World War I: Bohemia/Czechoslovakia (1914-17)


Figure 1.--I am not entirely sure, but I believe this is a ceremony honoring the Czech Legion, probably about 1920. Put the cursor on the image to see some of the boys participating in the event. I think they were part of a youth orhanization called the Sokol.

The Czechs and Slovaks when World War I broke out were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They were two of several restive minorities within the Empire. As Slavs they were not enthusiastic to fight with the Austrians, Germans and Hungarians against fellow Slavs (Russians and Serbs). Many Czechs and Serbs on the Eastern front defected from the Austrian-Hungarian Army and formed the Czechoslovak Legion to fight with the Russians. Thomas Masaryk who emerged as a leader in the Czech independence movement went to western Europe with his American-born wife to promote the the idea that the Austro-Hungarian Empire should be disolved after the war and the new nation of Czechoslovakia created. The Allies resisted at the time because the Russians still fighting on the Eastern front were a multi-national empire not well-disposed toward national self-determination in Eastern Europe. Masaryk along with fellow Czech Eduard Benes and Milan Stefanik (a Slovak war hero), established the Czechoslovak National Council. Masaryk went to America to promote the idea. Benes worked in in France and Britain. The Russian Revolution and the entrance of America into the War changed the political situation. President Wilson in his 14 Points had embraced national self-determination. Britain and France hesitated because they were involved in secret talks with Austrian Emperor Karl I (1916-18) who had replaced Emperor Franz Josef. They hoped to convince the Emperor Karl to make a separate peace. When this failed, the Allies recognized the Czechoslovak National Council (summer 1918). as the supreme organ of a future Czechoslovak government. The German German Western Front began to crack under British and American offensives (September 1918). German and Austrian officials began making peace feelers (early October). Masaryk from America declaraed Czechoslovak independence (October 18). As in other Eastern European countries, borders became a controversial issue. Many areas included mixed ethnic populations. Masaryk wanted Czechoslovakia to be built around the historic Bohemian Kingdom, but include the German-populated Sudetenland. As the Austro-Hungarian Empire began to desintegrate, German deputies from the Sudetenland joined other German and Austrian deputies in the Austrian parliament and declared a new German-Austrian state (October 21). Emperor Karl abdicated on the same day the armistice on the Western Front went into effect (November 11). Czech troops also occupied the Sudetenland (November 11). The Slovaks to the east had the Hungarians to deal with. Hungary officually withdrew from the Austro-Hungarian Empire (November 1). Count Michael Karolyi formed a liberal-democratic government. This Government attempted to retain control over Slovakia. The Czechs gained Allied approval and occupied Slovakia. The Hungarians withdraw. The Czechs and Allies agreed on the Danube and Ipel' rivers as aborder between Hungary and Slovakia. This meant that in the west there would be a German minority and inthe east a substantial Hungarian minority.

Austria-Hungry

Austria had for centuries been a major European power, dominating the Holy Roman Empire. Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) essentially ejected Austria from Germany. The Hapsburgs then recreated Austria as the Dual Monarchy--the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Austria-Hungary became a large multi-ethnic empire dominated by a Grman and Hungarian rukling class. The Empire dominated much of central Europe. Ousted from Germany, it expelled into the Balkans where it came into conflict with Russia which had ethnic ties and expansionary goals. These conflicts escalated as Ottoman power wained. Its dealings with the various nationalities were a major political problem. The Hungarians were give dual royal status with Austria. Other nationalities felt oppressed, none more than the Slavs.

