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Battle of Lwów (1918)
Encyclopedia
Battle of Lviv (in Ukrainian historiography called November Uprising, in Polish historiography called Defense of Lwów) begun on 1 November 1918 and lasted till May 1919 and was a six months long conflict between the forces of the West Ukrainian People's Republic and local Polish civilian population assisted later by regular Polish Army forces for the control over the city of Lviv
(Lwów, Lemberg), in what was then eastern part of Galicia and now is western part of Ukraine
. The battle sparked the Polish-Ukrainian War
, ultimately won by Poland
.
is called Lviv by the Ukrainians, Lwów by the Poles, and Lemberg by the Austrians and is the largest city in the historical region of eastern Galicia. According to the Austrian census of 1910, which listed religion and language, 51% of the city's population were Roman Catholics, 28% Jews, and 19% belonged to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
. Linguistically, 86% of the city's population used the Polish language and 11% preferred the Ukrainian language. However, of the 44 administrative divisions of the eastern half of the Austrian province Galicia, Lviv was the only one in which Poles made up a majority of the population. In eastern Galicia, Ukrainians made up approximately 65% of the population, while Poles made up 22% of the population and were numerically superior in the cities.
As a part of Austrian partition of Poland, Lviv became center of Polish culture and scholarship, as well as of Polish and Ukrainian political activity.
Due to the intervention of Archduke Wilhelm of Austria, the Habsburg who adopted a Ukrainian identity and who considered himself a Ukrainian patriot, in October 1918 two regiments consisting of mostly Ukrainian troops were brought into the city, so that most of the Austrian troops
stationed in Lviv were ethnic Ukrainians. At the same time, most of Polish units in Austro-Hungarian service were sent to other fronts in order to avoid conflict between the two groups. In addition, the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen were stationed in Bukovina
and were supposed to join the Ukrainian troops in the city. The Ukrainian National Rada (a council consisting of all Ukrainian representatives from both houses of the Austrian parliament and from the provincial diets
in Galicia and Bukovina) had planned to declare the West Ukrainian People's Republic on November 3, 1918 but moved the date forward to November 1 due to reports that the Polish liquidation committee was to transfer from Kraków
to Lviv
.
became commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian forces in Lviv, which numbered 60 officers and 1,200 soldiers. Lviv was proclaimed the capital of the West Ukrainian People's Republic, which claimed sovereignty over Eastern Galicia, the Carpathians
up to the village of Komańcza
in the west (Komancza Republic
), Carpathian Ruthenia
and northern Bukovina
. However, large part of the claimed territory, including city of Lviv, was also considered Polish by the local populations. So, while the Ukrainian residents enthusiastically supported the proclamation and the city's significant Jewish minority remained mostly neutral towards the Ukrainian proclamation, the Polish residents, constituting the majority of Lviv's inhabitants, were shocked to find themselves in a proclaimed Ukrainian state.
, students and youngsters. More than 1000 people joined the Polish ranks on the first day of the war. This enabled the Poles to retake some of the western parts of the city, while most of the city centre remained in Ukrainian hands.
Although numerically superior, well-equipped and battle-hardened, Vitovskyi's soldiers were mostly villagers and were unaccustomed to city fighting
. Furthermore, the elite Ukrainian Sich Riflemen had difficulty breaking into the city from Bukovina due to the intense resistance of Poles in the suburb of Klepariv. Although their enemies were ill-equipped and mostly untrained, they had the advantage of good knowledge of the city, which proved vital in the early days of the defence. In the following day the forces of the defenders reached roughly 6,000 men and women, more than 1400 of them gymnasium students and youngsters. Because of their heroism and mass participation in the fights, they are commonly referred to as Lwów Eaglets
. On November 3 the a few units of the Sich Riflemen
broke through and entered the city, and command over the Ukrainian forces was transferred to Col. Hnat Stefaniv
. However, a Polish assault on the Main Train Station
succeeded and the Poles managed to capture two Ukrainian supply trains, largely negating the Ukrainian superiority in arms and munitions. By November 5 the Ukrainians were pushed out of the western part of the town, yet the Polish assault on the city centre was repulsed and both sides reached a stalemate. With insufficient personnel to man a regular front-line, the front was stable only in the centre, while in other areas only the most important buildings were defended.
On November 11, 1918, Poland
declared her independence and the following day the first units of the regular forces of the Polish Army under Maj. Wacław Stachiewicz entered Przemyśl
, only some 70 kilometres away from Lviv. Believing this move to be part of the preparations to break through the Ukrainian siege, Col. Stefaniv
prepared a general offensive on the Polish-held western parts of the city. However, despite the heavy fights that raged on between November 13 and November 15, the Polish defence held out and the Ukrainians were repelled. An armistice was signed on November 18.
