The Demise of the Ukraine

[Blooded]

History of The Great Retreat

The Ukrainian Declaration of War was not an entirely unexpected event for the Russian High Command. Something had been brewing for months according to signals intelligence and general 'word on the street'. But ferreting out the details from the general chaos of the Ukrainian government and military actions proved difficult. The intercept stations and codebreaking sections needed many more trained personnel. Regardless the High command was still somewhat taken aback by the declaration.

It took several days to make the decision to pull Russian Forces out of Poland as fast as possible. Hetman Skorapadskyi protested vehemently, knowing this would leave a huge gap in frontline forces facing the ESC and Hapsburg Empire, but had little choice to except it so as too not aggravate Russia. The Hetman did place many delays and barriers to delay the immediate evacuation of the 3 Russian Corps, Hoping to intice Russian support for his Bavarian misadventure. After several days when the Russian Stavka became aware of the acquiescence to further delays by the current Russian Marshal of the so-called 1st Russo-Polish Army, they immediately sacked him. Promoting a relatively unknown Cavalry General- Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny.

Budyonny immediately commandeered what locomotives he could find and began the rest of his forces marching to the rear, to Warsaw. Budyonny advised his corps commanders to stay out of Ukrainian affairs, but as it turned out, this was not possible.

The slow evacuation by railway was exacerbated by transportation shortages. Soon after the reversals on the Polish Front Hetman Skorapadskyi, claiming as reason-the theft of Ukrainian property and abuse of Ukrainian citizens, ordered the disarming and arrest of the 1st Russo-Polish Army, if it did not immediately assist in supporting Ukrainian forces, thus betraying his initial promise of safe passage. In the chaos that was Poland, this order could simply not be enforced. But its issuance was to have grave effects.

Various governmental authorities along the way requested that the Russians give up their guns, this was not done. With tensions high the Russians provoked what is generally referred to as the Revolt of the Army. Conflict already existed between trains of Troops going east to 'freedom' while Ukrainian Troops were shipping west to fight. According to one published news account, the Russians stopped a Ukrainian train outside Bailystok and shot a soldier who had apparently thrown something at their train. Then the local Polish government arrested some of the Russians. Members of the Army then stormed the railway station, and subsequently occupied the whole city of  Bailystok. This incident triggered further hostilities between the 1st RP Army and the Ukrainians.

The various parts of the 1st RP Army found themselves strung out and separated along the railway. These scattered forces fought a complicated series of battles with the primary objective of re-connecting the various groups and then getting to Lithuania and Belarus territory once the Russians declared war.

At its peak, the Legion took over a considerable area around the railway from just east of Warsaw all the way to Belarus and northern Poland. A diamond shape over 100 miles across.  In the process, they captured a large amount of military, civilian equipment and material, controlling their temporary territory through the use of many armed and improvised armored trains.

Their existence played a crucial role in the rise of other anti-Ukrainian groups and Russian-backed or local independence movements.

(Events and text largely based on The Czech Legion- history at its strangest)

[Kaiser Kirk]

Nice :) 

The increased tensions with Russia were to reflected in the Ukraine not pulling more troops off the Russian border the following weeks. Having already halved the forces there, and diminished the forces on the Hapsburg-Romanian border by a third, the Ukraine is now faced with an annoyed Russia, mobilized Hapsburgs and ESC and swelling numbers of Bavarians, not to mention a sizable revolt that could become general should there be a good spark... hmm where did that Archbishop go...

[ledeper]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSe38dzJYkY
;) ;) :D ;D

[Blooded]

The Russian Declaration of War

Radio Address given by Baron Boris Vladimirovich Stürmer, Foreign Minister(known to be Pro-Germanic)

For some time now the nations of Russia have attempted to assist the reformation of the Ukrainian state and its backward leadership to allow it to stand on its own as a modern nation.  The abusive controls placed upon these nations by the succesive corrupt leaders of the Ukrainian  State and now its insane attack upon its neighbor, Bavaria, has proven that our sister state will never have the good of its citizens placed ahead of the petty desires of its rulers.

