Ukrainian Armies 1914-55

Description

A detailed, illustrated study of the Ukrainian armed forces, their weapons, dress and equipment from the First to the Second World War and beyond. 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 the Great War to the aftermath of World War II, when Ukrainian guerrillas continued to defy the Soviet authorities until the mid-1950s.

Peter Abbott is a retired university lecturer. He has been collecting material on the various Ukrainian forces for many years and has written a number of Men-at-Arms titles for Osprey. Eugen Pinak graduated as a Master of Law from the Taras Shevchenko University and currently works as a lawyer in Kyiv. He is a serious student of military history, including orders of battle, organisation and uniforms. Oleksiy Rudenko graduated from the Ukrainian National Academy of Arts in 1992. He helped to create the decorations system for Ukraine, and is now a member of the State Decorations and Armory Committee under the President of Ukraine. He lives and works in Kyiv, Ukraine.

"...beautifully illustrated and the eight color plates show off a variety of WWI uniforms/equipment that are appropriate for armies that fought in the RCW...fills a very necessary spot in my wargaming library... As always, Osprey books form the first line of any 'attack' on a new period of study!" --HMG Reviewing Stand