Carpatho-Ukraine

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Carpatho-Ukraine (Ukrainian: Карпатська Україна, Karpats’ka Ukrayina) was a short-lived Ukrainian state that formally existed for several days only in March 1939 in the easternmost part of Czechoslovakia (Subcarpathian Ruthenia, or Transcarpathia), and had been an autonomous region within Czechoslovakia for several months before that. The state was occupied by Hungary, which annexed the area between March 15 and March 18, 1939.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Proclamation of Independence 1.2 Hungarian invasion 1.3 World War II and the aftermath 2 See also 3 External links 4 References

[edit] History

For early history see Carpathian Ruthenia.

Soon after the implementation of the Munich Agreement of 29 September 1938 (by which Czechoslovakia lost much of its border region to Nazi Germany) Carpathian Ruthenia and Slovakia declared their autonomy within Czechoslovakia, which Prague accepted. The autonomous Carpathian Ruthenia (officially known as Subcarpathian Ruthenia until then) changed its name to "Carpatho-Ukraine" soon afterwards, in November 1938.

In November 1938, under the First Vienna Award, which resulted from the Munich agreement, Nazi Germany and Italy prevailed on Czechoslovakia to cede the southern third of Slovakia and southern Carpatho-Ukraine to Hungary.

[edit] Proclamation of Independence

Slovak and Ruthenian demands for independence grew after Czechoslovakia was forced to give up Sudetenland to Germany according to the Munich agreement of September 29, 1938.

In late September 1938 had Hungary supported Hitler by mobilizing between 200,000 and 350,000 ill-trained and ill-equipped men on the Slovak and Ruthenian borders, ready to invade Czechoslovakia in case of war between Germany and Czechoslovakia. After Munich the Hungarians had remainded poised threateningly on the Slovak border. They reportedly had artillery ammunition for only 36 hours of operations, and were clearly engaged in a bluff, but it was a bluff the Germans had encouraged, and one that they would have been obliged to support militarily if the much larger, better trained and better equipped Czechoslovak Army chose to fight. The Czechoslovak army had built 2,000 small concrete emplacements along the border, wherever there was no major river obstacle.

The Hungarian Minister of the Interior, Miklos Kozma, had been born in Ruthenia, and in mid-1938 his ministry armed the Rongyos Garda ('Ragged Guard'), which began to infiltrate guerillas into southern Slovakia and Ruthenia (ethnic Ukrainian territory). The situation was now verging on open war, which might set the whole of Europe ablaze again. From the German and Italian point of view, this would be premature, so they pressured the Hungarian and the Czechoslovak governments to accept their joint Arbitration of Vienna. On November 2, 1938, this found largely in favour of the Hungarians and obliged the Prague government to cede 11,833 km² of Slovakia and Ruthenia to Hungary. Not only did this transfer the homes of about 590,00 Hungarians to Hungary, but 290,000 Slovaks and 37,000 Ruthenians as well. In addition, it cost Slovakia its second city, Košice, and left the capital, Bratislava, very vulnerable to further Hungarian pressure.

As a consequence, the Slovak end of the Czechoslovak Army had to be reorganised. It had been forced to cede its natural defensive positions on the Danube river almost the entire belt of fortifications along the Hungarian border and several major depots.

The Arbitration of Vienna fully satisfied nobody, and there followed twenty-two border clashes November 2, 1938 and January 12, 1939 alone, during which the Czechoslovaks lost five dead and six wounded. The Slovak national militia Hlinka Guard participated in these clashes. The ineffectiveness of the Prague government in protecting their interests further stirred Slovak and Ruthene nationalism even further. On November 8, 1938, the Slovak National Unity Party got 97.5% of the Slovak votes, and a one-party state was instituted. Slovak autonomy was formalised by the Prague parliament on November 19, and to symbolise this new Slovak assertiveness, the country's name was then altered to Czecho-Slovakia. Ruthenia, or Carpatho-Ukraine, was also given autonomy.

The Slovak and Ruthene nationalism grew bigger, and on March 10, there were demonstrations by the Hlinka Guard and Volksdeutsche, demanding their independence from Czecho-Slovakia.

In the evening of March 13, Tiso (the Slovak leader) and Durcanský met Hitler, Ribbentrop and Generals Brauchtisch and Keitel in Berlin. Hitler made it absolutely clear that either Slovakia declared independence immediately and associated itself with the Reich, or he would let the Hungarians, who were reported by Ribbentrop to be massing on the border, to take the country over. In fact, encouraged by the Germans, the Hungarians were largely massing on the adjacent Ruthene border.

During the afternoon and night of March 14, the Slovak people proclaimed their independence from Czecho-Slovakia, and at 5:00 A.M. on March 15, 1939, Hitler declared that the unrest in Czecho-Slovakia was a threat to the German security, and sent his troops into Bohemia and Moravia, meeting virtually no resistance.

Following Slovakia's (formal) declaration of independence and Adolf Hitler's occupation of Bohemia and Moravia on 14-15 March, on March 15 Carpatho-Ukraine declared its independence as the "Republic of Carpatho-Ukraine", with the Reverend Avhustyn Voloshyn as head of state.

"The First Constitutional Law of Carpatho-Ukraine" of March 15, 1939 defined the new status of the country as follows:

1. Carpatho-Ukraine is an independent state.
2. The name of the state is: Carpatho-Ukraine.
3. Carpatho-Ukraine is a republic, headed by a president elected by the Diet of Carpatho-Ukraine.
4. The state language of Carpatho-Ukraine is the Ukrainian language.
5. The colors of the national flag of the Carpatho-Ukraine are blue and yellow, blue on top and yellow on the bottom.
6. The state emblem of Carpatho-Ukraine is as follows: a bear on a red field on the sinister side, four blue and three yellow stripes on the dexter side, as well as the trident of Saint Volodymyr the Great.
7. The national anthem of Carpatho-Ukraine is "Sche ne vmerla Ukraina" ("Ukraine's glory has not perished").
8. This act comes valid immediately after its promulgation.

