| Polish-ukrainian War |
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The Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918 and 1919 was a conflict between the forces of Poland and Western-Ukrainian People's Republic for the control over Eastern Galicia after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary . BACKGROUND The origins of the conflict are rooted in the complex national relations in Galicia at the turn of the century. The Habsburg monarchy was the perfect ground for the development of both Polish and Ukrainian national movements. The more mature Polish politicians were set as an example for the Ukrainians. The first incident happened in 1897, when the Polish administration opposed the Ukrainian peasants in parliamentary elections. Another conflict developed in the years 1901-1908 around the University Of Lwów , where Ukrainian students demanded a separate Ukrainian university, while Polish students and faculty attempted to suppress the movement. The turning point, however, came in 1903 , when both Poles and Ukrainians held their separate conferences in Lwów (Poles in May and Ukrainians in August). Since then the two national movements developed with contradicting goals in opposite directions, towards the later inevitable clash. THE WAR Initially, Ukrainian Militia s under Dmytro Vitovskyi took advantage of the situation in Central Europe, signing a secret protocol with Austria-Hungary and taking control over most of Eastern Galicia . The Western-Ukrainian People's Republic was proclaimed on November 1 1918 with Lviv as its capital. The proclamation of the Republic, which claimed sovereignty over Eastern Galicia, including the Carpathians up to the city of Nowy Sącz in the West, as well as Volhynia , Carpathian Ruthenia and Bukovina was a complete surprise for the Poles . Although the majority of the population of the Western-Ukrainian People's Republic were Ukrainians, large parts of the claimed territory were considered Polish by the Poles. Upon entering Lviv (), the Ukrainian forces were successfully opposed by local self-defence units formed mostly of WWI veterans, students and children. After two weeks of heavy fighting within the city, an armed unit under command of Lt. Colonel Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski of the renascent Polish Army broke through the Ukrainian siege and arrived in the city. On November 21 the siege was broken and the Ukrainians were repelled. However, heavy fighting for other cities claimed by both Poles and Ukrainians continued, and the fighting for Lwów lasted until May of 1919 . Immediately after recapturing the city, in the end of November, Poles interned a number of Ukraininan activists in detention camps. In December 1918 fighting started in Volhynia . Polish units were trying to seize control of the region, while at the same time the forces of the Ukrainian People's Republic under Semen Petlura tried to expand their territory westwards, towards the city of Chełm . After two months of heavy fighting the conflict was resolved in March of 1919 by fresh and well-equipped Polish units under General Edward Rydz-Śmigły . The Polish general offensive in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia bagan on May 14 , 1919 . It was carried out by units of the Polish Army aided by the newly-arrived Blue Army of General Józef Haller De Hallenburg . The Ukrainian lines were broken, mostly due to the withdrawal of the elite Sich Rifles . On May 27 the Polish forces reached the Złota Lipa - Brzeżany -Jezierna- Radziwiłłów line. Following the demands of the Entente , the Polish offensive was halted and the troops of General Haller adopted defensive positions. On June 8 , 1919, the Ukrainian forces started a counter-offensive, but after three weeks were stopped near Gniła Lipa and the upper Styr river. Józef Piłsudski assumed the command of the Polish forces on June 27 and started yet another offensive, which pushed the Ukrainians back to the line of the river Zbrucz . AFTERMATH On July 17 a Ceasefire was signed. Ukrainian POW s were kept in ex-Austrian POW Camps in Dąbie , Łańcut , Pikulice , Strzałków , and Wadowice . On November 21 , 1919, the Highest Council of the Paris Peace Conference granted Eastern Galicia to Poland for a period of 25 years, after which a Plebiscite was to be held there. On April 21 , 1920 , Józef Piłsudski and Semen Petlura signed a Polish-Ukrainian alliance, in which Poland promised the Ukrainian People's Republic the military help in the Kiev Offensive against the Red Army in exchange for the acceptance of Polish-Ukrainian border on the river Zbrucz. SEE ALSO NOTES |
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