Page:Albert Beaumont - Heroic Story of the Czecho-Slovak Legions - 1919.djvu/78

 through the woods nearly 200 kilometres before it got into touch with our troops at Myash. After June 10, howerer, liaison was established, and the Volga group was in touch with the Central Siberian group. I can only mention some of the principal actions of our Central Siberian group.

The greatest battle of course, was that which gave us possession of Irkutsk and the region of the Lake Baikal. But this came later. The first great engagement, a battle, in fact, which lasted nearly eight days, was sustained by our echelons at Marcinsk, about 2,000 kilometres east of Celiabinsk. The wireless messages of Trotsky had reached the Bolshevik troops in that district, and they armed the German and Austrian war prisoners, who were only too willing to fight against the Czechs. Our echelon at Marcinsk was commanded bys Captain Kadlec. Before he had any warning from our National Assembly that war was declared the Bolsheviks, reinforced by numerous German and Magyar war prisoners, whom they had armed, surrounded his detachment. Our gallant little troop entrenched itself, and fought with desperation. But they had scanty ammunition, and not enough rifles, and might have been overpowered had they not succeeded in sending messengers to the nearest echelons. These arrived in time, and then a regular battle against the Bolsheviks and the armed prisoners, who numbered from 5,000 to 6,000 men, followed. It was a severe engagement, the Germans and Magyars fighting well, but the Bolsheviks soon gave up an fled. They left several hundred wounded and more than 100 dead behind. All their arms and provisions and the station fell into our hands.

Several of our echelons were moving towards Irkutsk, and included some trains of artillery, at the time Trotsky’s famous telegram was sent. They had no cognisance of it immediately, and were attacked by surprise by the Bolsheviks and armed prisoners. A train of artillery and a company of engineers and sappers reached Vojensky, a point only about seven kilometres from Irkutsk, at the end of May. The Bolsheviks, who already had instructions from Moscow, allowed the trains to pass and get beyond Irkutsk. The other echelons followed, and, when they reached Vojensky, the Bolsheviks opened fire on the trains. At the same time messages came that the artillery train which had gone ahead was also attacked. Some distance behind other trains were fired on. Our different detachments at once defended themselves, and, when reinforcements reached Vojensky, they immediately attacked the Bolsheviks and the armed war prisoners, who amounted to several thousand. They next attacked and captured a big prisoners’ camp near by where the prisoners were being armed by the Bolsheviks. Our artillery brigade