Page:Albert Beaumont - Heroic Story of the Czecho-Slovak Legions - 1919.djvu/54

 Our national organisation in Russia had since the very beginning been in touch with our national organisation in Paris, which eventually became recognised as our first National Government by the Powers of the Entente. Professor Masaryk came to Russia in May, 1917, with the express purpose of giving greater prestige to our national organisation in Russia, and the moment he came all hesitation on the part of our prisoners to join our army ceased. He consulted with the men who formed our first committee in 1915, and approved what they had done. He also had occasion to see the serious difficulties under which they had been working. As we had learned by our own experience, many Russian officers were at the beginning and continued even after the revolution to be Germanophile. The Russian Army was infested with these men at the start, and their baneful influence continued to the end. The old régime could not use them at the front against Germany or Austria, so they were placed in command of stations at the rear or far away in Siberia, and were as so many petty tyrants, perfectly independent in their own sphere.

The shining exceptions were the great Russian generals at the front, who unhesitatingly accepted the officers and men who offered to join. These were Generals Brusiloff, Duchonin, and Alexeieff. It was through them that our first two regiments were united into a “brigade“ as early as 1916, but they never had an opportunity of fighting as a unit in a real battle until June, 1917, at Zborov. They were then under the command of Colonel Trojanov, whose division formed part of the southern army under the chief command of General Brusiloff. The famous offensive of Kerensky opened on June 18. and the battle of Zborov was on June 18, 19, and 20, old style (July 1, 2, and 3 new style).

It is necessary, in order to understand subsequent events, to explain the formation of our National Assembly and the action of Professor Masaryk, of the other delegates, and of General Stefanik. If this National Assembly had not existed we should still have looked upon ourselves a forming simply a small, insignificant part of the Russian Army. But under the direction of our own compatriots and of the men who represented our first National Government in Paris we felt that we were fighting under our own flag for our own cause, and dependent directly only on our own Government. It made a vast difference with both our officers and men in the numerous prisoner camps. The National Council in Paris had decided to create a National Czecho-Slovak Council in Russia, and the president of the Russian branch was to be then first delegate sent out from Paris. The first delegate who thus came was Professor Masaryk himself. Before his arrival, and as if in preparation