1914- 1918 “The Czechs enlist like sheep, fight like lions, and when we retreat, they cheer like children.” Unnamed officer of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff The unveiling of the statue of Emperor Franz Josef I at Reserve Hospital No. 3 in Brno on 18 August 1916 A plate depicting German Emperor Wilhelm II A plate depicting the Austrian-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef I American military food bowl used by Czechoslovak legionaries in Russia Austrian-Hungarian military hospital in the Národní dům building in Třebíč Conscription Decree dated 1916 Czech Legionary patrol in Russia during freezing weather in Siberia Czechoslovak legionaries in Vladivostok waiting for transport by ship Memorial certificate depicting a Brno Wehrmann Part of the equipment of the Russian Tsarist Army, 1914 Period photograph of Czechoslovak legionaries Porcelain statue depicting an injured Austrian solider being treated by a nurse Selské Listy, 1914 Sleeve insignia of the Attack Battalion of the Czechoslovak Legions in Russia Soldiers of the Brno Infantry Regiment No. 8 in trenches on the Eastern Front in 1916 Some types of tobacco products supplied to the Czechoslovak Army in Siberia The Order of the Iron Crown 3rd class with swords Tin of meat used by the Czechoslovak Legions in Russia Uniform of a corporal in the 1st Czechoslovak Artillery Regiment of Master Jan Hus In the early 20th century, Europe was reminiscent of a barrel of gun powder with a lit fuse. Under the cover of an illusory peace, the disputes between the leading European powers reached the maximum level. France had barely recovered from the recently closed Dreyfus Affair, when the wave of hatred and anti-Semitism divided the whole society, but it longed more and more for revenge against Germany for the defeat and humiliation of 1871. On the other hand, Emperor Wilhelm II strengthened the belief that Great Britain and France were plotting a conspiracy against Germany which was, however, as he believed, destined for dominance in the world. Blinded by the ambitions of great power and dreams about the superiority of the German nation, he was preparing offensive plans against their imagined and actual enemies. The disputes between European countries divided into two defensive blocks - Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and Agreement (UK, France, Russia) - culminated in the summer of 1914. The cause, which eventually sparked the flame of the Great War, was the assassination of the Austrian crown prince Archduke Franz Ferdinand d’Este in Sarajevo, Bosnia. As once predicted by the Prussian Chancellor Bismarck, the armed conflict was unleashed by “... some damn foolishness in the Balkans”. The shots fired by student Gavrilo Princip forever changed the course of history and the face of the world. The Habsburg Monarchy decided for the final solution of the “Serbian problem”, as it did in 1908 in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Exactly a month after the assassination, Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I declared war on Serbia. Russia, a traditional ally of the Serbs, began to mobilize, triggering a response in Germany, which declared war on Russia on 1 August 1914. Two days later, hostility was also declared against France. The next day, United Kingdom joined the side of France and Russia. Eventually, the war took on a global character and 36 countries got involved. Over four years, the worst conflict in human history until then claimed nearly 10 million lives of soldiers, 7 million civilians (as a result of military operations, as well as epidemics and malnutrition), enormous material damage and massive moral shock of the whole generation. Weapons had not even quieted down on the fronts but another devastating disaster in the form of a Spanish flue pandemic began to roll through the world. It is estimated that 50-100 million people fallen victim to it between the years 1918-1920. World War I also caused a geopolitical earthquake. Four mighty empires fell apart and a number of new states appeared on the map of Europe. In late 1918, the Habsburg Monarchy fell apart after a series of defeats of the German and Austro-Hungarian armies and Czechoslovakia was one of the states that rose from its ruins. Volunteer formations of Czechs and Slovaks fighting alongside the Allies also contributed to its formation and high prestige among the winning powers. From as early as August 1914, the core of these formations consisted of expatriate associations in Tsarist Russia and France, but the Czech and Slovak soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army, who fell into captivity, had the largest and major share in them. They became a major part of the Czechoslovak legions in Russia, Serbia, France and Italy. Over 90,000 legionnaires fought on the fronts of World War I and more than 5,000 of them died. They were the first army forces of the state which was still only forming. At that time, an independent republic existed only in the hearts of those volunteers who were signing up to fight for the liberation of their nation from the rule of Austria-Hungary. These soldiers fought and died in the spirit of the Sokol traditions and with ideals of humanism. The first Czechoslovak president T. G. Masaryk said at the ceremonial assembly on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Czech Company and the Nazdar Troop in 1924: “... they were men who understood the historical significance of the fight for a fairer world order.” Uniform of a member of the 21st Artillery Regiment Czechoslovak Legionaries in France Moravians during the Great War Food coupon from the period of the First World War A miniature copy of the cast iron statue called Hero from Zborov by Academic Sculptor Karel Babka