the Red Guards had murdered a great number of volunteers, the unflinching legionaries drove back their forces and continued to Omsk, the centre of the Soviets in Siberia.
Soon hostilities were opened all along the Siberian Railway from the Urals to Vladivostok, and also in European Russia, especially in the Volga district. A large unit of Czechoslovak volunteers was formed by the group stationed in Penza and its environs; this was the westernmost group, cut off almost completely from the main body of the Czechoslovaks in Siberia. Here operations were directed by Čeček, who later became a general, and by Colonel Švec, one of the greatest heroes of the Czechoslovaks. Their objective was to fight their way through the Soviet territory to the east and join the Czechoslovak groups in Siberia. Of these the strongest were the Chelyabinsk group under General Syrový, the Ano group under Colonel Hanuš, the Novonikolayevsk group which was pushing on to Irkutsk under General Gajda and General Kadlec, and the Vladivostok group under the Russian General Dietrich. It was obvious that the scheme of the Soviets, which had been to scatter the Czechoslovak army in small groups all along the railway line so as to weaken and defeat them in detail, had not been successful, since all these groups had displayed great powers of resistance and unusual energy. They realized that they were engaged in a desperate struggle for the existence of their army. The Red Army of the Soviets, which was then not fully organized, employed cruel methods of warfare. The Chinese mercenaries, Magyars enlisted from the prisoners' camps, and various other predatory bands, proved cruel and ruthless foes.