The proclaimed Carpatho-Ukraine government was headed by Avhustyn Ivanovych Voloshyn, President, Yulian Révaý, Prime Minister, Stepan Klyuchurak, Minister of Defence, and Yuriy Perevuznyk, Minister of Internal Affairs.

The declaration of independence by the Slovak independent movement caused law and order to break down immediately. Sich Guards staged terrorist attacks against the Czechoslovak Army (by now only the Czech part), as well as against the pro-Slovak and pro-Hungarian population. On the same day, Hungary had learned that the Germans would not object to a Hungarian takeover of Carpatho-Ukraine.

[edit] Hungarian invasion

The Carpatho-Ukrainian declaration of independence as well as the actions of the Sich Guards was taken as the cue for the Hungarians to demand that the Czech government evacuate its troops and civil servants from the area of the Carpathians immediately, as they were obviously not capable of guaranteeing the security of the population in the area.

The Czech government did not deign to respond to this outrageous statement or the demands, and instead ordered its troops to attack the city of Munkács (previously ceded to the Hungarians on November 2, 1938) on the morning of March 14, 1939.

The available Hungarian forces consisted of an infantry regiment, two cavalry regiments, three infantry battalions on bicycles, one motorised battalion, two border guard battalions, one artillery battalion and two armoured trains. These forces did not number more than two World War II divisions. They were supported by Fiat CR.32 fighter planes amounting to one regiment. Furthermore, the units consisted of 70%–80% recruits who had hardly finished their basic training. The weather in mid-March of 1939 was not very co-operative, with savage snowstorms recurring in the Carpathians. The troops had no mountain training and little special winter clothing and equipment, but in return was the morale high.

The Hungarian Border Guard units stationed around Munkács, after throwing back the attacking Czechs on March 14, 1939, pressed forward in turn, and took the town of Orhegyalja. On the same day, the Sich Guards and the Czech nationalist units initiated large scale partisan operations.

Given this welcome excuse, the Hungarian Army regular troops again crossed into Czechoslovakia, now the state of Carpatho-Ukraine, on March 15, 1939. They reached Szolyva before nightfall. The Carpatho-Ukrainian irregulars, without support from either Prague or their friends in Berlin, were quickly routed. Czech resistance in Carpatho-Ukraine was negligible, and the advancing Hungarian troops did not have to count on a well-organised and centralised resistance. The Hungarian Army also had the advantage of the Vienna Award, which made it possible for the Hungarians to take possession of the area where the Czechs built their permanent fortifications against Hungary.

On March 16, 1939, Hungary formally annexed the territory. Prime Minister Yulian Révaý had resisted the Hungarians until then.

The Hungarian Army continued their advance, pushing forward at top speed, and reached the Polish border on March 17, Here they met Polish troops, who were welcomed with great joy. Sich volunteers who came from Galizien province and captured by Hungarians were handed over to Polish soldiers and were executed in a few days. This was Poland's response to raising Ukrainian nationalism. Conseqences of such actions did not hesitate to come from the hands of Ukrainian police during German occupation of Poland. The last resistance in the Carpathian mountains was taken out on March 18.

The fate of the captive Sich soldiers was a dramatic one. After a short hold in captivity they were taken to the banks of Tisa river and executed in large numbers. This event put a long lasting split in the relations of Hungarians and Rusyns/Ukrainians living in the province. Only recently did the signs of reconciliation begin to appear.

The campaign was a success, but it also proved that the Hungarian Army was not yet ready for full war. The handicaps imposed by the Trianon Treaty was clearly visible, but the morale and nationalist spirit of the soldiers as well as the civilian populations were high, which also are important to build a strong national army.

[edit] World War II and the aftermath

During the German occupation of Hungary in 1944, almost the entire Jewish population was deported; few survived the Holocaust. When the Soviet Army crossed the pre-1938 borders of Czechoslovakia in 1944, Soviet authorities refused to allow Czechoslovak governmental officials to resume control over the region, and in June 1945, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union signed a treaty ceding Carpatho-Ruthenia to the Soviets. In 1946 the area became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, as the Zakarpattia Oblast ('Transcarpathian Oblast').

After the break-up of the Soviet Union, it became part of independent Ukraine as Zakarpattia Oblast.

[edit] See also

• Rusyns
• Carpathian Ruthenia
• Ruthenians and Ukrainians in Czechoslovakia (1918-1938)
• Slovak-Hungarian War - The Hungarian invasion of Slovakia on March 23, 1939
• Former countries in Europe after 1815

[edit] External links

• "World Academy of Rusyn culture", [1],in English
• Carpatho-Ukraine from "Encyclopedia of Ukraine"
• Villagers reunited by Slovak-Ukraine border crossing, Reuters, 24 December 2005
• "The Greatness and the Tragedy of Carpathian Ukraine", Zerkalo Nedeli (Mirror Weekly), March 13-19, 2004. in Russian, in Ukrainian.

[edit] References

• Axworthy, Mark W.A. Axis Slovakia - Hitler's Slavic Wedge, 1938-1945, Bayside, N.Y. : Axis Europa Books, 2002, ISBN 1-891227-41-6
• Niehorster, Dr. Leo W.G. The Royal Hungarian Army 1920-1945 Volume 1, New York : Axis Europa Books, 1998, ISBN 1-891227-19-X