forces of Lithuania and Belarus. Particularly noteworthy is the large number of uhlans from the Tatar Cavalry, in which many Polonised Tatars hailing from the borderlands of present-day Lithuania and Belarus served.

The second group buried in the parish cemetery in Grodno consists of rank-and-file soldiers from rear echelon and guard units, hailing from all over Poland, largely from the Kielce region or Lesser Poland. Most of them were conscripts who died of illness whilst on active duty.