Recently, The Commonwealth of Russia has recieved many petitions regarding the recognition of Independence of the Ukrainian States of Poland, Belarus, Courland, Lithuania and even the Tauride. With the news of the arrest, imprisonment and even death of some of these leaders, we have decided to recognize the just cause of independence of these states and have pledged to support and defend that Independence.

To that end, The Commonwealth of Russia does hereby declare that a State of War now exists between ourselves and the corrupt government of the Ukrainian Empire. Notice was delivered to the October Palace three hours ago.

I regret that these events have been necessary, and hope that the Ukrainian people will rise up in arms against its corrupt leadership and force a quick resolution to these unfortunate events.

[Blooded]

October Palace, Kiev


Hetman Skorapadskyi fumed. The reports kept coming in, setback after setback. The latest turn of events, the ESC threat and the stab in the back by Russia was all too much. His dreams had turned to dust, the situation was nearly hopeless. "They will pay" He cursed "Dearly!"

[Blooded]

The short history of the Belarus National Republic

After the 1919 death of Czar Cyril, active discussions started in Belarus about either gaining autonomy within the newly democratic Ukraine or declaring independence. Representatives of most Belarusian regions and of different (mostly left-wing) political powers, including the Belarusian Socialist Assembly, the Christian democratic movement and the General Jewish Labour Bund, formed a Belarusian national council in late 1919. The Council started working on establishment of Belarusian governmental institutions. The Ukrainians did not recognize it and interfered in its activity.

Throughout 1919 the Russians had negotiations with the Belarusian National Republic regarding an eventual recognition, but later decided instead to establish a Russian sponsored government of Belarus.

Parallel with negotiations that started between the Russians and Ukrainians, the Belarusian Council started actively demanding recognition of an autonomous status for Belarus, with continuing internal discussions on whether it should become an autonomy within the Ukraine, Russia or declare national independence.

In its First Constituent Charter, passed on November 11, 1919, the Belarusian Council declared itself the only legitimate power in the territory of Belarus this went unrecognized by the Ukraine. On January 19, the Belarusian Council issued a Second Charter where it declared the establishment of the Belarusian National Republic. The Belarusian Council became the provisional government of Belarus and was renamed the Council of the Belarusian National Republic.

There are attempts to create regular armed forces of the newly established Belarusian republic. Belarusian military units started to form within the disorganized Ukrainian army already in 1920.

On January 25, 1919, the Council issued a third charter declaring the independence of Belarus. Following that, local meetings were held within Belarusian cities that issued resolutions supporting the creation of an independent republic. In its Third Constituent Charter, the following territories were claimed for BNR: Mogilev Governorate (province), as well as Belarusian parts of Minsk Governorate, Grodno Governorate (including Belastok), Vilna Governorate, and Vitebsk Governorate. The areas were claimed because of a Belarusian majority according to demographic research, although there were also numbers of Lithuanians, Poles, Russians and people speaking pidgins of Belarusian, Lithuanian and Polish, as well as many Jews, mostly in towns and cities (in some towns they made up a majority). Some of the Jews spoke Russian as their native tongue; others spoke Yiddish.

General Stanislau Bulak-Balakhovich supported the Government of BNR and openly positioned his army as a Belarusian National Army. However, he ignored orders of the Belarusian Government, cooperated with Russian military leaders that opposed the idea of Belarus' independence and had ambitions to become dictator of Belarus, therefore the Council of the BNR had mostly a negative attitude towards Bulak-Balakhovich.

The major military action of the Belarusian Army was the Zhlobin defence action in late Jan. 1920. The Council of the BNR, based at that time in Minsk, sent officers and what few troops it possessed to help organize armed anti-Ukrainian resistance in the town of Zhlobin. Zhlobin served as a major rail hub for the arrival of Ukrainian forces replacing the northern corps which were leaving for the Polish Front. The Belarusian army managed to resist for weeks against the larger powers of the Ukrainian 7th Corps.

This delay was instrumental in derailing the movement of the 7th into its positions around north and eastern Belarus, allowing three Russian Corps to overrun the mostly complete 58th Ukrainian Infantry Division(7th Corps) in its newly arrived positions around Vitebsk and Orsha. Many elements of the 8th and 12th Rifle Corps which had not yet left for Poland(support and Corps Artillery) were overrun as well.