". After establishing order within the city, Polish authorities punished a number of people accused of participation in riots.
However, heavy fighting for other cities claimed by both Poles and Ukrainians continued, and the fights for Lviv
lasted until May 1919. After withdrawal in November, Ukrainian forces had laid siege to the city, surrounded by them from three sides. The only link between Polish forces and central Poland was the railway line from Przemyśl
. Due to its crucial importance for defenders, constant fights for the control of this line were waged, including usage of armored trains.
In Lviv itself, Ukrainians started an artillery bombardment of the city on December 22, preceding first general offensive, commenced December 27. This assault, and the following one from February, 1919, were unsuccessful and Polish forces had held the city. On February 24, 1919, a short-lived armistice was signed, based on strong demand of Entente's
representatives, who arrived in February, in a futile attempt to reconcile the belligerents and bring them into agreement.
Fights begun again on March 1, 1919. Positional skirmishes between entrenched sides lasted till May, 1919, when general Polish offensive on the Eastern-Galician front forced the Ukrainians, endangered with the risk of encirclement, to pull back from their positions around the city and thus ended the six-month long battle for the control over Lviv.
Because of that, the losses on both sides were small. The Poles lost 439 men and women, 120 of them gymnasium pupils, such as Antoni Petrykiewicz
and Jerzy Bitschan
, and 76 - Lviv University
students. Most of them were interred in the Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów
.
Ukraine°N conflict=yes°W
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
(Lwów, Lemberg), in what was then eastern part of Galicia and now is western part of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. The battle sparked the Polish-Ukrainian War
Polish-Ukrainian War
The Polish–Ukrainian War of 1918 and 1919 was a conflict between the forces of the Second Polish Republic and West Ukrainian People's Republic for the control over Eastern Galicia after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary.-Background:...
, ultimately won by Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
.
Background
The nowadays city of LvivLviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
is called Lviv by the Ukrainians, Lwów by the Poles, and Lemberg by the Austrians and is the largest city in the historical region of eastern Galicia. According to the Austrian census of 1910, which listed religion and language, 51% of the city's population were Roman Catholics, 28% Jews, and 19% belonged to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...
. Linguistically, 86% of the city's population used the Polish language and 11% preferred the Ukrainian language. However, of the 44 administrative divisions of the eastern half of the Austrian province Galicia, Lviv was the only one in which Poles made up a majority of the population. In eastern Galicia, Ukrainians made up approximately 65% of the population, while Poles made up 22% of the population and were numerically superior in the cities.
As a part of Austrian partition of Poland, Lviv became center of Polish culture and scholarship, as well as of Polish and Ukrainian political activity.
Due to the intervention of Archduke Wilhelm of Austria, the Habsburg who adopted a Ukrainian identity and who considered himself a Ukrainian patriot, in October 1918 two regiments consisting of mostly Ukrainian troops were brought into the city, so that most of the Austrian troops
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
stationed in Lviv were ethnic Ukrainians. At the same time, most of Polish units in Austro-Hungarian service were sent to other fronts in order to avoid conflict between the two groups. In addition, the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen were stationed in Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
and were supposed to join the Ukrainian troops in the city. The Ukrainian National Rada (a council consisting of all Ukrainian representatives from both houses of the Austrian parliament and from the provincial diets
Diet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...
in Galicia and Bukovina) had planned to declare the West Ukrainian People's Republic on November 3, 1918 but moved the date forward to November 1 due to reports that the Polish liquidation committee was to transfer from Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
to Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
.
Ukrainian Takeover
Between 3:30 and 4:00 A.M. on November 1, 1918 Ukrainian soldiers occupied Lviv's public utilities and military objectives, raised Ukrainian flags throughout the city and proclaimed the birth of the new Ukrainian state. The Austrian governor was interned and handed over power to the vice-director of the governorship, Volodymyr Detsykevych, who in turn recognized the supreme authority of the Ukrainian National Rada. The Austrian military commander called on his subordinates to recognize the Rada as well. Colonel Dmytro VitovskyDmytro Vitovsky
Dmytro Vitovsky was a Ukrainian politician and military leader....
became commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian forces in Lviv, which numbered 60 officers and 1,200 soldiers. Lviv was proclaimed the capital of the West Ukrainian People's Republic, which claimed sovereignty over Eastern Galicia, the Carpathians
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
up to the village of Komańcza
Komancza
Komańcza is a village in the Sanok County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern Poland. It is situated in the Bukowsko Upland mountains, located near the towns of Medzilaborce and Palota .-History:...
in the west (Komancza Republic
Komancza Republic
The Komancza Republic was an association of 30 Lemkos villages, founded in eastern Lemkivshchyna in Komańcza on 4 November 1918. It had a Ukrainiophile orientation, and planned to unite with the West Ukrainian National Republic. It was suppressed by the Polish government on 23 January 1919 during...
), Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia is a region in Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast , with smaller parts in easternmost Slovakia , Poland's Lemkovyna and Romanian Maramureş.It is...
and northern Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
. However, large part of the claimed territory, including city of Lviv, was also considered Polish by the local populations. So, while the Ukrainian residents enthusiastically supported the proclamation and the city's significant Jewish minority remained mostly neutral towards the Ukrainian proclamation, the Polish residents, constituting the majority of Lviv's inhabitants, were shocked to find themselves in a proclaimed Ukrainian state.
Polish Resistance
The Polish forces, initially numbering only about 200 people under Zdzisław Tatar-Trześniowski, organized a small pocket of resistance in a school on the western outskirts of the city, where a group of veterans of the Polish Military Organization put up a fight armed with 64 outdated rifles. After the initial clashes, the defenders were joined by hundreds of volunteers, mostly ScoutsZwiazek Harcerstwa Polskiego
Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego is the coeducational Polish Scouting organization recognized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. It was founded in 1918 and currently is the largest Scouting organization in Poland...
, students and youngsters. More than 1000 people joined the Polish ranks on the first day of the war. This enabled the Poles to retake some of the western parts of the city, while most of the city centre remained in Ukrainian hands.
Urban warfare
Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat is very different from combat in the open at both the operational and tactical level...
. Furthermore, the elite Ukrainian Sich Riflemen had difficulty breaking into the city from Bukovina due to the intense resistance of Poles in the suburb of Klepariv. Although their enemies were ill-equipped and mostly untrained, they had the advantage of good knowledge of the city, which proved vital in the early days of the defence. In the following day the forces of the defenders reached roughly 6,000 men and women, more than 1400 of them gymnasium students and youngsters. Because of their heroism and mass participation in the fights, they are commonly referred to as Lwów Eaglets
Lwów Eaglets
Lwów Eaglets is a term of affection applied to the Polish teenagers who defended the city of Lviv in Eastern Galicia, during the Polish-Ukrainian War .-Background:...
. On November 3 the a few units of the Sich Riflemen
Sich Riflemen
The Sich Riflemen Halych-Bukovyna Kurin were one of the first regular military units of the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic. The unit operated from 1917 to 1919 and was formed from Ukrainian soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army, local population and former commanders of the Ukrainian Sich...
broke through and entered the city, and command over the Ukrainian forces was transferred to Col. Hnat Stefaniv
Hnat Stefaniv
Hnat Stefaniv was a colonel of the Ukrainian Galician Army and the army of the UNR. Born in the village of Topoivtsi near Horodenka Stefaniv rose to the rank of major in the Austro-Hungarian army. In the November retreat of 1918 he was the organizor and commendant of the Zolochiv area in the...
. However, a Polish assault on the Main Train Station
Lviv train station
The Main Train Station in Lviv, Ukraine, is one of the most notable pieces of Art Nouveau architecture in former Galicia. It was opened to the public in 1904, and celebrated its centennial anniversary March 26, 2004...
succeeded and the Poles managed to capture two Ukrainian supply trains, largely negating the Ukrainian superiority in arms and munitions. By November 5 the Ukrainians were pushed out of the western part of the town, yet the Polish assault on the city centre was repulsed and both sides reached a stalemate. With insufficient personnel to man a regular front-line, the front was stable only in the centre, while in other areas only the most important buildings were defended.
On November 11, 1918, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
declared her independence and the following day the first units of the regular forces of the Polish Army under Maj. Wacław Stachiewicz entered Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
, only some 70 kilometres away from Lviv. Believing this move to be part of the preparations to break through the Ukrainian siege, Col. Stefaniv
Hnat Stefaniv
Hnat Stefaniv was a colonel of the Ukrainian Galician Army and the army of the UNR. Born in the village of Topoivtsi near Horodenka Stefaniv rose to the rank of major in the Austro-Hungarian army. In the November retreat of 1918 he was the organizor and commendant of the Zolochiv area in the...
prepared a general offensive on the Polish-held western parts of the city. However, despite the heavy fights that raged on between November 13 and November 15, the Polish defence held out and the Ukrainians were repelled. An armistice was signed on November 18.
