Czechoslovak Legion

Czechoslovak Legion
Czech: Československé legie Slovak: Československé légie
Czechoslovak Legion coat of arms
Founded	1914
Disbanded	1920
Allegiance	Czechoslovakia
Type	Ground forces Expeditionary warfare
Size	9,600 in France 13,653 and 489 officers in Italy 50,000 in Russia
Motto(s)	"Nazdar" ("Hello")
Colors
Equipment	Armored Zaamurets
Engagements	World War I Eastern Front (World War I) Battle of Zboriv (1917) Italian front (World War I) Isonzo front Western Front (World War I) Race to the Sea Russian Civil War Operation Faustschlag Battle of Bakhmach Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion
Commanders
Notable commanders	Milan Rastislav Štefánik Radola Gajda Jan Syrový Stanislav Čeček Josef Šnejdárek
Insignia
Universal Battle flag
Leader	Czechoslovak National Council (Tomáš Masaryk, Milan Rastislav Štefánik, and Edvard Beneš)
Merged into	Czechoslovak Army
Motives	Czechoslovak independence
Part of	World War I French Armed Forces French Foreign Legion "Nazdar!" Company (until 16 June 1915) Autonomous Czechoslovak Army (after 19 December 1917) Imperial Russian Army (1914–1917) Royal Italian Army (1914–1918) Czechoslovak Italian Legion (1918) Russian Civil War White Army Siberian Army
Allies	World War I  United Kingdom  France  Italy Russian Empire  Romania  Serbia Russian Civil War  Japan  United States Russian State (1918–1920) (until 17 November 1919)
Opponents	World War I  German Empire  Austria-Hungary Russian Civil War Bolsheviks Russian SFSR Left SRs

The Czechoslovak Legion (Czech: Československé legie; Slovak: Československé légie) were volunteer armed forces comprised predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks^[1] fighting on the side of the Entente powers during World War I and the White Army during the Russian Civil War until November 1919. Their goal was to win the support of the Allied Powers for the independence of Lands of the Bohemian Crown from the Austrian Empire and of Slovak territories from the Kingdom of Hungary, which were then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. With the help of émigré intellectuals and politicians such as the Czech Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and the Slovak Milan Rastislav Štefánik, they grew into a force over 100,000 strong.

In Russia, they took part in several victorious battles of the war, including the Zborov and Bakhmach against the Central Powers, and were heavily involved in the Russian Civil War fighting Bolsheviks, at times controlling the entire Trans-Siberian railway and several major cities in Siberia.

After three years of existence as a small unit in the Imperial Russian Army, the Legion in Russia was established in 1917, with other troops fighting in France since the beginning of the war as the "Nazdar" company, and similar units later emerging in Italy and Serbia. Originally an all-volunteer force, these formations were later strengthened by Czech and Slovak prisoners of war or deserters from the Austro-Hungarian Army. The majority of the legionaries were Czechs, with Slovaks making up 7% of the force in Russia, 3% in Italy and 16% in France.^[2]

The name Czechoslovak Legion preceded and anticipated the creation of Czechoslovakia.