compromises or concessions should be made and that we should not be disavowed again.
This review of the situation as a whole forced me to conclude that the hour of decision was drawing near. The elimination of Russia as a belligerent; Bolshevist influence upon the Socialist parties in Europe; the spread of pacifism; the war-weariness of the armies in the field, and their obvious discontent; the difficulty of winning a decisive victory; and the peace negotiations, secret and open, all compelled me to recognize that the war could not last much longer. I concluded, too, that the decision would be in our favour. This was no mere hope. It was a conviction formed after more than three years of critical observation. True, there were not a few shortcomings on the side of the Allies, whose political and strategical mistakes had been many and serious; but the Germans and the Austrians had blundered as often and as badly. The only doubt was whether American troops would reach France fast enough to bring the war to an end before 1919.
In the opinion of some political and military experts it would last until 1919. Even in the autumn of 1918, after his first victories over the Germans, Marshal Foch did not look for a decision until the spring of 1919. But, taking the situation as a whole, I judged that 1918 would see the end of the war, and therefore I hastened from Russia to the West.
We, for our part, had been ready for peace as early as the end of 1917 and the beginning of 1918. Our Legions were our greatest asset. Their success in Russia gave the final fillip to the organization of the Legion in France, and hastened it in Italy. No sooner had we begun seriously to make an army in Russia than I asked Beneš to negotiate with the French Government about it and to conclude a Treaty. Simultaneously I had sent contingents of our prisoners from Russia to France, including some from Roumania. Another volunteer contingent reached France from America, where Štefánik had organized recruiting in 1917. So successful were Dr. Beneš’s negotiations that, by August 1917, an Agreement was made; and eventually a decree, establishing a Czechoslovak army in France, was issued on December 16th. A few weeks later (January–February 1918) the French Prime Minister, M. Clemenceau, and Dr. Beneš concluded a final Convention. Thus we were, in any case, sure of important advantages in the peace negotiations.
In Italy, our difficulties were somewhat greater. We Czechs
