The Czechoslovak Review/Volume 2/With the Czechoslovak Forces
With the Czechoslovak Forces.
During the last six months the military situation in Russia and Siberia has cleared up considerably. A month ago there were two Czechoslovak fronts, as Trotzky called them, or rather three according to his reckoning: one in Eastern Siberia, one on the Volga and one in the Ural Mountains to the northeast of the Volga.
Now there is practically only one left. The two fronts in European Russia have been so extended as to become a single front, and the campaign in Eastern Siberia is to all intents and purposes over. While the appearance of the Allied forces contributed very largely to the downfall of the Bolshevik power on the Pacific, most of the real fighting was done by the Czechoslovaks. At the beginning of September the Czechoslovak forces of 15,000 which had taken over Vladivostok were marching west once more under General Dieterichs, supported by Japanese, American, British, French and Chinese troops. Their objective was to re-establish contact with the main Czechoslovak forces which were supposed to be hard pressed around Irkutsk by superior numbers composed of German and Magyar prisoners dressed in Red Guard uniforms. It seemed that this relief expedition would have to race with time to break through before winter set in.
What a surprise the world received in the first part of September, when the Czechoslovak force under General Gajda appeared suddenly on the Manchurian border, after overcoming a most determined opposition from the Bolsheviki. A telegram from Olovannaya in Transbaikalia summarizes the wonderful achievements of this small Czechoslovak troop as follows:
“There was severe fighting all the way and the Czechoslovaks were forced to leave the railway continually in order to strike at the enemy from the rear. This strategy was successful in every instance and caused the enemy heavy losses.
“Thirty-nine tunnels on the trans-Siberian railroad had been mined, but the Bolshevik forces were taken by surprise and only one tunnel was successfully blown up. While clearing away the debris the Czechoslovak artillery had to be hauled by man-power over steep ridges.
“In the meantime Czechoslovaks had seized Listvinichskay, near Irkutsk, on the west bank of the Lake Baikal, where they found two small damaged steamships. These vessels were repaired and after two guns were mounted and several machine guns set up they steamed to the eastward towing barges filled with soldiers.
“By a ruse the Czechoslovaks managed to land near Misovoya, though larger vessels came out to give battle.
“Shots from the Czechoslovak guns shattered the gasoline and set fire to the enemy steamships. The Bolshevik seamen became panic stricken and permitted the Czechoslovaks to land and attack them from the rear.
“In the battle of Misovoya the Bolshevik forces lost forty complete trains out of sixty. Of their forces, estimated to number 20,000, some 6,000 were killed and 2,000 taken prisoners. The others fled into the woods and their defeat demoralized the troops further to the east.
“Thanks to the skill of the Czechoslovak engineers, the bridges on the trans-Siberian railway were repaired before the retiring enemy had time to rally. Consequently, Verkneudinsk and Karimokaya were occupied virtually without fighting. This accounted for the unexpectedly rapid advance of the Czechoslovaks to Tchita and other towns, which were found to be orderly.”
The best appreciation of the great valor and resourcefulness of the Czechoslovaks is contained in a message sent by Lloyd George to the president of the Czechoslovak National Council. It is as follows:
“On behalf of the British War Cabinet I send you our heartiest congratulations on the striking successes won by the Czechoslovak forces against armies of German and Austrian troops in Siberia. The story of the adventures and triumphs of this small army is indeed one of the greatest epics of history; it has filled us all with admiration for the courage, persistence, and self-control of your countrymen, and shows what can be done to triumph over time, distance and lack of material resources by those holding the spirit of freedom in their hearts. Your nation has rendered inestimable service to Russia and to the Allies in their struggle to free the world from despotism. We shall never forget it.”
A great deal remains to be done on the Pacific slope of Siberia. There are still large groups of well-armed German prispners and Bolshevik forces, hiding sections of the Amur Railroad and roaming freely over the vast area north of the railroad. But to clean them up presents no great military problem; it is merely a question of time.
