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Veľký sen dvoch malých národov
Americký novinár a politológ Kevin J. McNamara sa vo svojej publikácii zaoberá okolnosťami, ktoré za prvej svetovej vojny predchádzali vzniku Česko-Slovenska. Zameriava sa najmä na dva kľúčové, navzájom prepojené faktory - diplomatické úsilie zahraničného odboja pod vedením T. G. Masaryka a dramatickú epopeju česko-slovenských légií v Rusku. Autor sleduje anabázu legionárov z Ukrajiny cez Sibír do Vladivostoku, pričom vyzdvihuje ich hrdinstvo, vojenské umenie a význam pre vznik nového štátu. Pútavo napísané dielo s bohatým odkazovým aparátom približuje udalosti, ktoré sú u nás ešte stále pomerne málo známe.
408 pages, Hardcover
First published March 29, 2016
34 people are currently reading
293 people want to read
About the author
Kevin J. McNamara
2 books1 followerKevin J. McNamara followed the path taken by the Czecho-Slovak Legion shortly after
the fall of the Soviet Union, traveling almost two thousand miles along the Trans-
Siberian Railway. He was subsequently awarded research grants by the Earhart and
Tawani Foundations to acquire and translate from Czech to English first-hand accounts
by the men who had served in the legion, which were published in Prague in the 1920s
but were suppressed following the Nazi and Soviet conquests of Czecho-Slovakia.
A former journalist for Calkins Media Inc. and an aide to the late U.S. Congressman
R. Lawrence Coughlin, McNamara is an associate scholar of the Foreign Policy Research
Institute in Philadelphia, PA, and a former contributing editor to its quarterly journal,
Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs. He earned a B.A. in journalism and an M.A. in international politics from Temple University, where he was a student of the noted military historian, Russell F. Weigley. He lives in Philadelphia, PA.
the fall of the Soviet Union, traveling almost two thousand miles along the Trans-
Siberian Railway. He was subsequently awarded research grants by the Earhart and
Tawani Foundations to acquire and translate from Czech to English first-hand accounts
by the men who had served in the legion, which were published in Prague in the 1920s
but were suppressed following the Nazi and Soviet conquests of Czecho-Slovakia.
A former journalist for Calkins Media Inc. and an aide to the late U.S. Congressman
R. Lawrence Coughlin, McNamara is an associate scholar of the Foreign Policy Research
Institute in Philadelphia, PA, and a former contributing editor to its quarterly journal,
Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs. He earned a B.A. in journalism and an M.A. in international politics from Temple University, where he was a student of the noted military historian, Russell F. Weigley. He lives in Philadelphia, PA.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 9, 2017
I liked this book a lot, not because of the writing but because it opened my eyes to a usually ignored chapter of WWI , in this book you will find the struggle of the Czech people fighting for their independence from the Austrian-Hungary empire . As most people know the Czech people were one of many ethnic groups fighting under the Austrian empire during WW I in the eastern front against Russia, now most Czech considered themselves closer to the Russians and the Czar rather than the empire they were fighting for , this of course showed itself in a large number of them willing to desert the Austrian ranks and seek asylum in Tsarist Russia. As times progressed the Tsar saw an advantage of swelling the Russian ranks and use the loosely united Czech ranks to send them to fight at the front . This of course created a lot of political bottlenecks , but at least it united the troops (Czech) into a battle ready legionary force , as time progressed and the Tsarist government was toppled, the Czech regiments fell under French leadership, the book is about these group of soldiers trapped in Post war Russia who at this point was being aided by Germany , and with no chance of being relieved (because the Allies couldn't find enough ships to send them to France , ) and being harassed by the Red Army and unwillingness of the allies to send help in case of offending the still fragile Post revolution Russian government!! I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a point of view rarely observed of WWI . Sorry for the long review !
July 30, 2020
Edit: This book had always oscillated between a three and a four star rating for me, but I've decided to round down to three stars now, especially after having read My War Memoirs by Edvard Beneš. Dreams of a Great Small Nation is still a good book, but is only an introduction to the subject, and I felt is a little biased by the American perspective.
I often see history books that of boast titles with phrases such as “The Untold Story of…” and wonder whether they really deserve that name, or if it is simply a publisher’s strategy of selling more books. However, Kevin J. McNamara’s Dreams of a Great Small Nation really does tell a piece of history that is largely unknown in the English speaking world – the story being that of the Czecho-Slovak Legion, Tomáš Masaryk, and the founding of Czechoslovakia.
