them were the remnants of Ukrainian 6th Infantry Division under Colonel Marko Bezruchko, one regiment and two battalions of Polish infantry, three armoured trains and a number of smaller units, some 700 bayonets and 150 sabres altogether. At the same time, the Polish 1st Cavalry Division moved to the villages of Wolica Brzozowa and Komarów, to the west of the city. On his arrival in the Zamość area, Budyonny was left with three choices: he could assault the heavily defended city, try to break through the trenches of the 13th Infantry Division in the forests west of it, or try to attack the unknown number of Polish cavalry units some to the west. Despite having little knowledge of the opposing forces, Budyonny did not expect significant opposition just yet and ordered his troops to bypass the city from the west. First phase In the early morning of 31 August, a Soviet cavalry brigade crossed the belt of swamps to the north of the Polish positions. At the same time, the 11th Cavalry Division was engaged by Polish infantry in the village of Łubianki, while the 6th Cavalry Division was cut out overnight by Polish infantry to the west of Zamość. At 6 o'clock in the morning, the 200 man 2nd Regiment of Grochow Uhlans was ordered to capture "Hill 255" to the north of the main lines of Polish cavalry. The hill was captured with no opposition. Soon afterwards, a large Soviet tabor was spotted, disorganised and mixed with a much larger unit of Soviet cavalry. The Polish forces charged, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy rear units. Soon afterwards, the Poles were successfully counter-attacked by Soviet troops and forced to abandon the hill and retreat into the nearby village of Wolica Śniatycka. There the Russian advance was stopped by Polish heavy machine gun fire and at 10 o'clock the Polish 9th Regiment of Lesser Poland Uhlans under Major (later General) Stefan Dembiński charged the Russian positions and managed to recapture Hill 255. The Russians counterattacked several times, but to no effect. Meanwhile, the village of Wolica Śniatycka, lost to the Soviet cavalry, was charged by the Polish 8th Uhlan Regiment of Duke Jozef Poniatowski. After a short fight, the disorganised Bolshevik forces were forced to retreat, leaving behind a large part of their heavy equipment and Budyonny's staff car. The commander himself evaded being captured. The 4th Cavalry Division