The Slavs

Major Eastern European language and ethnic group speaking one of the Indo-European family languages. The Slavs are normally divided into the West Slavs (Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks), East Slavs (Great Russians, Ukranians, and Bylorusians/White Russians), and South Slavs (Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, Montenegrans, and Bulgarians). The origins of the Slavs are not well understood. Like the Germans, Slavs have developed politically based national theories which have complicated actual scholarship and confused existing literature. Russia's Tsars used pan-Slavism to further its imperial expansion southward into the Ukraine and Balkans. Culturally the Slavs are divided into those national groups associated with the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. Germans and different Slavic nations employed both theories about origins as tools of political propaganda, resulting in general confusion. Some authors note references in Roman sourrces which appear to refer to the Slavs (1st century BC). Other sources maintain the first references appear later (1st century AD). Some scientists (such as Kazimierz Godlowski or Zdenek Vana) dismiss the work of other authors ans maintAin that the Slavs appeared and differentiated themselves from other tribes at some time in the 1st century AD. One auuthor describes two waves of Slavs who he describes as Proto-Slavs (called Venedes or Wenets) and Slavs proper. This author claims that the two waves merged to form the modern Slavs. There appears to be no definitive archeological study as to the Slavs oigins and early history. Considerable archeolgical work has been done, but the findings at ths time seem rather confused. No one knows definitively where the Slavs originated from before the population exploded to become Europe's large ethnic group. The earliest evidence places the Slavs in the Pripyat Marshes area (Polesie). There are many Slavic words suggesting Indo-Aryan links and not mere borrowing. There are also theories of an autochthonous origins dating from pre-glacial times. Scholars are conducting genetic research to address the question of origins and ethnic differences. Anthropologists still debate the theories of multi-regional as opposed to the "out of Africa" concept of human evolution. Some historians speculate that the Slavic homeland was what Tacitus decribed as Germania. The origins of the Slavs are further complicated by the assimilation of non-Slavic peoples. Modern Bulgarians, for example, seem a combination of Central-Asian Bulgars who later mixed with Slavs mocing into the Balkans to form the modern Bugarian population. One of the ongoing conflict in European history has been the conflict between Slavs and Germans, a confict which as a result of NAZI racial theories reached murderous proportions in World War II

Emigrtion

Many disastified Checks and Slovakds enigrated. It was a kind of social safty valve. The mahor destination was the United States. Most Czech immigrants entered the United States before World War I while what became Cechoslovakia after World War I and is now the Czech Republic was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Czechs like other subjects of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire had to get permission to emmigrate. but except for youths of military age there were no significant restrictions placed on emmigration. A major point of departure for Czechs was the German port of Bremen. A substantial number along with German emmigrants entered at the port of Galveston and settled in Texas. A substantial numbers of Jews were included among these Czech emmigrants.

Slovaks and Czechs

The Czechs and Slovaks inhabit adjacent areas in central Eutopr south of Germany. Both groups have similar languages and are both Slavic peoples. Despite these similarities. The situation of the two groups was very different. This was in part because of the different status within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austrians were responsible for the Czechs in Bohemia and Moravia. It was the Hungarians who controlled Slovakia. The Czechan Bohemia had the most indusrialized economy, more industrialized than Austria. In fact had it not been for the Czechs, Austria-Hungary would have entered the World War I without any substanial heavy industry. Slovakia in contrast was largely agricultural, in many cases Slovak peasants worked on the estates of Hungarian landlords. Polish national sentiment had been strong from an early point. The same was not the case for many other national groups. But sentinent grew during the 19th century, including among the Czechs and Slovaks. At the turn-of-the 20th century Czech and Slovak nationalists began thinking of some kind of Czecho-Slovak entity asca way of creating a large enough group to justify an independent nation state. Contacts between Czech and Slovak intellectuals expanded. There were cultural differences, but language is a powerful unifier. And increasing numbers of both Czechs and Slovaks increasingly aspired to separate from the Habsburg Empire (both from the Austrians and Hungarians) and form an independent state.

