A New Unwanted War
In the end of the Great War, there were hopes for a bloodless settlement of Ukrainian-Polish contradictions and, most importantly, for the forthcoming Peace Conference of the Entente nations. Both the Ukrainians and the Poles hoped for a "fair" solution to the issue of the affiliation of Lviv and Eastern Galicia. This hope was relevant not only on the eve of the November Action, but throughout the following confrontation.
The parties tried to adhere to legal procedures and principles of international law. Therefore, in the second half of October, when both the Ukrainians and the Poles declared their claims to the land, they referred to the emperor Charles I's manifesto of October 16, 1918, and backed their statements with national demonstrations.
Negotiations were conducted with the Austrian governor von Huyn on the legitimate transfer of power, but they did not succeed in either direction. Subsequently, however, the Ukrainians, under pressure of circumstances and in order to tell the world about their existence, outstripped the Poles, taking the initiative in their own hands.
Confronted with the accomplished fact of the coup d'état, the Austrian governor handed power over to his deputy, who, in turn, handed it over to the Ukrainian National Council. This step, however, did not produce the expected impression on the Poles, who perceived it as an Austrian-Ukrainian plot against independent Poland. The formal transfer of power from the Austrian Military Command to the Ukrainian one on November 3 was perceived in a similar way.
The Ukrainians' personnel policy testifies to how strong their desire to avoid confrontation was. Not only the food commissioner, but also the police chief were offered to continue their work. A tolerant attitude to the activities of Polish organizations, the press and the Polish National Committee in the territory under the Ukrainian control also testifies to this.