The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-08-09
10000 Serbs Quit Austria Il
Join Ranks of Allies.
SlavS of Captured Provinces
Forced To Fight Brothers.
THEY SURRENDER VOLUNTARILY
Serbian States HOtbed of Agita-
ton Before War Broke Out.
includes SarajevO Where Crown
Prince Was ASsassinated.

81. Corfu. Island of Corfu, Aug q
There are two whole Serbian divisions
10000 men-which entered the war
under the Austrian flag fighting
against the tentente allies and which
TO-DAY have turned squarely around
and are fighting under the entente
eolors against the central powers This
fighting under two flags is one of the
queer romances of the big war related
by Prof. Yanitch, private chaplain of
King Peter of Serbia, as illustrating
how the conglomerate SIav population
of Southern Austria Hungary is ready
to break away from the Hapsl'u. =:
master.
These two divisions originally rs
TRAN. were forced into the ranks ca rly
in the war from Bosnia, Croatia and
herzegovina, the sSlav states fortibly
annexed by Austria. 1t is a great lot
bed of Slav agitation. The popula-
ttOn is overwhelmingly SlaV but is
held in subsection by the iron riili-
tary rule of the dual monarchy. 1t
was here at the central point of Sara
5eVo, that the Austrian crown prince
was assassinated and the E,urorean
war unclaimed. Altho the work Of
fanatic. it was only one of the evi e
dene,s OF the intense feeling of !hfs
SifV section against its masters.
Feared Serbs Would Desert
The Austrian staff held the Slav
forces in reserve for a time well know
lHs the bitterness in the ranks .sut
when General Brussiloff's great drive
BEGAN a year ago in Galicia the Aus
TRANS hal need of every man. This
Brought the Slav divisions into line
and for the first time. Slav was facing
slav, the southern element being
thrust forward to meet the rush of
their brothers from the north. 1t was
a nf hF-1f ha1
brother
After one engagement young Serb
officer went among the enemy wound
ed and there found two of his broth
ers fatally shot by his own men and
By his own orders. But the ties of
race were stronger than flags In
one night machine gun battery at
tached to one OF the Slav divisions
opened by firing against the advance
ing Russians and then swinging their
pieces about ended the day by pour
ing their battery fire into the Aus
TRANS. AS the two sides came to-
sether the Slavs with the Austrian
forces would call out0
Mi smo Srbi," meaning We are
Serbs which was the signal for
steady streams of desertion from the
Austrian to the Russian ranks. There
was much surprise a year ago at the
reports on great numbers of prisoners
taken by Brussiloff and it is said this
IS largely accounted for by the grea
number of southern SlaVs. who forced
to fight i'm the Austrian ranks, volun-
tarily gave themselves up as prison.
srs when they met their Slav brothers
from the north. d.
Made Long Trips to Saioniki.
These two Serbian divisions. made
W OF Slav prisoners from the Aus
trian ranks, have been placed under
The command of General Zirkovitch.
the defender of Belgrade, with head
quarters at Saloniki. Recently a thou
sand of them, assembled at Odessa
after voluntarily being made prisoners
carried out a remarka BILE trip from
Odessa, Petrograd, London, Paris
Marseilles to Saloniki, in ninty-two
lays. thus completing within about
three months the transfer of service
from the Austrian front in Galicia to
the allied front at Saloniki