The Sich Riflemen Halych-Bukovyna Kurin () was one of the first regular military units 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 ...

. The unit operated from 1917 to 1919 and was formed from Ukrainian soldiers of the

Austro-Hungarian army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

(

Ukrainian Sich Riflemen Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (; ) was a Ukrainian unit within the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War. Scope The unit was formed in August 1914 on the initiative of the Supreme Ukrainian Council. It was composed of members o ...

) and local volunteers. The first kurin was formed in

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, ...

on 13 November 1917. Commanded by Col. Yevhen Konovalets with his chief of staff Andriy Melnyk, the Sich Riflemen had up to 25,000 men at their peak, including artillery, cavalry, reconnaissance and machine-gun units and defended the government of UNR against the Bolshevik insurrection in the capital and later against the regular

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 ...

forces that advanced into Ukraine in 1918. When Kyiv was recaptured in March 1918, the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen guarded government buildings in the capital and maintained order in the city. The unit later expanded to include two infantry detachments, a cavalry unit and an artillery battery. With the establishment of the Hetmanate of Pavlo Skoropadsky, the Sich Riflemen refused to serve him and were disarmed by the German forces that supported the hetman. Soldiers from the unit joined other forces, notably

Petro Bolbochan Petro Fedorovych Bolbochan ( – 28 June 1919) was a Ukrainian military figure of Moldovan descent who was a colonel of the Ukrainian People's Army. He was the leader of Ukrainian forces in the 1918 Crimea Operation against the Bolsheviks, le ...

's 2nd Zaporozhian Regiment, and attempted to reestablish themselves under the new command. In August 1918, Skoropadsky finally allowed a partial re-establishment of the Sich Riflemen in

Bila Tserkva Bila Tserkva ( ; , ) is a city in central Ukraine. It is situated on the Ros (river), Ros River in the historical region of right-bank Ukraine. It is the largest city in Kyiv Oblast (which does not include the city of Kyiv) and serves as the ...

. The new unit consisted of 1,200 men and was divided into an infantry regiment, an artillery battery and a technical unit. In Bila Tserkva, the Sich Riflemen led the revolt against hetman Skoropadsky, with their ranks expanding to 11,000 by November 1918. Later the Dnipro and Black Sea divisions also joined the unit. In November 1918, with new recruits, the ranks of the Sich Riflemen swelled to 25,000. They played a crucial role in the establishment of the Directorate under Symon Petliura. In December, the unit captured Kyiv and was subsequently divided into smaller units. Different detachments of Sich Riflemen fought against advancing Bolshevik armies in Ukraine. Together with the Directory, the unit retreated from Kyiv when it was recaptured by the Bolsheviks. The Sich Riflemen also fought on different fronts against General Denikin's White Russian forces. In 1919, the unit took heavy losses in combat and later from

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 ...

. On 6 December 1919, the Sich Riflemen were finally demobilized. Some former soldiers were interned by the

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 ...

, others continued to fight in smaller detachments in Ukraine.

Literature

* Orest Subtelny. Ukraine. A history. University of Toronto Press. 1994. . * Paul Robert Magocsi. The Roots of Ukrainian Nationalism: Galicia As Ukraine's Piedmont. University of Toronto Press. 2002. .
Sich Riflemen during the January Uprising

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(Istorychna Pravda). 6 April 2012 {{Authority control Military units and formations of Ukraine Ukrainian People's Republic Aftermath of World War I in Ukraine Ukrainian–Soviet War 1917 establishments in Ukraine 1919 disestablishments in Ukraine Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Disbanded units and formations of Ukraine

See also

Literature