It has always been said that my great grandfather was wounded in battle in Kiev i 1917. Would anybody know which battle that could be? My father always believed he was fighting on the Austro-Hungarian side, but were they ever in Kiev? I do not know anything else, except he was an engineer and fought in the engineer troops. How do I start to investigate this matter? I do not know where he lived either. It could be either Valhyria (Western Ukraine) or Bessarabia (now Moldovia). Would it even make sense that a male from Bessarabia would fight in Kiev? I would greatly appreciate any input
Ok, I might be able to narrow it down... It has now become known that my great grandfather most likely didn't speak any Russian in 1917, which would sort of make the Red Army a no-go Would I be able to search for him in the Austro-Hungarian Army, and if so, where?
During 1917-18 the situation in and about Kiev was 'quite lively'. Not only was the Great War still being contested but also there was factional disputes of that conflict later known as the Russian Civil War. I had a quick look in "the Encyclopedia of Military History" (Dupuy & Dupuy) and faced the briefest of information. Next I googled "Russian civil war battles 1917 kiev" to be met a plethora of information, all of which is your's for the perusal. I know that a lot of original documents are available for serious scholars at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University (California). Alas, as it is manuscript(s) it is in cyrilic Russian. I tried learning Russian but I am afraid I am here in Minnesota, far from the Hoover Institute. As I understand it Kiev is in the Ukraine. This means another Slavic language (half way between Russian and Polish) About a year ago I was reading a book regarding Sydney Rilley, a British agent though a Russian Jew. The author also wrote a book on the Russian civil war. I could look up the name if you like. I hope you appreciate that you have opened a proverbial 'can of worms'.
The new 'battle' of Kiev? Kiev live streaming: http://en.glaz.tv/online-webcams/kiev-ploschad-nezavisimosti
