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Reichsrat, and at present Professor at King’s College, who escaped to the Allied countries soon after the outbreak of the war; Dr. Edward Benes, an able politician and author of various political and social studies, who escaped from Austria in 1915. The third member is General Stefanik, a famous Slovak airman and scientist, whose diplomatic and military career is one of the wonders of this War.
All Czecho-Slovaks in France and Great Britain volunteered to fight in the Allied ranks on the outbreak of the War.
In Russia there has been a Czech legion fighting with the Russian Armies since the very beginning of the War, composed of Czechs resident in Russia. Unfortunately the Tsarist Russian regime placed obstacles in the way of recruiting among our prisoners of war. There were also difficulties resulting from the fact that our prisoners were dispersed all over Russia and Siberia, and the National Council, not yet having the powers of a Government, was unable to proceed with its task with the desired success until after the revolution. It was only after Professor Masaryk came to Russia in May, 1917, that we succeeded in raising a whole brigade which took such a glorious part in the last Russian offensive in July, 1917. This brigade gradually developed into an Army Corps, and numbered some 60,000, when the Bolsheviks concluded the shameful peace of Brest-Litovsk. It was then decided that our Army should be transported via Siberia to France, but this became
