Page - 329 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

Of Heroes and Cowards 329 hands of the Evidenzbüro (military intelligence service), the explanatory model ap- peared to be perfect.769 The Ruthenians had to fight against numerous nationalist prejudices and stereotypes, and among their Polish compatriots in particular, they did not enjoy a good reputation. However, those who held negative views felt justified in their prejudices by the type of behaviour demonstrated by Ruthenian troops at the end of January and beginning of February 1915 during fighting at the foot of the Beskid Mountains for the important railway station of Medzilaborce (Mezőlaborcz). The authors of the work of the Aus- trian General Staff, despite their recognition of the physical hardships and overstrain, summarised the events as follows : among the troops, ‘an alarming mood crept in : apa- thy and dullness as a result of the excessive strain from the demands being made. This manifested itself in a range of different shades ; understandably among the formations of Slav nationality, who were fighting against their blood brothers, it was stronger than elsewhere. And precisely the protection of the area around Medzilaborce, which is of vital importance, was entrusted to two Galician divisions.’770 These were the 24th and the 2nd Infantry Divisions, the first of which, together with Infantry Regiments No. 9 and No. 77 was indeed made up of around 70 per cent Ruthenians, while the 2nd Infantry Division was a mixture of Poles and Ruthenians. The assessment may not have made any differentiation, but it certainly sufficed as a confirmation of stereotypical behaviour. The Ruthenians for their part also had reason to complain, however, and ultimately justified themselves in a memorandum that was presented to the Army High Com- mand by what was known as the ‘General Ukrainian National Assembly’. The authors claimed that the Imperial and Royal Army lacked sufficient orientation when it came to the national, political, religious and social circumstances in Galicia. The patriotism, which was by all means prevalent, had not been exploited. Those Ukrainians who were true to the state and the dynasty had also been placed under suspicion indiscriminately. Attempts to call a halt to this state of affairs had been unsuccessful. The National As- sembly accused the Polish governor Witold Korytowski of systematically persecuting the Ukrainians. As if that were not enough : ‘The Hungarian troops treated the Ukrain- ian population in a particularly hostile manner. They spared neither goods nor chattels, nor religious feelings, nor the sense of shame of the women nor the honour of the men. […] In the interim, it cannot yet be determined how many innocent citizens were shot or hanged without a legal trial and without evidence, simply on the basis of a denuncia- tion that was accepted without any examination […] how many villages were burned to the ground […] how many people were arrested and tormented. […] There were mass executions of men, women and even children, and this also in areas in which there was not a single Russophile.’ Hundreds of innocent Ukrainians were ‘arrested on suspicion of treason, maltreated, bloodily beaten, and interned for many long months in Talerhof