The Chortkiv offensive. Part I

Alexander Diedyk

The Chortkiv offensive of June, 7–28, 1919 is lettered in gold in military history of Ukraine. Broken and morally low-spirited, deprived live ammunitions and driven in the small nook of motherland, Galician Army unexpectedly broke up and compelled to retreat numerically superior and incomparably better materially well-to-do adversary. Enthusiasm, which carried away Ukrainian society of Galicia on news about victory near Chortkiv and next successes of native army, contemporaries justly compared to Easter. The offered book is a result of more than 25-year study of this phenomenon. Course of battle actions is carefully reproduced and analysed in close intercommunication with international relations of that time and difficult military-political situation in Ukraine, on the basis of wide spectrum of sources with an accent on the numerous archival documents of Ukrainian and Polish sides. The first part chronologically covers events from the end of May to June, 16, 1919, namely: prehistory, course and results of Chortkiv breakthrough, proclamation of Dictatorship, first steps of planned by general Hrekov large-scale reorganization of military powers of Western Area of Ukrainian People’s Republic, rise and development of plan of operation, bitter struggle for strategic initiative in the battles of Buchach and Terebovlia and its victorious conclusion by liberation of Ternopil and liquidation of hostile place of arms on the left bank of Dnister nearby Nyzhnev.