Other actions of the independent Belarusian government during its short existence include establishing close ties with the Russian Commonwealth, organizing food supplies to Belarus from Russia and thereby preventing hunger in the country.

Being surrounded by more powerful neighbors and having no allies beyond Russia, the BNR lost its independence very fast. The BNR realized it could not afford to protect itself and did not become a real state with a constitution, definite territoriality, etc. However, the creation of the BNR was the first step in a demonstration of resolve which went far in its joining the Commonwealth of Russia in a position of power. In April, Anton Lutskevich, the Prime Minister of Belarus, met with Pyotr Stolypin personally in Minsk. Shortly thereafter Stolypin issued the 'Proclamation to the Inhabitants of the Belarusian National Republic' stating that the new Russian administration would grant them cultural and political autonomy, allowingthe Belarussian peoples to finally express elements of their re-emerging national cultural life.

With Belarussias admittance to the Commonwealth of Russia and the adoption of the Commonwealth Constitution and ratification of all procederal documents on July 10th, 1920 the BNR ceased to exist as a independant state. By that time the Russians had already implemented a rather liberal regime towards the Belarusian language and national culture and this attracted the sympathies of many Belarusian organizations and activists locally and abroad.

(Events and text largely based on the Belarusian People's Republic )

[Blooded]

Events in Courland and the creation of Latvia

After the death of the Ukrainian Czar Cyril, demands for self-determination were at first confined to autonomy, but later in 1919 the lack of decisive governmental power in the Ukrainian conglomerate created a power vacuum. The People's Council of Latvia proclaimed the independence of the new country in Riga on January 28, 1920, with Karlis Ulmanis becoming the head of the provisional government.

The War of Independence that followed was part of a general chaotic period of civil and new border wars. By the early spring of 1920, there were actually three governments — Ulmanis' government; the Russian-Latvian government led by Peteris Stucka, whose forces, supported by the Russian Army, occupied almost all of the country; and the Baltic German government of the United Baltic Duchy, headed by Andrievs Niedra and supported by the Baltische Iron Division(a conglomeration of troops that had left the Local Ukrainian Corps).

Estonian and Livonian forces(serving in the Russian 1st Grenadier 'Baltic' Corps) defeated the Ukrainians at the critical Battle of Jelgava in late February 1920, after many attacks by a predominantly Ukrainian force — the 17th Rifle Division — fighting out of Riga were repelled in early February. At the battle of Jelgava an additional division of the 3rd Ukrainian Corps- the 32nd Rifle Division- was routed and surrendered on February 22nd. Leading the cutoff 17th ID to surrender itself soon thereafter. Eastern Courland was largely cleared of Ukrainian forces by Russian troops by this time.

The 3rd Ukrainian Cavalry Corps was spread too thin all along the Northern side of the Front, and unable to keep back the torrent of Russian forces, estimated at 4 Corps along the front held by the 3rd. Nevertheless the Ukrainians fought valiant rearguard actions and acquited themselves well on several occasions. In the end- greatly outnumbered, deviod of ammunition reserves and losing troops daily to desertions en-masse the 3rd never really had its chance to shine.

Cut off to the south by the ESC Borders and soldiers and the saturation of Russian troops(from the retreating 1st Russian-Polish Army-see the Great Retreat)in poland and SW Belarus and with no escape possible to the east through central Belarus, Ukrainian commanders had few options. All Ukrainian troops, including the later surrounded 6th Corps, finally surrendering by March 23rd in both Lithuania and Courland.

A freely elected Constituent assembly convened on May 1, 1920, and adopted the liberal Commonwealth constitution and joined with the Livonian Governate creating the new Governate of Latvia in August 1920.

Radical land reform is the central political question of the young state. In 1897, 61.2% of the rural population had been landless, Russian supported leaders have used the positive example of the drastic Russian land reforms to show what is possible in the new Commonwealth.

(Events and text largely based on the United Baltic Duchy and Latvian independence movements)

[Sachmle]

So by mid/late 1920 there is a Latvia and Belarus is part of Russia instead of Ukraine, right? Or did I misread something?

[TexanCowboy]

LATVIA!!!!!....oh, wait, wrong sim.

Blooded, I've got a bunch of information on Latvia if you want to see it....