Page:Albert Beaumont - Heroic Story of the Czecho-Slovak Legions - 1919.djvu/65

 fell into our hands, much more, in fact, than we needed. The Bolsheviks withdrew in haste northward at the approach of the Germans, abandoning everything. In the vicinity of Bakmatch alone we found twentyseven locomotives and 750 cars. As we proceeded further up we found hundreds of abandoned locomotives, more than 1,000 cars loaded with all sorte of goods, and army material. There were trainloads of munitions, rifles, flour, sugar, provisions of every description, uniforms, petroleum, even aeroplanes, and a number of guns. I said that a Bolshevik detachment fought with us. But it is hardly right to call them Bolsheviks. They were Russians who still had the national sentiment, and were Bolsheviks only in name. Quite a number of detached loyal troops still remained here and there before the ignominious peace of Brest-Litovsk was signed.

We moved most of the captured material northward, some of it as far as Pensa, at the express request of these troops, and thus we saved huge quantities of it from falling into the hands of the Germans. The value of the material saved by us, which afterwards was mostly restored to the Russians, amounted to something like a miliard of roubles. The Germans had hastened their divisions forward probably as much with the idea of rounding up and carrying away all this war booty as to cut off our retreat. It is known that they already contemplated a vast raid on all Ukrainia, which they afterwards carried out mercilessly when we were no longer there to defend it.

I may mention that one of the difficulties which we had at the very outset of our retreat was that of ready funds. There were only 30,000 roubles in our regimental treasuries at Kieff, and it was necessary to get away our money from Moscow. There was deposited there in sure hands 3,000,000 roubles, and it was very urgent to secure this money. Our National Assembly sent a delegate, Captain “P,“ and another trusted officer and two soldiers on this perilous mission. They spoke Russian perfectly, and dressed as soldiers in Russian uniform. They went further, and joined the Bolsheviks on the way to Moscow, eating and drinking with them, doing sentry duties with them in turn, and thus got to Moscow. After taking possession of the money at Moscow they packed it in their kits with soiled linen, and started on their return journey in the direction of Kharkoff. They had left Kieff at the end of February, and arrived in Kharkoff on March 12, with the 3,000,000 roubles safely in their rough bags, the Bolsheviks never having examined them.

Before our general retreat towards Siberia began several of our echelons from Borispol started north by way of Moscow to Murmansk and Archangel for Europe. This was the route which the Allies would 5