Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

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sylvieK4
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Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#1

Post by sylvieK4 » 03 Feb 2011, 14:46

I'm looking for detailed maps of the short-lived "Ukraine People's Republic", and the subsequent "Ukraine State" of 1918. I am particularly interested in the nominal western boundaries of the UPR as outlined in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Apparently, on paper, the Germans "gave" the UPR a strip of territory on the south-eastern frontier of their so-called "Kingdom of Poland" west of the River Bug. This included the city of Brest-Litovsk and stretched southward beyond Wlodawa and its environs to Cholm, and I believe that, until the B-L Treaty, it was administered by the OberOst government. Any detailed maps of this particular territorial "award" will be appreciated.

Also, a few quick questions about the strip of territory west of the Bug River that was ceded to the UPR: At any point during 1918, did the short-lived governments of the UPR, or the later "Ukraine State", make any real effort to assert themselves in that region? Did these governments ever send (or attempt to send) "Ukrainian" troops to physically occupy the city of Brest-Litovsk or the remainder of the territorial award ceded from the German "Kingdom of Poland" (Wlodawa, Cholm, etc.)? Did Ukrainian administrators ever attempt to assert authority in the same region, or did physical and administerial control remain in the hands of the Germans? What was the legal status of the people who lived in these territories? (e.g. Did the Ukrainian or German authorities regard these locals as "Ukrainian" citizens, or as subject Poles still under German jurisdiction?)

Here is a very basic map of the territory I am referring to. It appears in the darkest, cross-hatched part of the illustration and comes from a Feb. 1918 article in the New York Times:

Image
Map from: wikipedia

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henryk
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Re: Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#2

Post by henryk » 03 Feb 2011, 20:36

See the map I posted, November 17th, 2009, 2:54 pm:
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... k#p1399905
I believe the strip you are referring to was removed from the Kingdom of Poland (Vistula Land) by Russia in 1912, becoming part of Russia, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kholm_Governorate


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Re: Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#3

Post by sylvieK4 » 03 Feb 2011, 21:35

Thanks, henryk. Yes, that's it! Your map has a better view of the territory I was referring to. I hope you don't mind that I am re-posting it in this thread for clarity.

Any information about the nature of Ukrainian authority in the area (or whether or not it was ever actually exercised)? How about the legal status of residents in the region? Thanks.

Image
Image originally posted by henryk. See: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... k#p1399905

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wm
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Re: Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#4

Post by wm » 03 Feb 2011, 23:04

Not to complicate matters, but Brest was not only ceded to the UPR but was declared part of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in 1918, too :)
But according to Polish wikipedia (BTW russian and ukrainian wikipedias don't deny this) Polish Army took control of Brest from Germans on February 9, 1919. There weren't any Ukrainian troops in the city.

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Re: Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#5

Post by sylvieK4 » 03 Feb 2011, 23:39

wm wrote: ...Polish Army took control of Brest from Germans on February 9, 1919. There weren't any Ukrainian troops in the city.
... Or Belarusian troops? :wink:

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Re: Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#6

Post by sylvieK4 » 04 Feb 2011, 20:25

I found a little more information about the Kholm territory in 1918. Apparently there was such an uproar in Poland - and in Austria - over the award of the Kholm district (aka: Cholm) to the Ukraine in February 1918, that Germany was moved to add a provision to the March 1918 Treaty of Brest Litovsk announcing the formation of a multi-national committee that would resolve the issue.

According to the peace deal concluded by Germany and Austria with the Ukrainian Republic in February 1918, the Ukraine was granted the Cholm territory. At the time, the City of Cholm and its environs was in the possession of Austrian-Hungary (in its zone of occupation). Many in Austria-Hungary took umbrage to the ceding of this region, as did Polish elements who were angered by the proposed removal of a territory they firmly considered their own.

As henryk pointed out above, the Cholm District, or Kholm Governnate, had been removed from Congress Poland by Imperial Russia in 1912 and incorporated into Russia proper where it was administered as part of the Kiev Governate. Evidently for this reason, the UPR sought to annex it and make it part of its own new country in 1918. In February of that year, Germany and Austria concluded the peace with the Ukraine at Brest-Litovsk - a peace separate from the principal Treaty of Brest Litovsk that was later signed with Russia in March, 1918. In this Treaty, the Cholm District was nominally granted to the UPR. There was a strong and immediate reaction to the Cholm award in Vienna, and also in Warsaw among Polish patriots. Apparently some in Austria saw the award as an insult to Austrian interests in the region instigated by militarist elements in Berlin. The Poles took offense, having been lead to believe that its national claims to the area would be upheld by the German authorities based on the region's historical ties to Congress Poland as well as the wishes (and ethnic makeup) of the local population.

According to one source, the head of the Austrian Foreign Office, Count Ottokar von Czernin, understood that the loss of the Cholm district would be a thorn in Austria's side, but eager to conclude a peace he could present to the war-weary Austrian people, he consented to give Cholm to the Ukraine in the February Treaty. However, after much opposition to the plan in Austria - including outrage from the Polish forces in Austria that had previously been exorted to battle to "fight for their historical land of Cholm" - and from agitators in Poland, enough pressure was applied to Germany to revise the Treaty with the Ukraine on this matter. (See: periodical The Living Age, eighth series, vol. X. April 1918, p. 181)

This lead to a provision in the March 1918 Treaty at Brest Litovsk calling for the formation of a committee of mixed national origin - including Poles - to determine the fate of the region. (See: Brest Litovsk: The Forgotten Peace, March 1918 John W. Wheeler-Bennett, Macmillan & Co. London, 1963, p. 235 and Texts of the Ukrainian "Peace" U.S Department of State, Gov.Printing Office, 1918. pp. 27-28.)

