- Ukrainian-Soviet War
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Ukrainian-Soviet War
partof=Ukrainian War of Independence and theRussian Civil War
caption=
date=1917-1921
place=Ukraine
territory= Incorporation of most of Ukraine into theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and theUnion of Soviet Socialist Republics
result=Bolshevik victory
status=
combatant1=
combatant2=flagicon|Russian SFSR|1918Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
flagicon|Ukrainian SSR|1927Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
commander1=Symon Petliura Pavlo Skoropadsky
Mykhailo Pavlenko
commander2=Leon Trotsky Joseph Stalin Alexander Yegorov
Mikhail Muraviev
strength1= 300,000 at their peak [cite web |url=http://www.vesna.org.ua/txt/dov/istukr/Ia.html |title= Довідники/Довідник з історії України |accessdate=2008-01-30 |work=Вiртуальна Русь ]
strength2=
casualties1=
casualties2=
notes=The Ukrainian-Soviet War of 1917–21 ( _uk. Українсько-радянська війна) was a military conflict between the
Ukrainian People's Republic and pro-Bolshevik forces for the control of Ukraine after the dissolution of theRussian Empire .Background
The
February Revolution of 1917 caused the many ethnic groups in theRussian Empire to demand greater autonomy from Moscow and various degrees ofself-determination . A month later theUkrainian People's Republic was declared in Kiev as an autonomous entity with close ties to the RussianProvisional Government , governed by theTsentralna Rada . However, theOctober Revolution caused the Russian Empire to disintegrate completely. In late December 1917, Bolsheviks set up a rival Ukrainian government inKharkiv , called theUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and began hostilities against the government in Kiev. Following this, the Rada broke ties with Moscow onJanuary 22 1918 , and declared Ukrainian independence, thereby commencing theUkrainian War of Independence .cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-30076/Ukraine|title=Ukraine.|author=J. Kim Munholland|accessdate=2007-11-08|work=Encyclopædia Britannica ] [cite book|last=Reid|first=Anna|title=Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine|year= |publisher=Westview Press |year=2000|isbn=0813337925|pages=p. 33] It was around this point that Bolshevik troops began invading Ukraine from Russia.Orest Subtelny. "Ukraine a History".University of Toronto Press , 1988.] Russian military units fromKharkov ,Moscow ,Minsk and theBaltic Fleet invaded Ukraine. [Robert Sullivant. "Soviet Politics and the Ukraine 1917-1957." New York:Columbia University Press , 1962.]The war
December 1917 to April 1918
The Bolsheviks, numbering around 30,000 and composed of Russian army regulars stationed at the front, a number of garrisoned units, and Red Guard detachments composed of laborers from Kharkov gubernia and the Donbass, began by advancing from the northeast led by
Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko and Mikhail Muraviev.Nicholas Chirovsky. ’’An introduction to Ukrainian History Volume III 19th and 20th Century Ukraine.’’ New York, Philosophical Library, 1986] The Ukrainian forces at the time of the invasion consisted of about 15,000 made up from volunteer detachments and several battalions of theFree Cossacks and theSich Riflemen .The invasion of pro-Soviet forces from Russia was accompanied by uprisings initiated in Ukraine by the local Bolshevik agitators in the developed cities throughout the territory of
Left-bank Ukraine . The Bolshevik forces capturedKharkiv (December 26 ), Yekaterinoslav, (January 9 ), Aleksandrovsk (January 15 ), andPoltava (January 20 ) on their way toKiev . OnJanuary 27 , the Bolshevik army groups converged inBakhmach and then set off under the command of Muraviev to take Kiev. [http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkPath=pagesUKUkrainian6SovietWar1917hD721.htm Ukrainian-Soviet War, 1917–21] at theEncyclopedia of Ukraine ] As the Bolsheviks marched towards Kiev, a small Ukrainian National Republic unit of 500 schoolboys (some sources give a figure of 300 [cite web|url=http://historyua.narod.ru/ |title=History of Ukraine |accessdate= |accessmonthday=September 12 |accessyear=2006 |author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work=History of Ukraine |publisher= |pages= |language=Ukrainian |archiveurl= |archivedate=] ), commanded by Captain Ahapiy Honcharenko, was hastily organized and sent to the front onJanuary 29 ,1918 to take part in theBattle of Kruty . The small unit consisted mainly of the Student Battalion (Kurin ) ofSich Riflemen , a unit of the Khmelnytsky Cadet School, and aHaidamaka detachment. About half of the 500 men were killed during the battle.Also on
