Tarnavsky, Myron

Tarnavsky, Myron [Тарнавський, Мирон; Tarnavs'kyj], b 29 August 1869 in Baryliv, Kaminka-Strumylova county, Galicia, d 29 June 1938 in Lviv. Commander of the Ukrainian Galician Army (UHA). After attaining the rank of major (1916) in the Austrian army, he was given command of the Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel (1918), and commanded the 16th Infantry Regiment in central Ukraine. In February 1919 he joined the UHA, and soon he became commander of the Second Corps and a full colonel. In July 1919 Tarnavsky was appointed supreme commander of the UHA and was promoted to brigadier general. He oversaw UHA operations in central Ukraine, its Kyiv offensive (and the caprure of Kyiv on 30 August 1919), and its tragic demise in the so-called Quadrangle of Death, when, in order to save the remnants of his army, he was forced to negotiate with Anton Denikin’s Volunteer Army. On 7 November 1919 he was relieved of duty and courtmartialed for arranging a politically unauthorized armistice with Denikin. After his acquittal he served briefly as acting supreme commander of the UHA. In 1920 he was interned in the Polish internment camp in Tuchola. After his release he lived in rural Galicia.

[This article was updated in 2019.]