The Civil War has become one of the greatest tragedies in Russian history. This fratricidal massacre lasted for almost six years and caused casu alties far exceeding the military losses in the battles with Austria-Hungary and Germany. One of the little-known pages of this terrible epic was the uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps.
The First World War brought many nations together in a deadly fight. From the novels of Remarque and other writers, her veterans, one can glean information about positional battles on the Western Front. Today, Russians will learn a lot about the valor of their ancestors who defended their native land along the long line of defense from the B altic to the Black Sea, and about the breakthrough of fortifications in the Carpathians by the army of General Brusilov.
Jaroslav Hasek's popular book about the good soldier Schweik vividly illustrates the mood in the Austro-Hungarian army, part of which was manned by Czechs and Slovaks. The soldiers of these nationalities were supposed to defend the interests of a monarchy completely alien to them. Historically sympathetic to Russia (even the national flags of the Czechs andSlovaks repeat our tricolor with their colors), they deserted en masse or went over to her side. Knowledge of the Austrian army "from the inside" allowed them to provide invaluable assistance.
After the October coup, these units found themselves in a difficult position. The Bolsheviks, trying to slow down their movement to the front, where they were striving to help the Allied armies complete the defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary (and, therefore, achieve sovereignty), made decisions either to disarm them, or to drive them into concentration camps (they were just then appeared), or even entice them to the Red Army.
A situation arose in which only a bold offensive operation or the seizure of weapons depots could save the situation.
That's when the uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps began. The date of this event is the spring of 1918. It is impossible to specify it more precisely, this military formation did not have a single command. The beginning of the uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps was spontaneous and unprepared. The Reds fired on the wagons with soldiers from machine guns, and those had to counterattack them with their bare hands. Nevertheless, poorly armed and not knowing the terrain, but well-trained military men were able to adequately resist the Bolsheviks, and the sympathies of the population allowed them to hold significant territories in the Volga region and Siberia.
In conditions when the Volunteer Army had not yet been formed, it was the uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps that became the first organizedan attempt to counter the Red Terror.
The Entente countries that promised help, however, were in no hurry with it. Firstly, England and France had enough of their own worries, and secondly, its delivery itself was problematic and associated with risks. From the Volga to Vladivostok, the uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps became a real threat to the Bolshevik regime.
The liberation of Kazan and the holding of the city for a month demonstrated the ability of the "White Czechs" to take decisive action. However, losses, lack of supplies and centralized control could not but affect military success. In the autumn of 1918, in October, two regiments, the 1st and 4th, refused to continue fighting. Divisional commander Josef Jiří Shvets shot himself without experiencing shame, because the soldiers with whom he fought for four years did not obey him.
The uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps was finally suppressed only in the autumn of 1919. From Vladivostok, its remains were evacuated to their homeland, which gained independence after the defeat of Austria-Hungary.
