Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-11-08
Gajda's Army Fights /.
Across 1900 Miles
of Hostile Country

Correspondence Associated Press.l
Vladivostok, Sept. IL. General
Gaida's Czecho-S lovaks, fighting their
way thru $500 miles of hostile terri
tory furnishes n tale no less thrilling
than that related of Cortcz' drive from
Vera Cruz to the ancient Aztec capital
in the sixteenth century. Like his
iIlustrious predecessor. he saw his
forces grow as his successes multi
Piled. but his success, also like those
of the adventurous Spaniard, were due
to his unflagging courage and In
gsnious tactics and to the loyalty OF
his men.
When the order came from Petro-
grad countermanding the permission
given for the free movement of the
Czecho- Slovaks toward Vladivostok, it
found them strung out in a thin line
from the Volga to yladivostok. A
twelve-d day truce. following the first
serious clash at Frkutsk when the boil
sheviki undertook to disarm a train
load of Czechs. applied only to eastern
Siberia and was utiH1ed by Gaida's
men to get a running start for the
plunge thru the thickets of the strug-
gle. Thereafter his policy appears to
have been to- constantly prepare and
execute some new surprise. until the
enemy was in such state of nerves
that the. approach of a body of Czecho-
,Slovaks, no matter how small, was
likely to throw him into panic.
Assisted by Cossacks and by Czechs
from Chiliabinsk, Colonel Kadlets,
then commander Of the Czech forces
west of Irkutsk, fought his way
west to Omsk, taking towns enroute.
He improved the time during the arm
istice to clean up the line westward to
the Urals.
Meantime, with resumption Of hos
tilities to the eastward the Czech
Slovak forces between Krasnoyarsk
and Irkutsk found themselves hard
pressed and near to the end OF their
resources. Kadiets doubled back east
ward and by a series OF thanking
movements, falling upon the bolsheviki
in the night, stampeded them time
after time. In this way he pushed
thru to the relief Of his countrymen at
Krasnoyarsk and 1rkutsk.
From Irkutsk to the southermost
point of Lake Saikal there are forty
one tunnels. 1t was the Czech's aim to
clear out the .bolsheviki without CIV
ing them time to blow up these tun-
nels and to that end they started
small contingent overland to surprise
the bolsheviki beyond the series Of
tunnels. These men marched four
days under greatest difficulties. They
became so pressed for food supplies
that they had to eat their horses. But
they accomplished their object. They
attacked the bolsheviki in Sthe middle
Of the night, captured their machine
guns and started them northward IN
disorder. The bolsheviki succeeded
in blowing UP one tunnel, the last one
in the series.
The Czechs and their RussiaY allies
now had a clear track to the southern
extremity Of the lake, to village
named Slujianka, where the blocked
tunnel presented q serious obstacle to
further progress. They dragged a few
light guns over the ridge and marched
several contingents of troops around
the obstruction only to find the boil
sheviki massed in force some twenty
miles beyond. The Czechs and Rus
sians suffered heavy losses in the
fighting here and were forced back to
within a few mile of the tunnel.
Meantime the Czechs had cleared
the tunnel sufficiently to pass troops
thru, on foot. General Gaida, who had
succeeded Colonel Kadlets in COM
mand, caused decoy messages to fall
into the enemy's hands, hegging for
help and declaring that the tunnel
was hopelessly blocked and he in
desperate straits. surrounded and at
the end 81 his lesources.4, The boil
sheviki thercupon moved southwark in
high spirits. throwing aside all caution
Bands played and their progress was
In the nature Of triumphal march.
"A few mihee from the tunnel they
ran into an ambush which completely
demoralized them. Machine guns
raked them from the, hilisides and field
guns shelled them front and rear.
tattered remnant Of the bohsheviki
army fed northward with the few
trains they were able 10 save.