Ukrainian Armies 1914–55

Osprey Men at Arms #412

by Peter Abbott, Eugene Pinak, Oleksiy Rudenko (Illustrator)

There can be no region in Europe whose history has been more tortured than Ukraine. During the 20th century Austria, Poland, Russia, Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Romania vied for power over parts of this vast and fragmented area; and its divided peoples rose time and again in vain attempts to win their independence. For the first time in the West, this book gives a succinct summary of all the different armed forces raised among the Ukrainians, and of their uniforms and insignia. These are illustrated in colour and in a selection of extremely rare photographs, dating from World War I (1914-1918) to the aftermath of World War II (1939-1945), when Ukrainian guerrillas continued to defy the Soviet authorities until the mid-1950s.

Genres: Ukraine, Military History, History, 20th Century, World War II

48 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2004

Reviews

[Joe Krakovsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt that reading "Ukrainian Armies 1914-55" would be appropriate right now as the Russians are once again invading the sovereign state of the Ukraine. This little book tells the sad story of an ongoing fight for a people trying to gain control of their own homeland.

"There can be no region in Europe whose history has been more tortured than the Ukraine. During the 20th century Austria, Poland, Russia, Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Romania vied for power over parts of this vast and fragmented area; and its divided peoples rose time and again in vain attempts to win their independence."

Sometimes these people fought for the foreigners, such as serving in the German and Austrian armies in WWI, and other times against them, such as with the Partisans in WWII. These guerilla units didn't just fight the Germans during WWII, but also the Soviets as well. As a matter of fact, some of these warriors carried on the fight until as late as 1955! The Cold War being what it was, maybe the CIA should have been supplying them with weapons. But that is just my opinion.

My only complaint about this book are all the pages that listed the ranks for the various units, the Ukrainian names for them, the color of their uniforms and the insignia of rank. But then again, those who have followed the Osprey Men-at-Arms series could expect this. However, with current events being what they are, this was one topic which would have been a lot more interesting with unit histories rather than what they wore. For this reason, I am rounding up a 3.5 star to 4.

As usual, photographs, maps, and color plates compliment the text.

[James Crabtree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ukraine, as a country, as only existed in the 20th and 21st centuries. As the book says, the area we know of as Ukraine today has had the misfortune to be dominated by strong neighbors... Russia in the east and Poland/Austro-Hungary/Germany in the west. The Ukraine became self-ruling, to a degree, during the early 20th Century. Ukrainian forces organized by the Central Powers and Allies fought on different fronts, followed by Ukrainian armies organized by the hodge-podge of revolutionary civilian governments claiming authority over the country. Of course, once the Russian Civil War was over the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was no longer a separate political entity.

The next opportunity for independence was WWII. Germany organized police forces which eventually became military outfits, integrated into the Third Reich's war machine. Technically, these units became part of a distinct Ukrainian National Army, fighting alongside the Germans, but this was too late to make a difference.

Finally, some Ukrainians continued fighting the Soviets long after the Germans departed in a hopeless war for independence. These partisans too had their own uniforms.

Very well illustrated with original artwork, photographs and maps.

[Randall Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very thorough if short book, on the subject. Four Stars!

[Almantas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Osprey Publishing Men-At-Arms.