First World War affected directly only small part of future Czechoslovakia, eastern Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia, but lives of inhabitants of Czech Lands and Slovakia were affected very strongly. Not only by the result of the war - when independent Czechoslovak state came to exist - but also by it's course. Aproximately (because exact numbers are unknown) 300 000 men from Czech Lands and 100 000 men from Slovakia lost thjeir lives. Czechs and Slovaks were fighting in army of Austria-Hungary on all fronts of world war - in Galicia and Ukraine, in Serbia, Macedonia and Albania, in Italy and Slovenia, but also in France, Romania, Turkey and other less known war theatres. Czechoslovak legionaires kept Trans-siberian railway in Russia for several months, were drawn into Russian civil war, during which they were fighting on vast teritorry of Russia, to return to their homeland by various routes around whole world.
Appropriate attention has never been paid to this theme by Czech and Slovak historians. In the era of First republic (1918-1938), the war was still too recent to become subject of appropriate historical examination and almost all attention was paid to Czechoslovak Legions. Many writings concerning this theme were creating, more or less valuable. After the Second World War, which overcame first global war by it's extension, examination of First World War almost vanished - especially after communists came to power in Czechoslovakia (1948). It is unclear, why even after the fall of this regime (1989) historians - with few exceptions - do not pay attention to this theme either. This is, what we - with our limited resources - intend to adjust.
© 2011 Signum belli