Ukrainian Withdrawal
After two weeks of heavy fights within the city, a Polish detachment consisting of 140 officers, 1,228 soldiers, and 8 artillery guns under the command of Lt. Colonel Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski of the renascent Polish Army, broke through the Ukrainian siege and arrived to the city. On November 21 the siege was broken and the Ukrainians were repelled from the Lychakiv Cemetery, one of the most important areas of the city. The remaining Ukrainian forces withdrew during the following night, although they continued to surround Lviv from three sides."Lwów Pogrom" And Riots
Chaos during the Polish take-over of the city culminated in about two day-long riot, in which mostly Polish criminals and soldiers started pillaging the city; over the course of the riots, approximately 340 civilians, 2/3 of them Ukrainians and rest Jews, were murdered. The Jews were accused of cooperating with Ukrainians, and it was claimed that approximately 150 Jews were murdered and 500 Jewish shops and businesses were ransacked in reprisal., although the Morganthau commission reported only 64 Jewish deaths. The losses of the Jewish population were overstated in some initial reports in the western press and has come to be known as the "Lwów pogrom (1918)Lwów pogrom (1918)
The Lwów pogrom of the Jewish population of Lwów took place on November 21–23, 1918 during the Polish-Ukrainian War. In the course of the three days of unrest in the city, an estimated 52-150 Jewish residents were murdered and hundreds injured, with widespread looting carried out by Polish...
". After establishing order within the city, Polish authorities punished a number of people accused of participation in riots.
Ukrainian Siege And Polish Victory
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
lasted until May 1919. After withdrawal in November, Ukrainian forces had laid siege to the city, surrounded by them from three sides. The only link between Polish forces and central Poland was the railway line from Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
. Due to its crucial importance for defenders, constant fights for the control of this line were waged, including usage of armored trains.
In Lviv itself, Ukrainians started an artillery bombardment of the city on December 22, preceding first general offensive, commenced December 27. This assault, and the following one from February, 1919, were unsuccessful and Polish forces had held the city. On February 24, 1919, a short-lived armistice was signed, based on strong demand of Entente's
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
representatives, who arrived in February, in a futile attempt to reconcile the belligerents and bring them into agreement.
Fights begun again on March 1, 1919. Positional skirmishes between entrenched sides lasted till May, 1919, when general Polish offensive on the Eastern-Galician front forced the Ukrainians, endangered with the risk of encirclement, to pull back from their positions around the city and thus ended the six-month long battle for the control over Lviv.
Aftermath
It is to be noted that the Polish-Ukrainian fight for Lviv is sometimes referred to as the last civilized conflict by Polish historians. Because both sides were too weak to create regular front lines and lacked heavy weapons, the civilian casualties were low and did not exceed 400. Also, both sides tried to avoid destroying the city's facilities and the most important buildings were declared de-militarized zone. Among them were the hospitals, the water works, gas plant and the energy plant. Local cease-fire agreements were signed on a daily basis and there were even numerous situations where both Polish and Ukrainian soldiers played football or partied during cease fires. In his memoirs, Polish Lieutenant (later Colonel) Bolesław Szwarcenberg-Czerny noted, that during one of the cease-fires Lieutenant Levsky, the Ukrainian commander of an outpost fighting with his unit, got so drunk with the Poles that he overslept and woke up late for the cease-fire. Immediately another cease-fire was signed to allow the Ukrainian officer to return to his unit.Because of that, the losses on both sides were small. The Poles lost 439 men and women, 120 of them gymnasium pupils, such as Antoni Petrykiewicz
Antoni Petrykiewicz
Antoni Petrykiewicz – was one of the youngest Polish defenders of Lwów , over which in late 1918 a Polish-Ukrainian conflict ensued.He was a pupil in the second class at Lwów Gymnasium...
and Jerzy Bitschan
Jerzy Bitschan
Jerzy Bitschan was one of the youngest Polish defenders of Lwów, over which in late 1918 a Polish-Ukrainian conflict ensued....
, and 76 - Lviv University
Lviv University
The Lviv University or officially the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv is the oldest continuously operating university in Ukraine...
students. Most of them were interred in the Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów
Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów
The Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów is a memorial and a burial place for the Poles and their allies who died in Lviv during the hostilities of the Polish-Ukrainian War and Polish-Soviet War between 1918 and 1920....
.
Further reading
- William H. Hagen The Moral Economy of Popular Violence:The Pogrom in Lwow, November 1918 in Antisemitism And Its Opponents In Modern Poland (edited by Robert Blobaum) ISBN 0801443474
- Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5 (1993), entry written by Andrzej Chojnowski Czesław Mączyński Boje Lwowskie
Ukraine°N conflict=yes°W