But the Allies are faced now with a question of first rate importance. They sent small detachments to Siberia for the purpose of backing the Czechoslovaks and to enable the Russians to regain control of their own affairs. Now it seems that they will have to do more than merely keep a
A View of the Fourth of July Exercises Held by the Czechoslovak and American Fighters in Alsace.small expeditionary force hugging the Pacific coast of Siberia. As a matter of fact the Western front is again in existence. On the Volga a force of Czechoslovaks of an unknown size, but counting less than 100,000, opposes strong forces of Bolsheviki officered by Germans. It is said that the Soviets have raised fifty divisions, while the Czechoslovaks are assured by the new Siberian government that 200,000 volunteer troops will support them. But it will be a long time, before the Russian troops can be relied upon in a serious battle. As the situation now stands, three campaigns are being carried on in European Russia. In the north a small Allied force is marching southward from Archangel. Separated by a few hundred miles from them the Czechoslovaks are holding their own from Perm to Samara. South of them fighting is going on between the Bolsheviki and the Don Cossacks. If two or three Allied divisions appeared on the Volga, the break between the three armies will be quickly filled in and a new front will extend from the Arctic to the Black Sea. That of course would mean an open alliance between the Bolsheviki and the Germans, but then it has been made clear that the Bolshevik leaders have been all along in the employment of the Germans. If the Czechoslovaks and those Russian elements which gathered around them feel confident that the Allies will not leave them in the lurch against the advancing Germans, the reconstruction of Russia will proceed with much greater speed.
A few months ago, when the Czechoslovaks started on their long trip to France, they had no high officers in their ranks. Their highest officers were captains, and many volunteers who had been officers in the Austrian army had to serve as privates or corporals. Masaryk selected a Russian general of experience for chief of staff. But during the time that the main body of this force was cut off from all contact with the outside world, during the four months of steady fighting, men came to the front by a process of natural selection. At present the commander of the Czechoslovaks in Siberia is Major-General Syrový, an engineer by profession, one of the earliest volunteers in the original Czechoslovak Legion of the Russian army. At the battle of Zborov he lost his right eye, and like the great Czech general, Žižka, of the Hussite Wars, he leads his men with a black flap over one eye. Under him the commander on the Volga front is General Čeček, who commanded a battalion at Zborov and who won the battle of Bachmach in March of this year against the Germans. The commander in the East is General Gajda, who is a physician by profession and only 28 years old. The other generals are slightly older. They will all be subject to the supreme directions of General Janin who left the command of the Czechoslovak Army in France to be in direct charge of the forces in Russia. The political control over the Czechoslovak forces will be in the hands of the vice-president of the Council, General Štefanik. Both these distinguished leaders are now on their way to Vladivostok.
On the French front three regiments are stationed in Alsace alongside of the American troops, and while they have not taken part in any great action, they have already suffered many casualties, among them men that volunteered from America. They have been cited in army orders for their gallant conduct.
On September 21st the Czechoslovak division on the Italian front fought for the first time in its regular formation, achieving victory. This is the story of their great fight as given out by the Italian Embassy in Washington:
“On the Trentino front the Czechoslovaks repelled double enemy attacks east of Lake Garda, prepared in greatest secrecy. It appears that enemy command had not territorial objectives in view, but merely proposed to strike a blow against the Czechoslovaks to obtain proof of the Austrian statement that the Czechoslovak army has no practical value, being recruited by force and would give way voluntarily at the first blow. If the Austrians had achieved any local success on Dosso Alto, their command, after hanging the Czechoslovak prisoners, would have again affirmed that the Czechoslovaks do not wish to fight against Austria. At daybreak on the 21st, picked assault detachments of landwehr, exclusively composed of Magyars and Germans assembled under the command of General Schiesser. At four they began destructive fire, firing thousands of shells and discharging asphyxiating gases against the Dosso Alto salient. An hour later two columns advanced in attack. The Czechoslovaks went over the trenches, placing machine guns behind wire entanglements, and opening deadly fire against the assaulting troops, the first column of which was obliged to retire. The second column, after desperate fighting, succeeded in overcoming the Czechoslovaks, occupying the position. The Czechoslovaks acting on their own initiative, resumed battle and with irresistible dash after bloodiest battle, recaptured the position. Magyars and Germans were killed on reconquered positions, and Czechoslovaks, freely using daggers, completely re-established the original line in the afternoon. No prisoners were made on either side during the whole battle. Premier Orlando telegraphed to the Secretary General of the Czechoslovak National Council as follows: “Cordially express my admiration at the intrepid firmness and valor of the Czechoslovak division on the Dosso Alto Alps, where a people fighting bravely for its liberty conquered the aggressive fury fed by hate. May this be a good omen for the final battle and victory.’”
This work was published in 1918 and is anonymous or pseudonymous due to unknown authorship. It is in the public domain in the United States as well as countries and areas where the copyright terms of anonymous or pseudonymous works are 105 years or less since publication.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse