Ukrainian People's Army
Ukrainian People's Army | |
---|---|
Land warfare | |
Size | 100,000 personnel at its peak |
Engagements |
|
Commanders | |
Commander | Symon Petliura |
The Ukrainian People's Army (Ukrainian: Армія Української Народної Республіки), also known as the Ukrainian National Army (UNA) or by the derogatory term Petliurivtsi (Ukrainian: Петлюрівці), was the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1921). They were often quickly reorganized units of the former Imperial Russian Army or newly formed volunteer detachments that later joined the national armed forces. The army lacked a certain degree of uniformity, adequate leadership to keep discipline and morale. Unlike the Ukrainian Galician Army, the Ukrainian People's Army did not manage to evolve a solid organizational structure, and consisted mostly of volunteer units, not regulars.[1]
History
Creation: Military congresses
When the
The next congress, defying a ban placed by the Russian Provisional Government, took place on June 18–23, 1917 in Kiev. At this congress the 1st "Universal" of the Central Rada was read and the first elections to that institution took place. The last congress took place on November 2–12, 1917 and also in Kiev. Due to the civil unrest that was initiated by the Bolsheviks across the country also known as the October Revolution the congress took longer than its predecessors as it was interrupted for a few days in order to create the first Ukrainian Regiment for the Defense of Revolution (headed by Colonel Yuri Kapkan). The main requests of the congress were proclamation of the Ukrainian Democratic Republic, full Ukrainization of army and navy, and an immediate peace treaty.
At the time, the Central Rada did not see the need for a
After taking power, the Hetmanate government established its own plans for a standing army. These were to consist of 310,000 military personnel divided into eight territorial corps, with an annual budget of 1,254 million
War of Independence
The Bolsheviks
In December 1918, after the Directorate's coming to power, the army reached its peak at an estimated 100,000 recruits.[9] These armed forces proved to be neither battleworthy nor well-organized.[10] At the time most of Pavlo Skoropadskyi's Ukrainian State forces changed sides and joined the Directory.[10]
In January 1919, Ukraine declared war on
After failing to capture Kiev on their own, the Ukrainian army signed the
Structure
The headquarters of the Ukrainian Armed forces was called the General Bulawa. The original structure of the army, as designated by the
- Sich Riflemen, which were disbanded in late 1919 (5,000 servicemen)[9]
- Zaporizhtsy group (3,000 servicemen)[9]
- Volynska group (4,000 servicemen)[9]
- Udovychenko's regiment (1,200 servicemen)[9]
- Tutunnyka's group (1,500)[9]
In May 1920 in the middle of the
- 1st Infantry Zaporizhska Division[15]
- 2nd Infantry Volynska Division[15]
- 3rd Infantry Zalizna Division[15]
- 4th Infantry Kyivska Division[15]
- 5th Infantry Khersonska Division[15]
- 1st Machine Gun Division[15]
- 1st Cavalry Division[15]
Ranks and insignia
Following the reformation that took place among the Ukrainian military units the older Russian rank structure and insignia were dropped and replaced with those of the Hetmanate times. Most notable is the introduction of the rank of Otaman that replaced the General ranks of the Russian army. The army headquarters became known as the General Bulawa. The military representative in the Directorate of Ukraine, Symon Petliura was given the rank of the Chief Otaman. The new position was introduced by the former Russian General and later Otaman Oleksander Hrekov.
Ranks (in descending order) since end of 1917:
- General ranks
- Otaman Frontu
- Otaman Armii
- Otaman Korpusu
- Otaman Divizii
- Otaman Brihady (Brigadier general)
- Other officers
- Polkovnyk (Colonel)
- Osavul (Lieutenant colonel)
- Kurinny (Major)
- Captain)
- Pivsotenny (Lieutenant)
- Enlisted
Ranks have altered in June 1918, but only for officers:
- General (Heneral)
- Heneralnyi Bunchuzhnyi (General)
- Heneralnyi Znachkovyi (Lieutenant general)
- Heneralnyi Khorunzhyi (Major general)
- non-General
- Polkovnyk (Colonel)
- Viyskova Starshyna (Lieutenant colonel)
- Sotnyk (Captain)
- Znachkovyi (Lieutenant)
- Khorunzhyi (2 Lieutenant)
Main military formations (UPR)
- 1st Ukrainian Corps, former 34th Russian Corps
- 2nd Sich Zaporozhian Corps, former 6th Russian Corps
- Kurin of Sich Riflemen (not to be confused with the Austrian military formation of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen), formed out of the Austrian prisoners of war interned in Russian concentration camps
- Cavalry Regiment of Sich Riflemen
- Khmelnytsky Cossack Regiment (Bohdanivtsi)
- Polubotko Cossack Regiment (Polubotkivtsi)
- Zaporizhian Corps
- 1st Zaporizhian Infantry Regiment (Hetman Doroshenko IR)
- 2nd Zaporizhian Infantry Regiment
- 3rd Zaporizhian Infantry Regiment (Hetman Khmelnytsky IR)
- 3rd Haidamaka Infantry Regiment
- 1st Zaporizhian Regiment of Haidamaka Cavalry (Kosh Hordienko Cavalry)
