Eastern Front

[Guest burrbee]

I am having a hard time finding any information on fighting between the Austrian army and Russian White Army in the area of Northern Bukovyna (now present day Ukraine).

As well Romania occupied this area from about 1917 until Communism.

Does anyone have any leads, books, websites that they could point me to?

Thanks!

[Neil Burns]

Hi Burbee,

Unfortunately this region, like most of the Eastern Front is generally ignored in English. Try Norman Stone's The Eastern Front 1914-1917.

Take care,

Neil

[jhill]

I am afraid I do not have any really good references, but I have noticed that contemporary newspapers covered the eastern front as best they could. As an example, there are a number of clippings in New York newspapers refered to here . (Scroll down to the section "World War I in the Bukowsko Area". This is in Galicia rather than Bukowina, which is a bit to the east, but may be relevant.

You may also have read the memoirs of Fritz Kreisler, the violinist, which are available here . This also deals with Galicia, but should give us the flavour of the campaign in those areas.

I am afraid this is the best I can do just now.

[crapouillot]

I think I have what you want ! Try www.grwar.ru : it is in russian, but with a beautiful book section : some books about Galican campaign, Tannenberg, Brussilov Offensive and Caucasian front !!!!!

You can access it with a good translator like www.online-translator.com : don't if the traduction will be good between russian and english, but with french it is correct, and I can read it since some months.

A great ressource

[Guest Eugen Pinak]

Burbee, at that period there were neither Austian (was Austro-Hungarian) nor White Russian army in the North Bukovina (they just never entered this area).

If you're interested in fingting betwen A-H and Russian armies during WW I in this area, there are at least one book I know: multi-volume "History of Great War" (or something like this), published in UK in 1920s(?).

[Guest MKihntopf]

You may have in reference the brief fight that occurred between the soldiers of the West Ukrainian Republic and Polish forces. The West Ukrainian Republic was established in early Nov. 1918 when members of the Austro-Hungarian Sich Regiment realized that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was not going to survive. The regiment gathered at Lvov and the officers declared themselves to be the government of a territory stretching over eastern Galicia, nortwest Bokowina, and Carpatho-Ukraine. For a few days, they celebrated independence and looked forward to a union with the Ukraine whose government was led by Symon Petliura. However, the area was also coveted by the Poles who attacked in late November. There was heavy fighting in Lvov and the Republic's soldiers withdrew to Stanislaw where they pledged themselves to the Petliura government. No white Russian forces in the area. Source for this is Chamberlain, William H., The Ukraine, A submerged Nation, New York: MacMillan Co., 1944. Cheers

[Brusilov]

Try Norman Stone's The Eastern Front 1914-1917.

Norman Stone's work, despite many obvious factual flaws, is so far the best book I can find in English that utilize both German and Russian sources. Stone obviously spent a great deal of time on ploughing through many Russian general histories and monographs published after the war in 1920s and 1930s. That's what impresses me most when I look at his Notes.

 

His book is essentially not a good Military History book. His cover of many essential campaigns in the East is simply poor and does not help readers very much in having a clear picture of the progress of the war on that front. His characterization of the Russian general staffs and officers, dividing them into two camps, those who were loyal to the Grand Duke and those who supported Sukholimov is a gross oversimplification (a carricature in my opinion).

 

Recently, a general work on the Eastern Front written by David Stone (no relation to the other Stone) entitled "The Russian Army in the Great War: The Eastern Front 1914-1917" proves to be a good introduction to this complex and neglected subject. However, the Russian materials which David Stone utilizes is much less extensive than the former one. He relies mostly on Russian general histories such as the "Русская армия в Великой войне: Стратегический очерк войны 1914-1918" (Russian Army in the Great War: Strategic Outline of the war 1914-1918); Zaionchkovsky's (Зайончковский) "Первая мировая война" (The First World War) and Rostunov's Русский фронт первой мировой войны (The First World War in the Russian Front). He did use primary sources from the Collection of Documents for different operations (сборник документов), but only gave a snippet translation of some of the exchanges between generals. I wish he could be more generous in providing a fuller translation of these documents, especially relating to the Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive. 

 

Monographs that focus in details smaller campaigns such as the two volumes works of Bonch-Buevich; the Eastern Prussian Front in 1915 by Kolenkovsky are left untouched in this work.

 

But all in all, a good book for starter.

[Ken S.]

http://www.comroestudios.com/StanHanna/

[David Filsell]

"Norman Stone's work, despite many obvious factual flaws, is so far the best book I can find in English that utilize both German and Russian sources"

But, also, not an easy read, nor free of authorial bias.