Self-Defence of Lithuania and Belarus (1918) (original) (raw)

Self-Defence of Lithuania and Belarus (Polish: Samoobrona Litwy i Białorusi) were voluntary military formations created during the reconstitution of sovereign Poland towards the end of World War I in the Kresy macroregion, formerly the Western Krai of the Russian Empire. Self-Defence units were composed mostly of Poles loyal to the nascent Second Polish Republic, formed after a century of Partitions. Their areas of operation were centered around Vilnius (Wilno), Minsk (Mińsk) and Grodno. In January 1919, the Polish Self-Defence was officially organized as the 1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division; the division took part in the Polish–Soviet War of 1919–1920.