Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-08-19
TORY OF The
tZECHO-SLOVAKS
lT0L| D ]: 'HURBAN

#istorys Of Army from Time
Of Escape to Present
Time Described.
Vladimir S. Hurban, an officer in the
1zechp- Slovak army which Japan and
The United States nave decided to aid
II Siberia has come to Washington
from N~ladivostok to make a report
tb Professor Masaryk, Commander
ih-Chief of the Czecho-Slovak army
, ahd. PRESIDENT of the National Coun-
ell. Captain Hurban has given to The
Associated Press his story of the ex-
time the army of escaped prison
rs fought their way eastward from
Ukrainia.
THE history Of the origin Of our
arrays of its operations on the Russian
fronts and its march around the
worlds to the French front will some
day read like Fantastic. romance. be-
fore which the Imagination fades into
the MOSAIC" % he said.
"Opr Army in Russia was organized
from dCzecho and tSlovak prisoners Of
war under almost insurmountable diff
fculttas. We were cooperating with
the Russian Army, and. since the
summer of 1917 were practically the
only army on the Russian front, cap
able OF any military action in the
proper. sense of the word. In July,
1917 ssdu4eng the first revolutionary
offensive under Kerensky it wa only
our army that really attacked and adj
vanced,
'When the Bolshevik Soviet Gov
ernrpeht signed the peace treaty at
the Beginning of March. u army, Of
aboutss5O,000 men. was in Ukrainia,
near ssKiev. The former U%krainian
threw themselves. into the arms Of
the Germans and called for German
help. aaWhen the German and ,Austri,
an armies began. their advance into
Ukrainia, the position Of our army
was almost desperate. We were in
a state which had concluded peace,
into which, however, the Germans
territories without resistance. The
Red rGuards Of the Soviets did not
represent any real military power.
TN Germans advanced against us
in Overwhelming numbers and there
sDRs danger that we would be sur
founded. Our ear was not covered
and the Germans were liable to at
tack us there. We had no lines of
communication behind us, no stores
Of materials and no reserves; every
where there was disorganization and
anarchy, and the Bolshevik Red
GuardssseZed s the locomotives and
were fleeing East in panic.
"UHder these circumstances EN-
perorlC harlestsent us a special envoy
with the Aromise. that if we would
disarm,. we would be amnestied and
01If Jnf1H~r : VryrSy11. AanoSxyo ~ "
We answered that we would not me
gotiatea with the Austrian Emperor.
y Began a Retreat. p.
"Asa we could not hold a front, WE
begansa. retreat to the East. Already
then lin agreement with the Allies,
u army had been proclaimed a part
of the Czecho-Slovak army on the
Westeqn Front, and thus allied with
the French army, it was decided ia
TRANSPORT our army over Siberia and
AMERICA to France. We began the
difficult retreat from Kiev. The
Germans in an overwhelming force
= were sdrying to prevents our escape
Ahputsa hundred miles behind us the.
seizedS the important railroad juno
ton at Bachmac, which we wer'
obliged to pass in our. trains on oul
retreat to the East.
wien we arrived at Bachmac tn
Germans were already waiting for us
There began a battle lasting fou.
days, Min which they were badly de
feated, and which enabled us to ge
our trains through. The commando
of thesGerman detachment offered Vi
a 4S hours truce, which we. accepted
for Our duty was to leave Ukrainia
but, the truce wa cancelled by tn
German chief Commander, Linsingen
butstAp late: our trains had alread!
rot away. We lost altogether abou
100 men in dead. wounded and unac
.ountable, while. we buried 1000 Ger
aanssin only one day.
"Inssthis manner we escaped fror
tkrainia: Our relations with tn
Bolsheviks were still good. We re
trained from meddling with Russia
Internal affairs and we tried to com
10 Enlargement with the Bolshevil
EoverpHent with respect to u de
y partufe, Or passage through Russia
But already. signs were visible tina
he Standardization under German
influence or- because we then repre-
sented.t the only#real power in Russi
way. at would have sufficed to orde
one Of our regiments (our army wa
lhen, I'm March, near Moscow to tax
Moscow, and sin half a day Their
wouldA have been 10. Bolshevik gov
ernment; for then we were we
afmed,s having taken from the IfOH
everything we could carry, to proven
It from falling into the hands of tn
GerpHps. Each Of u regiments ha
{ in RjsE4ia. ito say nothing Of Moscow
200 t. 300 machine gum n nobod
~could~haVe at all contemplated an al
tempt at opposition. Moscow, more
over, would have received us wit
open rms Butawe We're determine
to leave as the arm Of a friendl!
brother nation, with an army whic
in spite Of all badlexperiences. wtshe
Russia the strengthening of real d.
mocracy. Although we could M
sympathize withAthe Bolshevik go,
eminent, we as g0ests refrained frol
4. al. Scfion against 1t, and RENAME
absolutely loyal to it, @
Turnover Everything.
ITO prove aindisputably our loyalt
we turned over to the Bolshevil
everything all our arms. with the e,
ception Of q few rifles which we kel
for our, so;to$say, personal, safety q
rifles for each 100 men). The equil
sAent we turned over to the Bolshe'
iks including arms, horses, autom'
biles, airplanes, ETC., was worth MOI
than 1000, zoo, 900 rubles, and II VIZ
legally in our possession, for we too
It away from. the Germans. to who
it had beer. abandoned by the f1eetr
.Bolsheviks. This transfer Of Il
equipment was of course preceded ]
All agreement made between us ar
the Moscow government. by which "
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