Volunteer armed force fighting on the side of the Entente powers during World War I
This article is about a formation during the Russian Civil War. For other Czechoslovak formations, see Czechoslovak Legion (disambiguation).
Czechoslovak Legion
Czech: Československé legie
Slovak: Československé légie
Czechoslovak Legion coat of arms
Founded
1914
Disbanded
1920
Allegiance
Czechoslovakia
Type
Ground forces
Expeditionary warfare
Size
9,600 in France
13,653 and 489 officers in Italy
50,000 in Russia
Motto(s)
"Nazdar" ("Hello")
Colors
Equipment
Armored Zaamurets
Engagements
World War I
Eastern Front (World War I)
Battle of Zboriv (1917)
Italian front (World War I)
Isonzo front
Western Front (World War I)
Race to the Sea
Russian Civil War
Operation Faustschlag
Battle of Bakhmach
Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion
Commanders
Notable commanders
Milan Rastislav Štefánik
Radola Gajda
Jan Syrový
Stanislav Čeček
Josef Šnejdárek
Insignia
Universal Battle flag
Leader
Czechoslovak National Council
(Tomáš Masaryk, Milan Rastislav Štefánik, and Edvard Beneš)
Merged into
Czechoslovak Army
Motives
Czechoslovak independence
Part of
World War I
French Armed Forces
French Foreign Legion "Nazdar!" Company (until 16 June 1915)
Autonomous Czechoslovak Army (after 19 December 1917)
Imperial Russian Army (1914–1917)
Royal Italian Army (1914–1918)
Czechoslovak Italian Legion (1918)
Russian Civil War
White Army
Siberian Army
Allies
World War I
United Kingdom
France
Italy
Russian Empire
Romania
Serbia
Russian Civil War
Japan
United States
Russian State (1918–1920) (until 17 November 1919)
Opponents
World War I
German Empire
Austria-Hungary
Russian Civil War
Bolsheviks
Russian SFSR
Left SRs
Military unit
"Prague to Its Victorious Sons", a monument to the Czechoslovak Legions at Palacký Square
The Czechoslovak Legion (Czech: Československé legie; Slovak: Československé légie) were volunteer armed forces comprised predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks[1] fighting on the side of the Entente powers during World War I and the White Army during the Russian Civil War until November 1919. Their goal was to win the support of the Allied Powers for the independence of Lands of the Bohemian Crown from the Austrian Empire and of Slovak territories from the Kingdom of Hungary, which were then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. With the help of émigré intellectuals and politicians such as the Czech Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and the Slovak Milan Rastislav Štefánik, they grew into a force over 100,000 strong.
In Russia, they took part in several victorious battles of the war, including the Zborov and Bakhmach against the Central Powers, and were heavily involved in the Russian Civil War fighting Bolsheviks, at times controlling the entire Trans-Siberian railway and several major cities in Siberia.
After three years of existence as a small unit in the Imperial Russian Army, the Legion in Russia was established in 1917, with other troops fighting in France since the beginning of the war as the "Nazdar" company, and similar units later emerging in Italy and Serbia. Originally an all-volunteer force, these formations were later strengthened by Czech and Slovak prisoners of war or deserters from the Austro-Hungarian Army. The majority of the legionaries were Czechs, with Slovaks making up 7% of the force in Russia, 3% in Italy and 16% in France.[2]
The name Czechoslovak Legion preceded and anticipated the creation of
Czechoslovakia.
^"Nad Tatrou sa blýska - (10)". Valka.cz.
^"Češi bojovali hrdinně za Rakousko-Uhersko, ale první republika to tutlala". zpravy.idnes.cz. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
and 19 Related for: Czechoslovak Legion information
The CzechoslovakLegion (Czech: Československé legie; Slovak: Československé légie) were volunteer armed forces comprised predominantly of Czechs and...
The revolt of the CzechoslovakLegion comprised the armed actions of the CzechoslovakLegion in the Russian Civil War against Bolshevik authorities, beginning...
The Czechoslovak Italian Legion was a legion of Czechoslovak volunteers formed late in World War I. The first formal Czechoslovak Volunteers Group (Czech:...
craft operating on the Danube (and briefly on the upper Elbe). The CzechoslovakLegion in the Russian Far East possessed in 1918 a maritime section of two...
Czechoslovak state consisted mainly of Czech and Slovak units of Austro-Hungarian Army while it also incorporated members of the CzechoslovakLegion from...
The Czech and Slovak Legion, also known as the CzechoslovakLegion, was a military unit formed in the Second Polish Republic after Germany occupied Czechoslovakia...
Lake Baikal was a naval battle undertaken by Czechoslovak forces. In August 1918, the Czechoslovaklegion, under the leadership of Gajda, fought the Red...
Russian territory during the chaos of the revolution. In May 1918, the CzechoslovakLegion in Russia revolted in Siberia. In reaction, the Allies began their...
[according to who] These factors, together with the evacuation of the CzechoslovakLegion in September 1920, led the western Allied powers to end the North...
Modern history precedes the 1918 Czechoslovak declaration of independence with formal establishment of the CzechoslovakLegion fighting on the side of the...
Enrollment of Czechoslovak volunteers in the French Foreign Legion started in Paris on 21 August 1914. The 1st Company, Battalion C, of the 2nd Infantry...
to prevent the rescue of the Imperial family by the approaching CzechoslovakLegion during the ongoing Russian Civil War. This is supported by a passage...
powers, Japan, and China to support White Russian forces and the CzechoslovakLegion against Soviet Russia and its allies during the Russian Civil War...
battles on the Eastern Front in World War I between the Entente-backed CzechoslovakLegion, Soviet Russia and the Central Powers occupying Ukraine after the...
In that front, they launched an attack in collaboration with the CzechoslovakLegions, who were then stranded in Siberia by the Bolshevik Government, who...
Bit-Bazi tribe, and Malik Khoshaba of the Bit-Tiyari tribe. Polish LegionsCzechoslovakLegions: armed by France, Italy, and Russia Additionally, there were...
officer, member of the Czechoslovaklegion Josef František, pilot ace Radola Gajda, army officer, member of the Czechoslovaklegion Kurt Knispel, German...
along the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway, on the part of the CzechoslovakLegion and officers of the Russian Army. Provisional anti-Bolshevik local...
CzechoslovakLegions Graveyard in Vladivostok (Czech: Pohřebiště československých legionářů ve Vladivostoku, Russian: Кладбище чехословацких легионеров...
Global Information
Czechoslovakia
