The First Winter Campaign ( Ukrainian: ''Перший Зимовий Похід;'' 6 December 1919 — 6 May 1920) was a campaign by the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...

against the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

during the Soviet-Ukrainian War. The main task of the Winter Campaign was to maintain the presence of the

Ukrainian People's Army The Ukrainian People's Army (), also known as the Ukrainian National Army (UNA) or by the derogatory term Petliurivtsi (, ), was the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1921). They were often quickly reorganized units of the former I ...

(UPA) in Ukrainian territory against the enemies, through guerrilla action. At the end of November 1919, the remnants of the Ukrainian forces were surrounded (Lyubar-Chortoria-Myropil). The

Ukrainian Galician Army The Ukrainian Galician Army ( UGA; ), was the combined military of the West Ukrainian People's Republic during and after the Polish-Ukrainian War. It was called the "Galician army" initially. Dissatisfied with the alliance of Ukraine and Polan ...

, due to Petliura's agreement with the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

, was forced to join

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Anton Denikin's Russian Volunteer Army after 6 November 1919. The

troops were surrounded by three enemy armies — the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, Russian Volunteer Army and

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

(with which reconciliation was achieved at that time); in addition, Ukrainian units suffered from the

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

epidemic. On 6 December 1919, at a military meeting in Nova Chortoria, it was finally decided to carry out a Winter Campaign by units of the UPR and the rear of the

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (; ), abbreviated to (), also known as the Southern White Army was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1917 to 1920. The Volunteer Army fought against Bolsheviks and the Makhnovists on the ...

. About 5,000

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

and 35,000–60,000

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

took part in the campaign against the

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

and

Volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

Armies. However, the composition of the Ukrainian combat-ready units numbered 2,000 bayonets, 1,000 sabers and 14 guns.

Background

The

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

saw tremendous upheaval in

, and in the short period between the spring of 1917 and late of 1919, three governments had taken shape in the capital,

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. However, the political situation was difficult because of the international pressure from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and especially the

. By late 1919, it became clear that conventional warfare against the Bolshevik forces in

had become impossible, so the

had decided to demobilize its military and conduct partisan warfare behind Bolshevik lines.Encyclopedia of Ukraine
/ref>

Participating Units

There were three main Ukrainian units - they were renamed divisions in February 1920. Group "Zaporizhzhia" was commanded by the Ukrainian General Andriy Huliy-Hulenko; Group “Kyiv" was commanded by the Ukrainian General Yuriy Tyutyunnyk; and Group "Volhynia" was commanded by the Ukrainian General Oleksander Zahrodsky. The chief of staff during the campaign was Andriy Dolud.

Main Battles

During the entire campaign, around 2,500 kilometers were covered by the enemy, more than 50 battles

has successfully won. Because of the nature of the campaign, the armies covered much territory. Originally the main theater of war was the Yelizavhrad Oblast, but as the Bolshevik-Denikin front moved south, so did the campaign. The route of the First Winter Campaign passed through the territories of the present

Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...

(Romaniv, Lyubar, Chudniv districts),

(Tetiïv district),

Cherkasy Cherkasy (, ) is a city in central Ukraine. Cherkasy serves as the administrative centre of Cherkasy Oblast as well as Cherkasy Raion within the oblast. The city has a population of Cherkasy is the cultural, educational and industrial centre ...

(almost all districts),

Kirovohrad Kropyvnytskyi (, ) is a city in central Ukraine, situated on the Inhul River. It serves as the administrative center of Kirovohrad Oblast. Population: Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement was k ...

(almost all districts),

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...

(Vradiyiv, Domaniv, Voznesensk, Novobuhsky, Kazan districts),

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

(Mykolaiv, Lyubashivsky, Ananiyevsky, Baltic districts),

Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...

(in 1919 - Khmelnytsky, Kalynivsky, Kozyatynsky, Lipovetsky, Pohrebyschensky, Orativsky, the end of the campaign - Chechelnytsky, Bershadsky, Trostya, Tomashpilsky, Yampilsky, Tulchinsky, Pishchansky districts). The main battles of the First Winter Campaign took place at Lypovets,

Zhashkiv Zhashkiv (, ) is a city in Uman Raion, Cherkasy Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Zhashkiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It had a population of Administrative status Zhashkiv gained status as a city ...

Uman Uman (, , ) is a city in Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. It is located to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the east of the historical region of Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River. Uman serves as the administrative c ...

Kaniv Kaniv (, ) is a city in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. It is an urban hromada of Ukraine. Population: Kaniv is a historical tow ...

Smila Smila ( ) is a city located on Dnieper Upland near the Tyasmyn River, in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast of Ukraine. The Tiasmyn River, a tributary of the Dnieper River, flows through the city. In January 2022, the estimated population was 6 ...

, Zolotonosha, Olviopol, Holovanivsk,

Haisyn Haisyn (, , ) or Haysyn is a city in central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Haisyn Raion within Vinnytsia Oblast. It is located on the in the eastern part of the historical region of Podolia. Its population is Name It i ...

Voznesensk Voznesensk (, ) is a city in Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Voznesensk Raion within the oblast. It hosts the administration of the . The city has a population of History This city was founded in 1795 o ...

Ananiv Ananiv (, ; ; ; , also ) is a city of Podilsk Raion in Odesa Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Ananiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Ananiv stands on the Tylihul River. According to the 2001 census, the majority of ...

, and Balta.

Aftermath

According to military historians, the First Winter Campaign of the

Ukrainian People’s Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 as a result of the February Revolution, and in June, it declared Ukrainian ...

forces is a significant page in the period of the Ukrainian Revolution (1917–1921). For the first time, the

Ukrainian Army The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

successfully used guerrilla methods to fight numerous enemies. All returning Winter Campaign participants were awarded the Order of the Iron Cross of the

. The Ukrainian troops were able to fulfill their goals and liberated many Ukrainian territories, including the capital of

—

together with

in the Kyiv offensive (1920) against the

References

Biblipgraphy

Notes

{{notelist Battles of the Ukrainian–Soviet War 1919 in Ukraine 1920 in Ukraine Military operations of the Russian Civil War in 1919 Military operations of the Russian Civil War in 1920 Battles of the Russian Civil War involving Poland Campaigns of the Russian Civil War Battles involving the Ukrainian People's Republic Battles involving the Volunteer Army Military campaigns involving Poland