When war was declared in 1914, the Czechs and Slovaks were subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Czechs specifically had been part of the Habsburg dynasty for a number of centuries and their dissatisfaction with the foreign, German rule was demonstrated by their general unwillingness to go to war in 1914. Regardless of their personal feelings, many Czechs and Slovaks served in the Hapsburg army over the course of the war. Quite a few Czechs and Slovaks ended up in Russia during the war – as a result of both capture and desertion. Some of these men joined the Česká Družina, a pre-existing legion of Czechs in the service of Imperial Russia to eventually form the Czecho-Slovak Legion. Through a series of extraordinary circumstances, the Czecho-Slovak Legion eventually gained strategic control of Siberia – a feat which is incredible considering that, at most, they numbered 70,000 and were ill-equipped, isolated, and enormously outnumbered.
The Czecho-Slovak Legion’s purpose in Russia was merely to earn support for their budding dream of an independent nation. To this end, they agreed to go to France and fight on the Western Front, and their efforts were directed towards reaching the Pacific port of Vladivostok so that they could be shipped to France. Instead, the Allied governments employed a half-hearted intervention against the Bolsheviks and used the Czecho-Slovak Legion as their main force. Thus, the Czechs and Slovaks were forced to stay in Siberia until well into 1920 even though their main goal, that of making a country for themselves, had already been achieved; for the persistence of national leaders such as Tomáš Masaryk and Edvard Beneš led to the creation of Czechoslovakia and the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire following the end of World War I.
I think the author Kevin J. McNamara did a commendable job with this book, but it does have some flaws which detracted from my reading experience. To start with the positives, the book is very well-researched. There is an extensive bibliography and 36 pages of notes. Additionally, McNamara was able to use a large number of first-hand accounts from the Czecho-Slovak Legion which have recently been translated into English. He also retracted the Legion’s journey through Siberia.
Unfortunately, these resources do not make their way into the book in a satisfactory way. Much of the Legion’s journey through Siberia is dealt with too briskly for my taste. I was looking forward to reading about the exploits of the Czecho-Slovak Legion in detail, especially considering that the author had access to hundreds of interviews with members of the legion. Instead, the reader is merely given a brief overview of their feats one after the other. The experiences and trials that these men endured were extraordinary and I think it is a shame that the reader is unable to get more than a cursory glimpse at them.
In fact, most of this book covers the diplomatic and bureaucratic details behind the Czecho-Slovak Legion and the foundation of Czechoslovakia rather than focusing on the Legion itself. A good portion is devoted to Tomáš Masaryk, a philosophy professor who became the first president of Czechoslovakia. His diplomatic efforts in the United States and Europe were inestimable in getting the Allied nations to recognize the Czechs and Slovaks (whom many Western politicians did not know even existed!). While not particularly exciting, these diplomatic details are incredibly important to the story especially because not many readers will have any background knowledge.
Another major flaw in this book is the haphazard organization which is at its worst in the beginning of the book, but doesn't improve all that much by the end. The chronological sequencing is particularly jarring, in my opinion. The author jumps around between different years and events which made it difficult for me to place people and events in my mind. I understand that McNamara had to cover a lot of background information for his audiences (which included a brief history of Czech-German antagonism and Czech history) because they are not familiar with the subject. Even so, I think that the book could have been organized much better than it is.
Despite the flaws that I discussed above, I think this is a great book because it covers a subject that deserves to be better known. The Czecho-Slovak Legion was at the heart of one of the most important events of the 20th century, the Russian Revolution, and its impact on that and on the First World War was significant. The efforts of the Czecho-Slovak Legion resulted in the formation of a country which was the only democratic government to form out of the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is ironic that one of the countries which gave the most aid to the beleaguered Czechs and Slovaks in their time of need, the United States, has forgotten the courage and devotion of those men who fought through in the depths of Siberia to forge a nation for themselves.
I often see history books that of boast titles with phrases such as “The Untold Story of…” and wonder whether they really deserve that name, or if it is simply a publisher’s strategy of selling more books. However, Kevin J. McNamara’s Dreams of a Great Small Nation really does tell a piece of history that is largely unknown in the English speaking world – the story being that of the Czecho-Slovak Legion, Tomáš Masaryk, and the founding of Czechoslovakia.
When war was declared in 1914, the Czechs and Slovaks were subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Czechs specifically had been part of the Habsburg dynasty for a number of centuries and their dissatisfaction with the foreign, German rule was demonstrated by their general unwillingness to go to war in 1914. Regardless of their personal feelings, many Czechs and Slovaks served in the Hapsburg army over the course of the war. Quite a few Czechs and Slovaks ended up in Russia during the war – as a result of both capture and desertion. Some of these men joined the Česká Družina, a pre-existing legion of Czechs in the service of Imperial Russia to eventually form the Czecho-Slovak Legion. Through a series of extraordinary circumstances, the Czecho-Slovak Legion eventually gained strategic control of Siberia – a feat which is incredible considering that, at most, they numbered 70,000 and were ill-equipped, isolated, and enormously outnumbered.
