Ukrainian Galician Army

The Ukrainian Galician Army obtained its arms from Austrian depots and from the demobilized Austrian and German troops who streamed through Galicia by the hundreds of thousands following the collapse of the Central Powers at the end of World War I. However, the centers of Austria's military industry lay far from Galicia, and subsequent difficulty with resupply was a major factor in the Galicians losing their war against Poland.

History

Polish-Ukrainian War

The Galician army was formed on the base of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen Legion and other ethnic Ukrainian units of the Austro-Hungarian Army, which were subjected to the Ukrainian National Council and took part in the November Uprising in Lviv. According to a 13 November 1918 law adopted by the Ukrainian National Council, general mobilization of men aged between 18 and 35 was proclaimed in the whole territory controlled by the West Ukrainian Republic, with three military districts being organized in Lviv, Ternopil and Stanislaviv. The army was subordinated to the State Secretariat of Military Affairs initially headed by Dmytro Vitovsky. Head of the Ukrainian National Council served as the commander-in-chief of the Galician Army.

Initially the army consisted of a mix of regular, semi-regular and guerrilla troops. By early December 1918 it counted approximately 30,000 soldiers and 40 artillery pieces and held a front running from Cisna in the southwest through Khyriv, Peremyshl, Lviv, Yavoriv, Liubachiv, Rava-Ruska and Belz to Kryliv in the north. In early 1919 all of the army's battle groups were united into corps. Thousands of soldiers serving in the Austrian army, including those taken prisoner during the First World War, were also mobilized. By April 1919 the Galician army had 1412 officers and 52,200 soldiers, but was still outnumbered by Polish troops. Despite this, the Ukrainian forces could achieve a number of victories, but their successful offensive was stopped due to a ceasefire introduced by an Entente mission.

After simultaneous offensives by Polish and Romanian forces in May 1919, parts of the army had to retreat to Carpatho-Ukraine, meanwhile the rest attempted a counteroffensive, which failed due to lack of equipment. As a result, on 28 June 1919 the army started a retreat across the Zbruch river, into the territory of the Ukrainian People's Republic.

War against the Bolsheviks

In late July - early August 1919 the Galician Army moved to the anti-Bolshevik front, and on 12 August joined the offensive of Ukrainian armies into the direction of Kyiv and Odesa. On 30 August Ukrainian forces entered Kyiv, but next day had to retreat due to the simultaneous entry of the White Army into the city.

Following a typhus epidemic, by November 1919 only 7% of the army's soldiers remained on the front. As a result, the Galician command signed an armistice, and soon thereafter an alliance treaty with the Volunteer Army of Anton Denikin, becoming known as "Ukrainian Galician Army". The alliance was supported by mutual interests of both sides: the Whites aimed to use the Galician troops as a resource in their fight against the Bolsheviks, and, in perspective, against the newly created Polish Republic; the Galician Army, meanwhile, received a chance to rest and hoped to access resources of the Entente in preparation for their expected fight against Poland in Galicia.

Galician troops were subjected to the operative command of Nikolai Shilling, who headed Denikin's forces in New Russia region, but particular units continued to be led by their previous commanders. Contacts between the two armies were facilitated by the fact, than many officers in both of them spoke German and were themselves of German or Austrian origin. According to the agreement, part of Galician Army's soldiers ill with typhus were directed for treatment to Odesa, which was then controlled by the Whites, where they met fellow Ukrainians taken prisoner or hiding. This led to a resurgence of Ukrainian cultural life in the city, including the opening of Prosvita societies, and a secret Ukrainian committee emerged with plans to use Galician troops in order to capture Odesa and the surrounding region. During an anti-White uprising organized by left-wing forces in early February 1920, soldiers of the Galician Army established contacts with local Borotbists and took part in patrolling of the city, preserving official neutrality.

Incorporation by the Red Army and dissolution

Following the defeat of the Whites by the Bolsheviks, Galician troops joined the Red Army under the name of "Red Ukrainian Galician Army". At the time 5000 active soldiers of the army were stationed in Podillia, meanwhile over 15,000 were ill with typhus. Reorganization of the army was performed by Volodymyr Zatonsky, who appointed Galician Communist Vasyl Poraiko as its new commander. The previous command was arrested, transported to Moscow and eventually executed. Additionally, a revolutionary tribunal was established in the army.

On 13 February 1920 a brigade consisting of Galician Ukrainians was formed by local Red Army command in Odesa, however, on 6 March the decision was abolished. Following the participation of Galician soldiers in a demonstration dedicated to the birthday of Taras Shevchenko, during which they carried blue-and-yellow flags and sang the national anthem, the Bolsheviks ordered Galicians to leave Odesa and rejoin the rest of the "Red Galician Army" in Podillia.

Following the reformation of the army's brigades, its units were allocated to the 12th and 14th Soviet armies, disrupting its unified structure. The new command engaged in Communist propaganda of class struggle, and the soldiers were forbidden to use Ukrainian national symbols and previous military awards. This contributed to the growth of anti-Bolshevik views among the staff.

In April 1920 two brigades of the "Red Galician Army" army left the Reds in order to rejoin the forces of the Ukrainian People's Republic, which were then in alliance with Poland. Only one Galician brigade continued fighting against the Poles as part of the 44th Tarashcha division of the Red Army, but was defeated near Makhnivka, with most of its officers being interned by Polish authorities in Tuchola. The desertion of Galician brigades led to repressions against those of its members who remained in Bolshevik-controlled territory, and many of its officers were executed. As a result, the Galician Army de-facto ceased to exist.