Austria-Hungary in World War I

Serbia secretly supported terrorist forces in Bosnia withits substantial Slavic population. This led to the assasination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand and Austria's decession to punish Serbia. The Austrians had no desire to launch a world war which was reflected in their war planning. There were two Austrian war plans, Plans B and R. The difference in the two plans reflected the unknown of the Russian reaction. Plan B provided only for hostilities in the Balkans against Serbia. Three Austro-Hungarian armies would invade Serbia. Three other armies would be heldin reserve along the Russan border. Plan R was a more expansive plan, a modification of Plan B in case the Russians invaded. In this case only two armies would invade Serbia and four armies would defend against the Rusians. It assumed that the Germans would enter the War if the Russians declared war. Ecalating nationalist tensions came to a head when Serbian nationalists assasinated Archduke Ranz Derdinand, heir to Emperor Franz Josef. Germany's decession to support Austria's desire to punish Serbia turned a Balkans crisis into a mjor European war.

Czech War Experience

The Czechs and Slovaks when World War I broke out were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They were two of several restive minorities within the Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Army consusted of Bosnians, Croats, Czechs, Italians, Jews, Poles, Ruthenes (Ukranians), Slovaks, Slovenes, and others fought in the army. These groups actually outnimbered the Austrians and Hungarians. The officers were mostly Austrians and Hungarians who commanded multi-ethnic units. Because the Austrians were not sure of their loyalty, there were with few exceptions no separate Czech or Slovak units. The major exception was the Poles. Appealing to nationalistic aspirations, the Austrians formed the Polish Legion, led by Pilsudski. The Poles were encouraged to think of this as the precursor to a Polish national army. This was a calculation based on the fact that most of Poland was annexed by the Russians. Many Czechs and Slovaks as Slavs were not enthusiastic to fight with the Austrians, Germans and Hungarians against fellow Slavs (Russians and Serbs). The Slovaks were less politically conscious than the Czechs, but many Slovaks felt no burning desire to fight in a war with theu did nnot think they had a real stake. Some 1.4 million Czech soldiers fought in World War I, most as part of the Austro-Hungarian Army. About 150,000 Czechs died. We are not sure about the number of Slovaks. We are not going to recount the Eastern Front here as there were engagements involving Czech units. The Czechs and Slovaks in the Austro-Hungarian Army were assigned to multi-ethnic units and thus there is no separate battle record. Readers can obtain details on the Eastern Front by consulting the Austro-Hungarian World War I page above. The story is a little different in the Russuan Army where Czech nationalists convinved the Russians to organize a small number of Czechs libing in Russia into a few rifle companies (the Družina), but decided aginst rescrioting Czech POWs. As a result, the Czech were a minimal force (1914-17). The Družina was reorganized into the 1st Czecho-Slovak Rifle Regiment (early 1916). Two more infantry regiments were added, creating the Czechoslovak Rifle Brigade (Československá střelecká brigáda). ThevCzechs distinguished themselves during the Kerensky Offensive in by breevhing Austrian trenches during the Battle of Zborov (July 1917). The Russian Provisional Government ikmpressed with the Czech perfornnce decided to grant the Czechoslovak National Council permission to mobilize Czech and Slovak volunteers from the POW camps. This was the origin of the Czech Legion.

Czechoslovak National Council

Edvard Beneš and Milan Štefánik (a Slovak astronomer and war hero), and Tomáš Masaryk organized the Czechoslovak National Council (CNC). Masaryk went to the United States to promote the idea of Czech independence. He worked with immigrant groups. Štefánik worked in France. Beneš worked in France and Britain. They worked diligently to gain Allied recognition. Developments in Russia and America changed the plitical situation. The Russian Revolution, especually the Bolshevik Revolution changed policies toward nationl minorities (November 1917). And America's entry into the War also increased support for national minorities (April 1917). , And increasingly important was that America entering the War increased the liklihood of n Allied victory. Masaryk who emerged as a leader in the Czech independence movement went to western Europe with his American-born wife to promote the the idea that the Austro-Hungarian Empire should be disolved after the War and the new nation of Czechoslovakia created. The Allies resisted at the time because the Russians still fighting on the Eastern front were a multi-national empire not well-disposed toward national self-determination in Eastern Europe. The CNC's primary goal was to win the Allies' support for the independence of a new Czech-Slovak state--Czechoslovakia. They succeeded when mny other nationl groups failed. Secret peace talks between the Allies and Austrian Emperor Charles I (1916–18) collapsed when the Germans litrally seized control. Ahe Allies responded by recognizing the Czech National Council (summer 1918). The CNC would be the primary group involved in creating a new nation, the future Czechoslovakia.

