Czechoslovak Legion
While Czechoslovakia did not exist before World War I, during the war the Czechoslovak Legion recruited men to fight with the Allies on three fronts: France, Italy and Russia. The Czechoslovak Legion in Russia was composed mostly of POWs from the Austro-Hungarian Army. On the far right of the main panel of the painting the last flag shown is of the Czechoslovak Legion. The Legion's flag generally consisted of a white bar over a red bar with coats of arms of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Slovakia in the corners and a crown with garlands in the center or the initials "C S" intertwined as seen here in the detail from the painting and photo of the Legion in France posing with their flag. This stylized "C S" symbol was used extensively throughout Czechoslovakia during the first republic 1918 - 1939.