Draft:Hutsul Uprising (1919)

The Hutsul Uprising on Christmas Day 1919 was a liberation struggle of the Hutsuls against the Hungarian occupation that took place on the night of 7 January 1919, during which 500 Hungarian soldiers and military equipment were captured. The result was the liberation of the entire Transcarpathian Hutsul region and the establishment of a national state, while the Hungarian Republic was seized by the Communists.

Background.
On 8 November 1918, a popular assembly of residents of Yasinia and surrounding villages voted in favour of the reunification of the Transcarpathian Hutsul region with Ukraine and elected the Hutsul People's Council (HPC). It consisted of 42 deputies and was headed by Stepan Klochurak.

Representatives of the Hutsul People's Council took part in the Budapest (10 December) and Sigit (18 December) congresses convened by the Hungarian government to determine the future of Transcarpathia. The Hutsuls were the most vocal in their opposition to the attempts to keep the region within Hungary.

The Hungarian authorities did not like the situation, as they called this territory their own. They sent a large Hungarian detachment.

The people's government went underground to prepare an uprising.

On the night of 8 January 1919, about 500 Hungarians were captured almost without a fight. On 10 January, a veche of thousands confirmed the desire of the Transcarpathian Hutsul region to reunite with the WUNR.

Further events
On 13 January 1919, the Hutsul army, reinforced by a detachment of the UGA, launched an offensive to liberate the Maramoroschyna from the Hungarian administration and troops. It took place along the Yasinia-Sygit railway. The infantry was covered by two trains armed with cannons and machine guns. In a few days, in the battles for Bilyn, Rakhiv, and Velyky Bychkiv, the Hungarian troops were defeated. All Ukrainian settlements of the modern Rakhiv district and the left bank of the Tisza River (now in Romania) were liberated. In Vyshiv (present-day Romania), the liberators were greeted with a solemn procession led by a priest and flying blue and yellow flags. In the liberated settlements, starostas were elected and military commandants were appointed. The Ukrainian language was introduced in institutions.

On 19 January, the Hungarians tried to rise up on their own, but a train with Hutsul troops arrived and put an end to the rebellion. The republic began to live in peace.