Lieutenant Colonel Karl Dolezhal’s Views on the Future of Military Operations of the Galician Army in the Dnieper Ukraine in July 1919
Journal Title: Українознавство - Year 2018, Vol 1, Issue 66
Abstract
In the study, the author analyzes the report of the Galician Army Lieutenant Colonel Karl Dolezhal to the military-political leadership of the WR of UPR, which was formulated on July 15, 1919. The report referred to the employment of the Galician Army after its abandoning the territories of Eastern Galicia when the Galician military forces in the Dnieper Ukraine had to fight with several opponents. The views of Karl Dolezhal clearly reflect the contemporary discussions between the Western Ukrainian political leadership and the military commanders on further armed struggle, in particular on the choice of the main military operation in the direction of Kyiv or Odessa. In his recommendations, Karl Dolezhal, as well as a significant part of the authors of the memoirs on the events of that time, was a supporter of a military campaign in the direction of Odessa. In his opinion, the deployment in the Northern Black Sea region would allow the army to recover, as winter in Kyiv region was much more severe. Also, in the views of the then politicians and military officers of the UPR, access to the Black Sea ports made it possible to replenish military supplies, in particular with the help of the Entente. However, in his recommendations, Karl Dolezhal did not take into account a number of important factors that influenced the Galician Army after the Zbruch transition, in particular the inevitable war with the Volunteer Army. The concentration of the main striking power in the Odessa direction would not have been as easy as the colonel had imagined. First of all, because Denikin was the first to seize the Northern Black Sea. The very chances of victory in the war against the Army of General Anton Denikin were small due to his support by the Entente. Thus, the White Guards had better material security and were much more numerous than the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In today’s armed confrontation with Russia, one should take into account the lesson given by this short episode of the First Ukrainian liberation movements of 1917–1921: when assessing the situation, one should consider all its possible components in the most unfavorable combination even if intuitively they would rather be avoided.
Authors and Affiliations
Mykhailo Halushchak
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP444810
- DOI 10.30840/2413-7065.1(66).2018.131125
- Views 116
- Downloads 0
Politization of Contemporary Ethnonational Processes in Donetsk Area: Risks of Irreversibility
The article considers the peculiarities of ethnonational processes in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, discloses social and political foundations of shaping specific Donetsk identity as the basis for formation of a separated...
Forms of Preserving Ukrainian Traditions in Diaspora Electronic Publications of the USA (2012–2018)
The article discovers forms of cultural preservation, ways of presenting the image of Ukraine through the cultural heritage, and specifics of their manifestation in many areas of life that stipulates celebration of natio...
The Exhibition in Honor of a Centennial since the Issuing of the First Stamps of the Ukrainian State
The Exhibition in Honor of a Centennial since the Issuing of the First Stamps of the Ukrainian State
Feminine Mystery Practices in Kateryna Hrushevska’s Research and European Scientific Methodology of That Time
The article examines K. Hrushevska’s research of feminine ritual (including witchcraft) in comparison with the methodology of her European contemporaries E. Tylor, J. Frazer, and others. The cult of matrons in different...
State-Building Activities of the Ukrainian Yaroslav Potapenko (1975—2016)
The article analyzes state-building activities of the nationalist patriot Ya. Potapenko. The author is convinced that such heroic leaders contribute to the establishment and development of the Ukrainian political nation.