The 1918 Central Powers occupation of Ukraine, also known as the Austro-German occupation of Ukraine or German and Austro-Hungarian occupation of Ukraine, in pro-Hetman sources also sometimes Control of Austro-German troops over the territory of Ukraine, was the military occupation of the territory of Ukraine by the Imperial German Army and the Austro-Hungarian Army during February–December 1918. It was carried out by the two main Central Powers of World War I, the German Empire and Austria-Hungary, in accordance with their 9 February 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), that on 22 January 1918 had proclaimed Ukraine's independence from Bolshevik-controlled Soviet Russia.
The Central Rada, the revolutionary council of Ukraine, sought to consolidate the UPR's independence and protect it against Soviet Russian attempts at (re)conquering Ukraine, while Germany and Austria-Hungary sought to prevent a food crisis by accessing Ukraine's rich grain resources, as well as using occupied Ukrainian territory as leverage in the ongoing peace negotiations with the Bolsheviks. Beginning on 18 February, the Central Powers conducted their successful Operation Faustschlag against the Bolshevik-controlled Russian Army, ending with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918 between them and Soviet Russia, as the Bolsheviks decided to exit World War I in order to focus on fighting the Russian Civil War against the White Armies and separatist forces first.
The period was decisive in establishing the independence of the Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), although its leading Central Rada had tenuous control over internal affairs. After two months, the Rada was overthrown by a German-backed military coup on 29 April 1918 that brought lieutenant general Pavlo Skoropadskyi to power and proclaimed the Ukrainian State. With the looming defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I, as well as internal revolutions that brought down both the Hohenzollern and Habsburg monarchies, Austro-German troops gradually withdrew from Ukraine in November 1918. As a result of the simultaneous Anti-Hetman Uprising, power in Ukraine passed to the Directorate of Ukraine, which restored the Ukrainian People's Republic in early December 1918.
Background October Revolution and Ukrainian independence (7 November 1917 – 17 February 1918)
At the time, the Peace of Brest was a decisive factor in the course of the domestic and foreign policy of the Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), whose independence had been proclaimed on 22 January 1918 by its parliament, the Central Rada. UPR forces had just lost the Battle of Kyiv (1918) to the Bolshevik troops, and were in desperate need of allies to turn the tide. Feeling unstable and uncertain about its position in the confrontation with pro-Soviet forces, the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic appealed to the German side on 12 February 1918 with a request to send German troops to Ukraine, with the help of which it hoped to preserve statehood and solve some problems of state-building.
In cooperation with the UPR military, the Rada allowed the German and Austro-Hungarian forces to occupy Ukraine, which began a few days later. The Soviet forces panicked as soon as they heard of the Central Powers' intervention, and all Bolshevik government and party organisations immediately began evacuating eastwards in a hurry. The Soviet leadership fled from Kyiv towards Poltava around 11/24 February, and one week later on 1918, the Central Powers and UPR troops entered Kyiv. The Soviets had only been in control of the capital for 20 days, and did not even offer token resistance to the Centrals as they chaotically retreated.
Operation Faustschlag (18 February – 3 March 1918)
The Central Powers aided the UPR troops in defeating and expelling Bolshevik forces that had occupied Kharkiv, Kiev (modern Kyiv) and other Ukrainian cities in December 1917 – February 1918. However, the UPR still had limited military and political control over its territory, with underdeveloped institutions and limited support from a population that was eager for the war to end as soon as possible. Moreover, the Centrals were more interested in requisitioning the ample food supplies of Ukraine (then already known as the Kornkammer or "Breadbasket of Europe") than helping to consolidate the fledgling Ukrainian democracy.
Having its own interests in Ukraine, namely the export of various goods, food and raw materials from its territory, the German government immediately responded to the request of the Ukrainian side. On 18 February 1918, German troops began to advance into Ukraine. On 27 February, they were supported by units of the Austro-Hungarian army. The total number of German and Austro-Hungarian troops was 450,000 soldiers and officers, with 23 German divisions advancing east, and 10 Austro-Hungarian divisions advancing southeast. A number of Ukrainian military units participated in the Austro-German operation, and fought along in what they viewed as the liberation of their country.
Course of events Advance of the Central Powers in Ukraine (3 March – 29 April 1918)
The address of the Central Rada of Ukraine on 11 March 1918 to the Ukrainian people and the statement of the representatives of the Austro-German Command in Ukraine interpreted the military presence of foreign powers as a friendly act of assistance, and stressed the non-interference of the Germans in the internal affairs of Ukraine. The German and Austro-Hungarian governments were careful not to use the term "occupation" in any official documents; instead, deputy chief of the German general staff Erich Ludendorff called it "a rescue expedition to a friendly country", while emperor Charles I of Austria described it as a "peaceful penetration into a friendly country."