All of this is interesting, but it still leaves my original questions about the physical occupation and adminstration of the region, and the legal status of the people residing there in 1918 somewhat open. :? Since control of the region had not been solidly determined by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (either the February peace with the Ukraine or the amendments made in the March 1918), perhaps we might conclude that the Germans retained de facto control over the territory throughout 1918 and into 1919 (that is, if we include the transitional period after the Nov. 1918 armistice when post-war German troops remained in the area, prior to the arrival of Polish forces).

But, given that it was such a chaotic period, who knows. :roll: If you know, please share it here!

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Re: Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#7

Post by henryk » 04 Feb 2011, 21:33

"A History of Ukraine" Paul Robert Magocsi, University of Toronto Press. 1996
This contains detailed information on the Ukrainian National Republic. It started with the Ukrainian Revolution, 13 Mar 1917, against the Russian Empire. The Central Rada was formed in Kiev, and established the UNR, in opposition to the Petrograd Provisional government. By agreement, the Rada's authority was limited to Volhynia, Podolia, Kiev, Poltava, and southern Chernihiv. After the Bolshevik government was formed, the Rada added Kharkiv, Katerynosslav, Kherson and Taurida (excluding the Crimea), with the UNR to be in federation with Bolshevik Russia. On 17 Dec 1917, A Soviet Ukrainian government was formed in Kharkiv, subordinate to Bolshevik Petrograd. In Dec 1917, the Red Army took eastern Ukraine, but not Kiev. On 9 Feb 1918, Kiev was captured. On 9 Feb 1918, the Central Powers and UKR signed the Treaty 0f Brest-Litovsk, with southern border the original AH and Russian border, and the northern TBD. Claimed secret clauses gave part of Eastern Galicia to the Ukraine and the Ukraine gave up the territory west of the Dniester River. The treaty added Kolm, and southern Minsk and Grodno provinces. The UKR, Germany and AH drove out the Soviets from Kiev, 1 Mar 1918.
On 28 Apr 1918 the German Army deposed the Central Rada. They formed a new subservient Ukrainian Government headed by Skoropads'kyi. On 14 Nov 1918 he declared a federative union of Ukraine and a future non-Bolshevik Russia. A competing government, Directory, under the Ukrainian National Union, under Petura and Vynnychenko was set up. With the departure of the German Army., the Directory took over Kiev, with a reestablished UKR under them. It united with the Western National Republic of Galicia. In !919 there was war between the UKR, Soviet Russia, White Russia and Poland, along with internal struggles with Ukrainian Bolsheviks

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Re: Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#8

Post by wm » 04 Feb 2011, 23:26

Well, the answer is no, my family lived near Brest and they say so. :)

The rail line Kovel–Brest–Białystok–Grajewo was used for evacuation German troops so German army did not allow anyone nearby before February 9, 1919.
At the beginning of February, the neighborhood of Brest looked like this:
Image

From mid-February to the end of March the the front looked like this:
Image

So both the Ukrainian army and the almost nonexistent army of Belorussian People's Republic had no chance to seize control of Brest or the territory nearby.

maps are from the very interesting Mark Plant's site http://pygmy-wars.50megs.com/

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Re: Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#9

Post by sylvieK4 » 05 Feb 2011, 01:28

Thanks, wm, (and thanks to your family :wink: ) for the info. If the maps are accurate, and the Ukraine never attempted to assert physical or administrative control over the region from Brest to Cholm, then it appears that the German army remained present throughout 1918 and into 1919. Which leads me back to an earlier question: What was the legal status of the residents of the Cholm District during this period? On paper at least, they were perceived alternately as subjects of the German military (possibly under OberOst), the Ukraine, Austria-Hungary, and of course as Poles by the Polish nationalists who had hoped to incorporate the territory into a post-war Poland.

Since the Ukraine never took real control of the region, did the residents of the Cholm district remain under German jurisdiction throughout 1918? Were the locals north of the Austrian Occupation Zone subject to the same legal and administrative processes as Poles living in the German-sponsored "Kingdom of Poland" (General Gouvernment Warsaw), or were they under control of the OberOst system?

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Re: Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#10

Post by wm » 06 Feb 2011, 12:44

We are clearly in need of another map, here :)

Image

The blue line indicates the territory of Congress Poland ceded by treaty of Brest-Litovsk to the Ukrainian Republic.
The red line line shows the territory administered by the Ober Ost and under German Army jurisdiction. It was an entirely different animal from the Kingdom of Poland where the Regency Council and the State Council had limited administrative powers.

Chełm, Zamość, Chrubieszów and Tomaszów counties were in Austrian Occupation Zone and the Austrian Government was the source of law, I suppose. At least there were more freedom in there than in the Ober Ost territory.

Both territories stayed that way prior to the arrival of Polish forces. For example, Helena Roth says in her memories Brest remained under Ober Ost jurisdiction to January, 1919. She traveled by train from Zhytomyr to Brest on September, 1918. There was a border between Ukrainian Republic and Ober Ost but she doesn't remember where.
Permits from Ukrainian and German authorities were required for crossing the border and the German Army offered compulsory delousing for everyone there.

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Re: Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#11

Post by sylvieK4 » 06 Feb 2011, 15:45

wm wrote:We are clearly in need of another map, here :)
:)

Thanks for your post, wm! It is very helpful. Do you have citations/stats for the map and the Roth memoir?

Also, do you (or anyone else reading this) know of any good, detailed sources describing the nature of OberOst rule (that is, day-to-day life for residents of the region as well as administrative aspects)? Thanks!

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Re: Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#12

Post by wm » 07 Feb 2011, 23:35


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Re: Ukraine Republic 1918 - History and Maps

#13

Post by sylvieK4 » 08 Feb 2011, 00:53

Dziękuję, wm! 8-)

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