Ukraine’s current war with Russia is not the first time the country has battled for its independence. Between 1917 and 1921, a vicious and complex conflict was waged for the freedom of the nation. But this was not just a war against the old Russian overlords – the Ukrainian War of Independence had countless belligerents including the Russians, Germany and Poland. When the Ukrainians were not fighting these nations, they were fighting each other, with nationalists, Bolsheviks, conservatives and even anarchists everywhere. Ukraine’s War of Independence is often seen as a footnote to the Russian Civil War, but it is very much its own story.
The road to war
Under the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, Ukraine was divided in two. The western region, historically called Galicia, was part of the Austrian Empire, while the majority was incorporated into the Russian Empire.
Subsequently, when the First World War began in 1914, Ukraine was the primary battleground of the Eastern Front between Russia and the Central Powers and subjected to horrific violence. As Tsarist forces invaded Galicia in 1914, the retreating Austrians executed thousands of suspected collaborators. Once in control of the country, the Tsarist regime attempted a programme of ‘Russification’. The Ukrainian language was prohibited, national institutions were banned and the Greek Catholic Church was liquidated.
This ended abruptly in February 1917, when Tsar Nicholas II abdicated after the February Revolution. The Provisional Government that replaced him was more sympathetic to the empire’s non-Russian peoples, and the Tsarist restrictions on freedom of language, speech and assembly were lifted.
Denne historien er fra Issue 109-utgaven av History of War.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 109-utgaven av History of War.
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THE RUHR POCKET
The world's largest industrial complex, the Ruhr was where Nazi Germany's war machine was forged. If the Allies could capture it the conflict in Europe would effectively be over
HITLER'S 'ALPINE FORTRESS
With the Rhine crossed and the Ruhr taken, Allied Supreme Commander Dwight D Eisenhower had to decide what came next. His orders would help shape the fate of Europe for decades to come
BLUNTING THE SULTAN'S SPEAR
During his 1532 invasion, Suleiman the Magnificent faced a seemingly simple obstacle in the small fortress of Koszeg, Hungary. What ensued was a bloody struggle between Ottoman firepower and imperial grit
BATTLE OF THE NILE NELSON vs NAPOLEON
In 1798, Britain's most celebrated admiral pursued the French across the Mediterranean, attempting to thwart General Bonaparte's mission to Egypt. The pursuit culminated in what was arguably the most strategically important naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars
FREDERICKSBURG
The Confederate invasion of the north had been repulsed in Maryland by the Army of the Potomac. President Abraham Lincoln now urged his military to seize the initiative and crush the Confederates in the east and capture their capital Richmond. It would culminate in another catastrophic defeat
REMAGEN GATEWAY TO THE REICH
On 7 March 1945 the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine at Remagen was still standing - capturing it intact was vital to the Allied advance into Nazi Germany
A13 MK III CRUISER COVENANTER TANK
Plagued with mechanical issues, the Covenanter was envisioned as an improved cruiser design but never deployed for overseas service
INSIDE PICKETT'S CHARGE
On 3 July 1863 a Confederate regiment – the 19th Virginia Infantry – marched into the jaws of Hell in one of the most infamous events in American military history
Heroes of the Victoria Cross: MILTON FOWLER GREGG
On 28 September, 1918, this Royal Canadian Regiment officer led his men through uncut barbed wire into enemy trenches
MARCH 1945
To commemorate 80 years since the Second World War, History of War will be taking a look at some of the key events taking place during each month of the conflict
