Page:Albert Beaumont - Heroic Story of the Czecho-Slovak Legions - 1919.djvu/75

 emplacement of the base depôts, and the provision centres. The information was afterwards of use to our commanders, who were thus able to occupy them when necessary.

There were, at the time of the rupture, on May 26, about 50 echelons from Rkiscevo in the region of the Volga to Irkutsk in Siberia. Our echelons near Pensa had orders to go back and assist the others that were behind and to collect all the arms and ammunition which they had abandoned. For about ten days our central direction at Cheliabinsk was in a state of great suspense to know whether all the operations succeeded. But cheerful news came in every day, and finally telegraphic connections were established between the greater part of the echelons, and their movements could be co-ordinated. Whilst occupying the railway line from Pensa to Sysran, Samara, Zlatoust, and Cheliabinsk for a distance of about 1,000 kilometres, we also succeeded in occupying the second railway line a little farther north in the Central Ural region from Perm to Yekaterinburg, a distance of about 200 kilometres, and down to Omsk. Thereby we cut off Moscow entirely from direct telegraphic or railway communicafion with Siberia. We held important positions or the Volga, but it was not safe for us to leave our echelons there, and they were gradually moved east of Pensa to Samara. It was not done without numerous incidents and engagements with the Bolsheviks, who were now in active pursuit whenever they got the chance.

On the very first day of the conflict the Bolsheviks at Certopsk, about 100 kilometres south-west of Pensa, sent a locomotive at full speed against a train, crowded by one of our echelons, which was standing in the station. The locomotive, which came at a terrific speed and, of course, unannounced, dashed into the last cars of the train before many of our men could jump out. There was a great crash, half a dozen cars were smashed, seventy of our men were killed outright, and a large number injured. A Bolshevik detachement followed it up by an attack with rifles and machine-guns, but our troops defended themselves with spirit, routed the Bolsheviks, and took possession of the station.

After all our extreme echelons in the west had been concentrated at Pensa they started to abandon that station on May 29, moving towards Sysran. There were small skirmishes with the Bolsheviks, who, however, were invariably driven off or captured. On June 2 we left Sysran, and on June 3 all our troops had passed over from the western banks of the Volga, crossing safely the big bridge at Sysran. On June 8 they occupied Samara, the extreme western point which it was decided to hold against the Bolsheviks. Thus in a fortnight we were masters of