- 1st Zaporizhian Engineer Regiment
- 1st Zaporizhian Artillery Regiment
- 1st Zaporizhian Auto-Armor Division
- Cavalry-Mountainous Artillery Division
- Zaporizhian Air-Floating Squadron
- Black Zaporizhians (1 Cavalry Regiment of Black Zaporizhians)
- Free Cossacks
- Ukrainian Steppe Division (Anti-Bolshevik revolutionary-military unit)
- Ukrainian Marines
- 1st Riflemen-Cavalry Division (Gray-Coats)
- Blue-Coats (military formations)
- Sloboda Ukraine Haidamaka Kosh
- 3rd Iron Riflemen Division
- 20th Pavlohrad Cavalry Regiment
- 6th Sich Division (former 2nd Division)
- Kiev Insurgent Division of Yu.Tyutyunyk
- Ukrainian Navy
- Ukrainian People's Republic Air Fleet
Main military formations (WUPR)
List of generals
- Lieutenant (Poruchik) General Borys Bobrovskyi (1868 – 1918), Major General of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Lieutenant General Nikolai Bredov (1873 – 1945), Lieutenant General of the former Imperial Russian Army (brief period in 1918)
- Lieutenant (Poruchik) General Serhiy Diadiusha (1870 – 1933), Major General of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Lieutenant (Poruchik) General Fedir Kolodiy (1872 – 1920), Major General of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Lieutenant (Poruchik) General Pavlo Kudriavtsev (1873 – 1921), Lieutenant Colonel (Voyskovoy Starshina) of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Lieutenant (Poruchik) General Mykola Koval-Medzvetskyi (1868 – 1929), Major General of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Lieutenant (Poruchik) General Antin Maslinyi (1865 – 1929), Major General of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Lieutenant (Poruchik) General Oleksandr Mykhailiv (1868 – ????), Major General of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Lieutenant (Poruchik) General Nikolai Volodchenko (1862 – 1945), Lieutenant General of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Lieutenant (Poruchik) General Oleksandr Vyshnivskyi (1890 – 1975), Sub-Lieutenant (Podporuchik) of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Lieutenant (Poruchik/Znachkovy) General Petro Yeroshevych (1870 – 1945), Major General of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Colonel (Polkovnyk) General Sergei Delvig (1866 – 1944), Lieutenant General of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Colonel (Polkovnyk) General Oleksiy Galkin (1866 – 1941), Lieutenant General of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Colonel (Polkovnyk) General Mykhailo Omelianovych-Pavlenko (1878 – 1952), Colonel of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Colonel (Polkovnyk) General Pavlo Shandruk (1889 – 1979), Sub-Lieutenant (Podporuchik) of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Colonel (Polkovnyk) General Oleksandr Udovychenko (1887 – 1975), Stabskapitän of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Colonel (Polkovnyk) General Andriy Vovk (1882 – 1969), Sub-Lieutenant (Podporuchik) of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Colonel (Polkovnyk) General Mykola Yunakiv (1871 – 1931), Lieutenant General of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Colonel (Polkovnyk) General Oleksandr Zahrodskyi (1889 – 1968), Stabskapitän of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Colonel (Polkovnyk) General Viktor Zelinskyi (1864 – 1940), Major General of the former Imperial Russian Army
- Full (Bunchuzhny) General Alexander Ragoza (originally Oleksandr Rohoza; 1858 – 1919), General of the Infantry of the former Imperial Russian Army (in 1918)
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Lev Shankovsky, Danylo Husar Struk. "Army of the Ukrainian National Republic". Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
- ^ Ukrayinska Pravda(6 December 2018)
- ^ a b "Ukrainian-Soviet War, 1917–21". Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- ^ a b c "Ukraine - World War I and the struggle for independence". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- Ukrayinska Pravda(18 April 2018)
- ^ Tynchenko, Yaros (23 March 2018), "The Ukrainian Navy and the Crimean Issue in 1917-18", The Ukrainian Week, retrieved October 14, 2018
- ^ Germany Takes Control of Crimea, New York Herald (18 May 1918)
- ^ a b War Without Fronts: Atamans and Commissars in Ukraine, 1917-1919 by Mikhail Akulov, Harvard University, August 2013 (page 102 and 103)
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Довідники/Довідник з історії України". Вiртуальна Русь. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i The Army and Independence, The Ukrainian Week (12 April 2013)
- ^ Abbott p.19
- ^ Abbott p.18
- ^ Davies, White Eagle..., Polish edition, p.99-103
- ^ Abbott, p.20
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Abbott, p 19, 20
- ^ In honour of the disbanded Sich Riflemen
- Abbott, Peter (2004). Ukrainian Armies 1914-55. ISBN 1-84176-668-2.
External links
- Ukrainian Encyclopedia (in English)
- Ukrainian Armies 1914-55 By Peter Abbott, Oleksiy Rudenko (google books) (in English)