January 29 1918 , theKiev Arsenal January Uprising , a Bolshevik organized armed revolt, began at theKiev Arsenal factory . OnFebruary 8 the Ukrainian government was forced to evacuate the city in order to save it from destruction. Soviet troops under Mikhail Muravev's command entered Kiev onFebruary 9 and then carried out brutal reprisals against the Ukrainian civilian population, killing as many as 4000 civilians.Once the Bolsheviks took Kiev, they began an offensive in
Right-Bank Ukraine . However, onFebruary 9 the UNR signed theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk and thus received aid from German and Austrian troops in late February, over 450,000 troops. In exchange for military aid, the Ukrainians were to deliver foodstuffs to theCentral Powers . Under the command ofSymon Petlura , the combined forces pushed the Bolsheviks out of Right Bank Ukraine and retook Kiev onMarch 1 . Because of the socialist policies of the Rada, mainly the policy of land nationalization which affected food exports to the Central Powers, onApril 28 the German forces disbanded the Tsentralna Rada and installed the Hetman government in its place. Ukrainian, German, and Austrian armies continued making gains, taking back Left Bank Ukraine, Crimea and the Donets Basin. These setbacks forced the Bolsheviks to sign a peace treaty with the Ukrainian government onJune 12 .December 1918 to December 1919
In December 1918, troops from the
Directorate of Ukraine overthrew the Hetmanate, and forced the Germans out of Kiev. They reestablished the UNR. It was at this time that the Bolsheviks once again invaded UkrainePaul Robert Magocsi"A History of Ukraine". Toronto:University of Toronto Press . ISBN 0-8020-0830-5] with an army led by Vladimir Antonov-Ovsiyenko, Joseph Stalin, and Vladimir Zatonsky. The Directory declared war once again against Russia onJanuary 16 . The Ukrainian forces at that time consisted of two regular troop formations, the Zaporozhian Corps and the Sich Riflemen, as well aspartisan detachments. These partisans were led by unreliableataman s who occasionally sided with the Bolsheviks. The army which had over 100,000 fell to about 25,000 due to peasants leaving the army and desertions to the Bolsheviks. The Soviets tookLeft-Bank Ukraine , and then marched on to Kiev, where onFebruary 2 they forced the Directorate to move toVinnytsia .December 1919 to November 1920
From
December 6 1919 toMay 6 1920 , the UNR Army under the command ofMykhailo Omelianovych-Pavlenko carried out an underground operation known as the First Winter Campaign in theKirovohrad region against the Soviet 14th Army. Another significant development of this period was the signing of theTreaty of Warsaw withPoland onApril 22 , and then beginning of a joint offensive with Polish troops against the Bolsheviks. OnMay 7 a Ukrainian division under the command ofMarko Bezruchko entered Kiev, but was quickly forced out by a Red Army counteroffensive led bySemyon Budyonny . The Ukrainians and Poles were pushed back across theZbruch River and pastZamość towardWarsaw . The Poles signed a peace with the Soviets onOctober 18 . By 1921, Polish author of the Polish-Ukrainian alliance,Józef Piłsudski , was no longer Polish head of state, and only participated as an observer during the Riga negotiations, which he called "an act of cowardice".en icon cite book | author =Norman Davies | title =White Eagle, Red Star: the Polish-Soviet War, 1919–20 | year =2003 | editor = | pages =399 | chapter = | chapterurl = | publisher =Pimlico | location = | id =ISBN 0-7126-0694-7| url =http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0231053525&id=DMoPXktGwiUC&pg=PA399&lpg=PA399&dq=Riga+an+act+of+cowardice&sig=i3vknEXAKsMRzbdbyuxKdq9e1XE |format =|accessdate = (First edition: New York, St. Martin's Press, inc., 1972.)] The Petliura's forces kept fighting. [Mykhailo Hrushevsky , edited by O. J. Frederiksen. "A History of Ukraine". New Haven:Yale University Press : 1941.] They lasted untilOctober 21 , when they were forced to cross the Zbuch River and enter Polish-controlled Galicia. There they were disarmed and placed in internment camps.November 1921
The last action of the UNR against the Soviets was a raid behind the Red Army lines in November 1921 known as the Second Winter Campaign.