Russian Revolution

The first Communist state was of course the Soviet Union. The Revolution was a reaction to the privations of World War I (1914-18), in which the Russian people, suffered greviously. The Bolshevicks emerged victorious against a democratic Provisional Government (1917). The Russian Revolution is often described as a result of social forces that had been developing for centuries. A strong case can be made for the Revolution as a coupd'état that may have never occurred without the leadership of Lenin. [Pipes]

President Wilson's 14 Points

American President Wilson in his 14 Points had embraced national self-determination. Wilson defined American war aims in a proposal submitted to the Senate in January 1918. He indicated that America was not making war on the German opeopkle, but against its authocratic government. The 14 points included an end to secreat internationala greements, freedom of the seas, removal of trade barriers, reduction of armaments, reassessment of colonial claims in the interests of the people concerned, self determination for European populations, and the creation of an international organization to preserve the peace. This was the basis for his description of World War I as "the war to end all wars". America's allied, Britain and France, were not enthisiastic about many aspects of the 14 Points. French Primier Clemanceau sniffed, "Moses brought down 10 Commandments, Wilson needed 14."

Emperor Karl

Britain and France hesitated because they were involved in secret talks with Austrian Emperor Karl I (1916-18) who had replaced Emperor Franz Josef. Emperor Karl realized that the War was destroying Austria-Hungary. They hoped to convince the Emperor Karl to make a separate peace. The Germans found out about these talks and essentially seized control of Austria-Hungary to prevent any further peace talks.

Allies Recognize Czechoslovak National Council

When the secret talks with Austria-Hungary failed, the Allies recognized the Czechoslovak National Council (summer 1918) as the supreme organ of a future Czechoslovak government.

The Armistice (November 1918)

The Germans shifted forces west after the Russian capitutlation and signing of the Breast-Litovsk Trearty. These reiforcements were used for a great Spring offensive in 1918. Tghey came very close to cracking the Western Front wide open. They failed uin large measure because of the arrival of the American Expeditonary Force (AEF). The British and Americans then launched their own offensive The German German Western Front began to crack under the presure British and American offensives (September 1918). German and Austrian officials began making peace feelers (early October). The Allies refused to deal with either the Kaiser or the German military. German democratic figures finally were granted an armistice and the War ended (November 11).

Independence

Masaryk from America declaraed Czechoslovak independence (October 18) even before the Armistice

Borders

As in other Eastern European countries, borders became a controversial issue. Many areas in part from centuries of living within various multi-national empires included mixed ethnic populations. The new Czechoslovakian state faced problems with the Germans in the west and Hungarians in the east. Masaryk wanted Czechoslovakia to be built around the historic Bohemian Kingdom, but include the German-populated Sudetenland whjich provided important geographic barriers upon whic defenses could be built. As the Austro-Hungarian Empire began to desintegrate, German deputies from the Sudetenland joined other German and Austrian deputies in the Austrian parliament and declared a new German-Austrian state (October 21). Emperor Karl abdicated on the same day the armistice on the Western Front went into effect (November 11). Czech troops also occupied the Sudetenland (November 11). The Slovaks to the east had the Hungarians to deal with. Hungary officually withdrew from the Austro-Hungarian Empire (November 1). Count Michael Karolyi formed a liberal-democratic government. This Government attempted to retain control over Slovakia. The Czechs gained Allied approval and occupied Slovakia. The Hungarians had no option, but to withdraw. The Czechs and Allies agreed on the Danube and Ipel' rivers as a border between Hungary and Slovakia. This meant that in the west there would be a German minority and inthe east a substantial Hungarian minority.

