The civil war has become one of the greatest tragedies of Russian history. This fratricidal massacre lasted almost six years and resulted in casualties that far outnumbered military losses in battles with Austria-Hungary and Germany. One of the little-known pages of this terrible epic was the uprising of the Czechoslovak corps.
The First World War pushed many peoples into mortal combat. From the novels of Remarque and other writers, its veterans, you can get information about positional battles on the Western Front. Today, Russians learn a lot about the valor of the ancestors who defended their native land on the long line of defense from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and about the breakthrough of fortifications in the Carpathians by the army of General Brusilov.
The popular book of Yaroslav Hasek about the brave soldier Schweik clearly illustrates the mood in the Austro-Hungarian army, some of which were equipped with Czechs and Slovaks. The soldiers of these nationalities were supposed to defend the interests of a monarchy completely alien to them. Historically experiencing sympathy for Russia (even the national flags of Czechs and Slovaks repeat our tricolor with their colors), they massively deserted or switched to its side. The knowledge of the Austrian army “from within” allowed them to provide invaluable assistance.
After the October coup, these units were in a difficult position. The Bolsheviks, trying to slow down their movement to the front, where they sought to help the Allied armies complete the defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary (and, therefore, achieve sovereignty), made decisions either to disarm them, or to drive them into concentration camps (they were just then appeared), or even lure into the Red Army.
A situation arose in which only a bold offensive operation or the seizure of weapons depots could save the situation.
And then the uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps began. The date of this event is the spring of 1918. It is impossible to specify it more precisely; this military formation did not have a single command. The uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps was spontaneous and unprepared. The Reds fired at the cars with soldiers from machine guns, and so they had to counterattack them with their bare hands. Nevertheless, poorly armed and not knowing the terrain, but well-trained military men were able to withstand the Bolsheviks with dignity, and the sympathies of the population allowed them to retain significant territories on the Volga and in Siberia.
In the conditions when the Volunteer Army had not yet been formed, it was the uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps that was the first organized attempt to counter the Red Terror.
The countries of the Entente, which promised help, however, were not in a hurry. Firstly, England and France had enough of their worries, and secondly, its delivery itself was problematic and associated with risks. On the open spaces from the Volga to Vladivostok, the uprising of the Czechoslovak corps became a real threat to the Bolshevik regime.
The liberation of Kazan and the holding of the city for a month demonstrated the ability of the “whites” to decisive action. However, losses, lack of supply and centralized management could not but affect military success. In the fall of 1918, in October, two regiments, the 1st and 4th, refused to continue the fighting. The commander Joseph Joseph Shvets shot himself, not having experienced shame, because the soldiers with whom he had fought for four years did not obey him.
The rebellion of the Czechoslovak Corps was finally crushed only in the autumn of 1919. From Vladivostok, its remains were evacuated to their homeland, which gained independence after the defeat of Austria-Hungary.