Meanwhile, the Bolsheviks attempted to regroup in eastern Ukraine. The new situation caused disagreements between the various Soviet factions. The expelled left-leaning Kyivan Bolsheviks sought to ally themselves with the peasant masses and engage in partisan guerrilla warfare without Russian help, and urged on their communist comrades in Kharkiv to try and retake the capital from the Rada, Germans and Austro-Hungarians. However, the right-leaning Kharkiv and Katerynoslav (Dnipro) Bolsheviks expressed separatist tendencies, striving to break with Kyiv and rather "join the Russian federation" for various socio-economic and political reasons, arguing that the rest of Ukraine lacked an industrialised proletariat, and that complete subordination to the central communist party organs in Moscow was necessary. These internal divisions within the Ukrainian communist movement weakened their overall capabilities. The left-wing faction would prevail for the time being at the Second All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets in Katerynoslav on 17–19 March 1918, where it was decided that all of Ukraine would be united in a single Ukrainian Soviet Republic, separate from Soviet Russia, with its own separate all-Ukrainian communist party (initially named "Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine" at the 18–20 April 1918 Taganrog Conference). However, just a few weeks later in April, the Central and UPR troops expelled all Bolshevik forces from the remaining territory of Ukraine, forcing them to flee to Moscow after all.
By the end of April 1918, the entire territory of Ukraine was under the control of the German and Austro-Hungarian armies. In the east, the occupation zone was limited to the line Bataysk – the Don river – the Siverskyi Donets river – Dyogtevo (Дёгтево/Дьогтево) – Osypovka (Осиповка) – Novobila – Valuyki – Grushevka – Belgorod – Sudzha – Rylsk. According to the agreement of 29 March 1918 between the German and Austro-Hungarian sides, the sphere of influence of Austria-Hungary included part of the Volyn, Podillia, Kherson, and Katerynoslav provinces. The management and exploitation of the coal and metallurgical regions were mutual. The rest of the provinces and Crimea were occupied by German troops (see Crimea Operation (1918)). Rail and water transport throughout Ukraine was under the control of the German command.
Deteriorating relations between the Central Powers and Central Rada (April 1918)
On 23 April 1918, the UPR, the German Empire and Austria-Hungary signed a comprehensive economic, financial and commercial agreement. Ukraine undertook to supply the Central Powers with 60 million poods of grain, 400 million eggs, and a significant amount of other foodstuffs and raw materials by 31 July 1918. For their part, Germany and Austria-Hungary were to supply Ukraine with agricultural machinery (planters, plows), fuels (coal, oil) and other commodities (textiles, perfumes, and so on). Given the presence of foreign troops on the territory of Ukraine, such relations could not be equal. German and Austro-Hungarian troops took part of the raw materials and material assets out of Ukraine as war booty.
The command of the German and Austro-Hungarian troops quickly realised the Central Rada's control over internal affairs was weak, and concluded that it was futile to cooperate with the Rada. The Rada was unable to manage the internal political situation in Ukraine, and to fulfil its promises to supply the Central Powers with bread and raw materials. This led the German and Austro-Hungarian command to actively and directly interfere in the internal affairs of the UPR. The order of the Commander-in-Chief of German troops, field marshal general Hermann von Eichhorn, dated 6 April 1918, on the matter of mandatory sowing of fields, issued without prior agreement with the Ukrainian government, was the first serious interference in the internal affairs of the UPR. The Central Rada reacted with loud but vain protest against this intrusion of Ukrainian sovereignty. Another great interference in Ukrainian internal affairs was the order of 25 April on the introduction of German military field courts in Ukraine.
In the meantime, the chief of staff of the Oberkommando in Ukraine, general Wilhelm Groener, had been planning a coup d'état to do away with the democratic and constitutional Central Rada entirely, and install a pro-German puppet that the German military command could easily control. He convinced the German military and political leadership that the situation was opportune, and taking direct control would enable the Central Powers to quickly seize all resources they needed or wanted and invest them in the war effort, while disregarding the Ukrainian population's interests and the Rada's protests. After searching for a few weeks, he settled on Pavlo Skoropadskyi, a popular general and leader of a conservative political organisation, as well as a former aristocrat and descendant from a Cossack Hetmanate family, to be the future monarch of Ukraine under German vassalage.
Hetman Coup (29 April 1918)
The Austro-German troops backed an anti-UPR military coup d'état on 29 April 1918, led by the 34th Army Corps' lieutenant general Pavlo Skoropadskyi, who then became the autocratic Hetman of the Ukrainian State.
On 29 April 1918, with the direct support of the German command, a coup d'état was carried out, which resulted in the overthrow of the Central Rada and the proclamation of the Ukrainian State. German and Austro-Hungarian troops were the decisive factor and support for the existence of the Pavlo Skoropadskyi Hetman regime.
Ukrainian State (30 April – 15 November 1918)