The New Europe/Volume 6/Number 66/Bohemia and the Allies
Bohemia and the Allies
In No. 61 of The New Europe reference was made to the new Bohemian army now constituted as an independent factor on the side of the Allies. The following Decree of recognition, dated 16 December, has been published in the French Journal Officiel under the signatures of the President of the Republic, the Premier and the Foreign Minister:—
“(1) The Czecho-Slovaks, organised in an autonomous army and recognising the superior authority of the French High Command from the military point of view, will under their own flag fight against the Central Powers.
“(2) Politically, this national army is placed under the direction of the Czecho-Slovak National Council whose headquarters are in Paris.
“(3) The formation of the Czecho-Slovak army is guaranteed by the French Government.
“(4) The Czecho-Slovak army will be subject to the same dispositions as regards organisation, hierarchy, administration, and military discipline as those in force in the French Army.
“(5) The Czecho-Slovak army will be recruited from among―
“(a) Czecho-Slovaks at present serving with the French army;
“(b) Czecho-Slovaks from other countries, admitted to be transferred to the Czecho-Slovak army;
“(c) All those who will voluntarily enter this army for the duration of the war.
“(6) Ministerial instructions will later on settle the application of this Decree.
“(7) The President of the War Cabinet, the Ministers of War, and Foreign Affairs are charged, each in his own sphere, to bring the Decree into effect.”
This Decree was recommended to M. Poincaré for signature in the following terms:—
“Monsieur le Président,
“France has always supported with all her power the national claims of the Czechs and Slovaks. The number of volunteers of these nationalities who placed themselves under the French flag from the declaration of war is important, and the gaps in their ranks prove incontestibly the ardour with which they fought against our enemies.
“Certain Allied Governments, and in particular the Russian Provisional Government, did not hesitate to authorise the formation on our front of units composed of Czecho-Slovaks who had escaped from the oppression of the enemy. It is just that these nationalities should be given means of defending under their flag side by side with us the cause of the right and liberty of the peoples; and it will be in accord with French traditions to assist the organisation of an autonomous Czecho-Slovak army. If you share our view in this matter, we have the honour to invite you to sign the enclosed Decree. . . .
This army, which will, it is hoped, amount to at least 120,000 men, is being organised by, and will swear allegiance to the Czecho-Slovak National Council, whose headquarters are in Paris and whose committee consists of Professor Masaryk, Major Milan Stefanik (the well-known French airman, a Slovak by birth and an astronomer by profession), and Dr. Edward Beneš, late lecturer at Prague University.
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.
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This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929. The longest-living author of this work died in 1933, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 90 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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This work was published in 1918 and is anonymous or pseudonymous due to unknown authorship. It is in the public domain in the United States as well as countries and areas where the copyright terms of anonymous or pseudonymous works are 105 years or less since publication.
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