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The battle of Lenino was a World War II battle that took place from 12th October to 13th October 1943 near the village of Trigubovo, north of the village of Lenino in the Byelorussian SSR. It was fought between the forces of the Soviet 33rd Army (Soviet Western Front) and Nazi German forces.
Prominent among the Soviet units was the Polish 1st Infantry Division under the command of Zygmunt Berling. The Poles were ordered to attack a numerically superior and entrenched German force in terrain that had not been scouted or mapped. Due to the complete lack of cooperation from other Soviet units and a lack of air support and artillery cover, the Polish division sustained heavy losses during the fighting (502 killed, 1776 wounded and 663 missing -- totalling about 25% of full force), and after two days was pulled back from the front line.
Although a strategic failure, the battle was used for Polish and Soviet communist propaganda, as it was the first battle of the Soviet-backed Polish forces. On October 7, 1950, the anniversary of the battle was declared the official "Day of the Polish Army" by the authorities of the People's Republic of Poland. In 1989, when Poland regained its sovereignty, the feast was abolished and the pre-war Day of the Polish Army date was reintroduced as August 15, to commemorate the Battle of Warsaw of 1920.
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