This campaign was meant to incite a general uprising amongst the Ukrainian
peasant s, who were already disgruntled with the Soviets, and to unify partisan forces against the Bolsheviks in Ukraine. The commander of the Ukrainian forces wasYurii Tiutiunnyk .Two expeditionary forces were established, one from
Podolia (400 men) and one fromVolhynia (800 men). The Podilia group only made it to the village of Vakhnivka, before returning to Polish territory through Volhynia onNovember 29 . The Volhynia group started out onNovember 4 , capturedKorosten onNovember 7 and made its way to the village of Leonivka. When they began to run low on supplies they decided to return. However, on its return west, it was intercepted by aBolshevik cavalry force under the command ofGrigore Kotovski atBazar and routed in battle near Mali Mynky onNovember 17 . 443 soldiers were captured by the Soviets during the battle. 359 were shot onNovember 23 near the town of Bazar, and 84 were passed on to Soviet security forces. [ [http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pagesWIWintercampaigns.htm Winter Campaigns] at theEncyclopedia of Ukraine ]This was the last operation of the UNR army against the Soviets. The end of the Second Winter Campaign brought the Ukrainian-Soviet war to a definite end, however partisan fighting against the Bolsheviks continued until mid-1922 [ [http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pagesPAPartisanmovementinUkraine1918hD722.htm Partisan movement in Ukraine, 1918–22] at the
Encyclopedia of Ukraine ] and in response the Red Army terrorized the countryside. [WED Allen . "The Ukraine". Cambridge:Cambridge University Press , 1941.]Aftermath
The end of the war saw the incorporation of most of the territories of Ukraine into the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic which, onDecember 30 1922 , was one of the founding members of theUnion of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Parts ofWestern Ukraine fell into under the control of theSecond Polish Republic , as laid out in thePeace of Riga . The UNR government, led bySymon Petlura , was forced into exile. [ [http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pagesUKUkrainianNationalRepublic.htm Ukrainian National Republic] at theEncyclopedia of Ukraine ] For the next few years the Ukrainian nationalists would continue to try to wage a partisan guerrilla war on the Soviets. They were aided by Polish intelligence (seePrometheism ); however they were not successful. The last active Ukrainian movements would be mostly eradicated during theHolodomor . [Timothy Snyder , "Covert Polish Missions across the Soviet Ukrainian Border, 1928-1933", [http://books.google.com/books?id=TQR5YSY-b1QC&pg=PA71&vq=famine&source=gbs_search_s&sig=wXNFbI5ZHBiRe6S50Iey1HJT0SM p. 71-78] , in "Cofini", Silvia Salvatici (a cura di), Rubbettino, 2005). [http://www.sissco.it/fileadmin/user_upload/Pubblicazioni/collanasissco/confini/confini_snyder.pdf Full text in PDF] ] Further, the relative lack of Polish support for the Ukrainian cause would cause a growing resentment on the part of Ukrainian minority in Poland towards the Polish interwar state.ee also
*
Ukraine after the Russian Revolution
*Polish-Soviet War
*Polish-Ukrainian War
*Pogroms in Ukraine References
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