Tcheco-slovaques a la caserne de Reuilly

Enrollment of Czechoslovak volunteers in the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army ...

started in Paris on 21 August 1914. The 1st

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

C, of the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the Foreign Legion, was created in

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine r ...

on 31 August. Meeting in the city, the soldiers greeted each other with "Na zdar!" (a greeting used by members of the

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a ...

movement) and hence came to be called "Nazdar!" Company ("''rota Nazdar''" in Czech). The company was part of the French army's Moroccan division, and took part in heavy combat during assaults near

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of ...

on 9 May and 16 June 1915, where it suffered heavy casualties. Because of these, Battalion C, including "Nazdar!" Company, was disbanded, and volunteers continued to fight in various French army and Foreign Legion units. Clemenceau and Masaryk suggested transportation of

T. G. Masaryk T is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet. (For the same letterform in the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets, see Te and Tau respectively). T may also refer to: Codes and units * T, Tera- as in one trillion * T, the symbol for "True" in lo ...

legions from Russia to France of s. c. "North trip" (by North sea) as first (the first realization 15 October 1917 from Archangelsk). An autonomous Czechoslovak army was established from 19 December 1917 by decree of the French government. On 12 January 1918 the 21st Czechoslovak Rifle Regiment was formed in the town of

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

. It fought as part of the French 53rd Infantry Division. On 20 May 1918 the 22nd Czechoslovak Rifle Regiment was created, initially fighting as part of the French 134th Infantry Division. On 29 June the government of France officially acknowledged the right of Czechs and Slovaks to independence, and the next day both regiments took an oath of allegiance in presence of the French president,

Raymond Poincaré Raymond Nicolas Landry Poincaré (, ; 20 August 1860 – 15 October 1934) was a French statesman who served as President of France from 1913 to 1920, and three times as Prime Minister of France. Trained in law, Poincaré was elected deputy in ...

, as well as Czechoslovak independence movement officials, including

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1945 to 1948. He also led the Czechoslovak government-in-exile 1939 to 194 ...

. Today, 30 June is celebrated as the "Day of

Czech Armed Forces The Army of the Czech Republic ( cs, Armáda České republiky, AČR), also known as the Czech Army, is the military service responsible for the defence of the Czech Republic in compliance with international obligations and treaties on collecti ...

". In 1918 a Czechoslovak brigade, under command of the French general Philippe, consisting of the 21st and 22nd Rifle regiments, was formed in France, and saw combat near

Vouziers Vouziers () is a commune of the Ardennes department, northern France. Vouziers is the burial place of the pioneer First World War fighter pilot Roland Garros, after whom the Stade Roland Garros in Paris (the location of the French Open ten ...

. The brigade returned home in the autumn of 1918. It had about 9,600 soldiers. The Czechoslovak Legion was honored in the painting the "Panthéon de la Guerre" by the inclusion of its flag. Panthéon de la Guerre CS Legion Flag 409

650 Czech and Slovak legionnaires died in France during World War I.

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