Battle of Berezhany
| Battle of Berezhany | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Polish-Ukrainian war | |||||||||
 Mountain Lysonia near Berezhany. A heavy fighting on the mountain took place during the battle | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 West Ukrainian People's Republic |
 Poland | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Oleksander Hrekov Osyp Mykytka Arnold Wolf |
Władysław Jędrzejewski Zygmunt Zieliński | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
|
I Corps II Corps III Corps |
3rd Legions Infantry Division | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 20,000 | 4,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The Battle of Berezhany was a five-day battle over the city of Berezhany in Eastern Galicia , which was the key point of Polish defence[1]. The battle took place between the Ukrainian Galician Army from one side and a several Polish regiments from the other. This battle was a turning point of the entire Polish-Ukrainian war, as it weakened UGA to the phase that it couldn't continue it's offensive.
Background
[edit]On 7 of June, Ukrainian Galician Army launched an offensive, and as of June 15, it recaptured Chortkiv, Buchach, Terebovlya, Tarnopol and Pidhaytsi. After the series of defeats, Polish commandership decided to stop the Ukrainian offensive near the city of Berezhany. Oleksandr Hrekov's plan was to encircle and destroy the polish garrison in the city, which would allow him to continue the offensive towards Lwów .
Ukrainian forces
[edit]All corpses of the UGA were involved in the battle, and the total amount of Ukrainian soldiers involved in a battle was approximately 20 thousand soldiers.
Polish forces
[edit]The town was controlled by 3rd Legions Infantry Division, and the total amount of soldiers on the Polish side was approximately 4 thousand[2].
Battle
[edit]On 16 of June, the UGA began a series of an unsuccessful attacks on Berezhany and on the polish defensive positions. UGA also launched an attacks on mountain Łysonia, which changed hands several times[2]. At the same time, Ukrainian artillery shelled Polish positions, however despite the attacks, Polish forces counterattacked and recaptured the area they previously lost. Later unsuccessful attacks on the city by the II Corps occured on 17 and 18 of June and were repelled[2]. On the 18 of June, a small reinforcement was sent from Lwow[3]. On June 19, UGA launched an offensive with goal to capture Berezhany. Ukrainians captured Mount Łysonia and shelled the city with machine guns from it. Attacks that occured a day later, on 20 of June, were unsuccessful. However, after days of fighting, a breach was created in a polish frontline north of the city[4], which forced polish army to eventually withdraw from the city. On 21 June, Zygmunt Zieliński ordered to withdraw from the city and on the same day it was captured by the Ukrainian Galician Army, thus ending the 5-day battle for the city.
Aftermath
[edit]The battle was a turning point of the Polish-Ukrainian war. Despite the Ukrainian tactical victory, Poles managed to evactuate most of the ammunition[5] that was needed by the Ukrainians and to stop a Ukrainian offensive towards Lviv, which was of the reasons of an eventual defeat of the Ukrainian Galician Army.
Sources
[edit]Diary of the Supreme Command of the Ukrainian Galician Army (PDF). New York: "Chervona Kalyna" Ukrainian Publications Cooperative. 1974. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
References
[edit]- ^ "Початок наступальної операції Української галицької армії, відомої як "Чортківська офензива" | Національна бібліотека України імені В. І. Вернадського". www.nbuv.gov.ua. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
- ^ a b c "Pyrrusowe zwycięstwo pod Brzeżanami w 1919 roku, czyli jak wygrywając bitwę przegrać wojnę i stracić państwo". Kresy.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2025-02-19.
- ^ Supreme Command Diary 1974, p. 10.
- ^ "Bitwa pod Brzeżanami (16–21 czerwca 1919)". Twojahistoria.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2025-02-19.
- ^ ""Скок тигра". Чортківська офензива УГА". Збруч (in Ukrainian). 2014-06-08. Retrieved 2025-02-19.