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Bismarck truly said that the master of Bohemia would be the master of Europe. Bohemia has many traditions in common with England, and she will become her natural ally and friend. In the Czecho-Slovaks, the most democratic, homogeneous and advanced nation of Central Europe, Great Britain will find a true ally and fellow-pioneer in the cause of justice, freedom and democracy.
Next day, July 26th, Izvestya published the information that "after minute questionings and full inquiry" a special commission appointed to inquire into the events relating to the insurrection at Jaroslav had listed 350 persons as having "taken an active part in the insurrection and had relations with the Czecho-Slovaks," and that by order of the commissioners the whole band of 350 had been shot!
Apart from the fact that it recognises our efforts towards independence, the declaration says explicitly that the Czecho-Slovaks, abroad and at home, are an Allied nation, which implies that the Allies will treat them henceforward as such, and will allow their government to establish consular service and to send representatives to Allied conferences.
This was a reply to Trotsky's telegram that the Czecho-Slovaks should be completely disarmed, which the Czecho-Slovaks defied as they knew that another order had been issued by Trotsky simultaneously, no doubt on the instigation of Count Mirbach, saying that the Czecho-Slovak troops must be dissolved at all costs and interned as prisoners of war.
When the Russian armies were disbanded, there were some troops that refused to throw down their arms. Among them were the regiments of Czecho-Slovaks. These men had been forced, against their will, to serve in the Austrian army. They were from the northern part of the Austrian empire, Bohemia and Moravia.
Four officers had deserted from the Austrian lines and surrendered to the Czecho-Slovaks; it was one of their military functions to induce surrenders. Two of these officers were themselves Czecho-Slovaks, the third a Jugo-Slav and the fourth an Italian from Istria.
In fact the Czecho-Slovaks have not voluntarily shed a single drop of blood for the Central Powers. But our compatriots abroad, remembering the centuries-old Austrian oppression, have formed voluntary legions in all the Allied armies. They are shedding their blood for the most sacred rights of humanity and at a moment of the greatest danger for the Allies they saved the situation.
The Czecho-Slovaks were greatly handicapped, since they were not only almost unarmed, but were also dispersed along the trans-Siberian line in small detachments which had considerable difficulty in keeping in touch with each other. Nevertheless the fates were favourable to them. They were victorious almost everywhere, thanks to their wonderful spirit and discipline.
At first the Bolsheviks promised them a passage via Siberia to the Western front, but then, like Pharaoh hardened their hearts and refused to let the infant nation go. Thereupon the Czecho-Slovaks set up for themselves, seized the Siberian railway from the Bolsheviks, and after much hardship and fighting established contact with the motley Entente forces advancing from Vladivostock.
It was not until after the Russian Revolution, and especially after the arrival of Professor Masaryk in Russia in May, 1917, that the Czecho-Slovak army in Russia became a reality. The Czecho-Slovaks have been mentioned in Russian official communiques of February 2, 1916, and March 29, 1917.
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