Czech Legion (1917-20)

Czech nationalists wanted no part of fighting in the Austro-Hungarian Army. Many Czechs and Slovks on the Eastern front defected from the Austrian-Hungarian Army. This primarily ocurred in Russian POW camps. The Russians formed the Czechoslovak Legion with the defectors. It was a brigade formed as part of the Russian Army. Russia was like Austria-Hungaria a multi-national empire, but they were also Slavs and the Czechs saw more opprtunity from the Russians than the Austrians and Hungarians. The same was true of the Slovaks, although nationalist sentiment was stronger among the Czechs. And the Legion was legitimized by the Czechoslovak National Council. The Tsarist regimes for decades had pursued a policy of Pan-Slavism. Czech Nationalist leader Tomas Masaryk visited Russia and convinced Russian officials to increased the size of the Czech Legion. He helped recruit in the Russian prisoner of war camps. Over 90,000 Czech and Slovak volunteers joined the Czechoslovak Legions in Russia, France and Italy. They fought the Central Powers during the latervpart of the War. After the Bolshevivk Revolution (November 1917), it was clear to Masaryk that Lenin planned to withdraw from the War and make a separate peace with the Central Powers. Peace had been a main part of the Bolshevick prohram. Czech independence, however, required the defeat of the Central Powers. Thus Masaryk wanted the Czech Legion to redeploy on the Western Frint in France. There was no way the Czechs could reach either Czechozlovakia or France by moving west. The Russian Army had deteriorated and the Germans and Austrians blocked the way. Masaryk ordered the Czech Legion cross Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway where the Allies could pick them up in Vladivostok and trnsport them to France. The antiquated Russian railway system made this a slow undertaking. And the Bolshevicks were suspicious of their intentions. Red Guards in Chelyabinsk on the rail line accused Czech soldiers of murdering a man and arrested several Czechs. The Czechs freed their comrades by force. Red Army commander Leon Trotsky ordered the Czech Legion disarmed. The Czechs understanding that they would be defenseless in very dangerous circumstances, not only refused to lay down their arms, but joined the Whites in the Russian Civil War. The well organized Czechs were a major factor in taking control of large areas east of the Volga. At times controlling much of the important Trans-Siberian railway. The Czechs eventually fought their way through to Vladivostok (June 1918). The Japanese landed a force to cover their departure. Part of the Czech Legion remained in Russia fought with Alexander Kolchak around Omsk (1919). They finally returned to Czechoslovakia (Spring 1920).

Czech War Brides (1919)

War brides in World War I are generally associated with young French woman American Doughboys brought back to America. I assume the same was true with the British who also brought back war brides. We note a photograph in the Library of Congress archive entitled, Czechloslovakian war brides who arrived on CHICAGO with VENEZIA passengers [with children on ship]". It was dated October 1919. We are not at all sure how to interpret this. The United States Army did not reach Czechoslovakia in World War I as Germany was not invaded. So we are unsure how there could be any war brides. And the title is unclear. We take it to mean that 'Chicago' was the name of the ship. And a The USS Chicago, a protected cruiser launched in 1885, was active in World War I. It was later converted to a seaplane tender. The new nation of Czechoslovakia was landlocked. And Venice (Venezia in Italian) in Italy, was a port that ghey could have used to reach America. They could have also used German ports, but conditions in Germany were chaotic and as essentially a defector from the Central Powers, there may have been some concern about traveling through Germany. We think these may have been Czech women who somehow married Czech immigrats in America. Many unmarried Czech men emigrated before the War and thus theoretically would like Czech brides. The Red Cross seems to have asisted in this effort. These might have been women the men had known before emmigrating. Or they could have been known o gheir families. We can not yet confoirm this and would be interested in any insights readers may have.

Sources

Lukes, Igor. "Strangers in One House: Czechs and Slovaks (1918–1992)," Canadian Review Of Studies In Nationalism (2000), Vol. 27 (1-2), pp. 33–43.







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Created: 6:12 AM 11/19/2006
Last updated: 8:44 AM 12/23/2014