The Czecho-Slovak Legion’s purpose in Russia was merely to earn support for their budding dream of an independent nation. To this end, they agreed to go to France and fight on the Western Front, and their efforts were directed towards reaching the Pacific port of Vladivostok so that they could be shipped to France. Instead, the Allied governments employed a half-hearted intervention against the Bolsheviks and used the Czecho-Slovak Legion as their main force. Thus, the Czechs and Slovaks were forced to stay in Siberia until well into 1920 even though their main goal, that of making a country for themselves, had already been achieved; for the persistence of national leaders such as Tomáš Masaryk and Edvard Beneš led to the creation of Czechoslovakia and the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire following the end of World War I.
I think the author Kevin J. McNamara did a commendable job with this book, but it does have some flaws which detracted from my reading experience. To start with the positives, the book is very well-researched. There is an extensive bibliography and 36 pages of notes. Additionally, McNamara was able to use a large number of first-hand accounts from the Czecho-Slovak Legion which have recently been translated into English. He also retracted the Legion’s journey through Siberia.
Unfortunately, these resources do not make their way into the book in a satisfactory way. Much of the Legion’s journey through Siberia is dealt with too briskly for my taste. I was looking forward to reading about the exploits of the Czecho-Slovak Legion in detail, especially considering that the author had access to hundreds of interviews with members of the legion. Instead, the reader is merely given a brief overview of their feats one after the other. The experiences and trials that these men endured were extraordinary and I think it is a shame that the reader is unable to get more than a cursory glimpse at them.
In fact, most of this book covers the diplomatic and bureaucratic details behind the Czecho-Slovak Legion and the foundation of Czechoslovakia rather than focusing on the Legion itself. A good portion is devoted to Tomáš Masaryk, a philosophy professor who became the first president of Czechoslovakia. His diplomatic efforts in the United States and Europe were inestimable in getting the Allied nations to recognize the Czechs and Slovaks (whom many Western politicians did not know even existed!). While not particularly exciting, these diplomatic details are incredibly important to the story especially because not many readers will have any background knowledge.
Another major flaw in this book is the haphazard organization which is at its worst in the beginning of the book, but doesn't improve all that much by the end. The chronological sequencing is particularly jarring, in my opinion. The author jumps around between different years and events which made it difficult for me to place people and events in my mind. I understand that McNamara had to cover a lot of background information for his audiences (which included a brief history of Czech-German antagonism and Czech history) because they are not familiar with the subject. Even so, I think that the book could have been organized much better than it is.
Despite the flaws that I discussed above, I think this is a great book because it covers a subject that deserves to be better known. The Czecho-Slovak Legion was at the heart of one of the most important events of the 20th century, the Russian Revolution, and its impact on that and on the First World War was significant. The efforts of the Czecho-Slovak Legion resulted in the formation of a country which was the only democratic government to form out of the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is ironic that one of the countries which gave the most aid to the beleaguered Czechs and Slovaks in their time of need, the United States, has forgotten the courage and devotion of those men who fought through in the depths of Siberia to forge a nation for themselves.
March 28, 2018
A fascinating and dramatic history of the Czech Legion and its epic trek.
McNamara describes all of the improbable events that led to the establishment of Czechoslovakia, and describes how the legion benefited from superb leadership and their own single-minded commitment, to the point of being willing to return the tsar’s gold reserve and their other plunder to the Bolsheviks, as well as how massively the legion expanded its ranks as it crossed Siberia no less than three times.
McNamara also covers the political struggles of Masaryk, as well as Edvard Beneš and Milan Štefánik, and how the Legion factored into the plans of the Bolsheviks, Allies and Germans. The Allies came up with all sorts of fantastic ways to use the Legion for their constantly shifting “strategies” of intervention, but the Czechs just wanted to go home. Allied leaders often expected the Czechs to risk their lives for objectives they were unwilling to commit their own troops for. In the meantime the Legion's presence and the crisis it created would be a significant factor behind the Bolsheviks’ decision to kill the tsar and his family, the creation of the Soviet concentration-camp system, and the formation of the Red Army.
The narrative is well-written, captivating and enjoyable. At times, the reader may wish for more detail on the fighting as the Legion makes its way to the Pacific, the narrative can feel a bit repetitive at times, and the sections on the diplomatic aspects are just a little tedious.
A thorough, engrossing work.
McNamara describes all of the improbable events that led to the establishment of Czechoslovakia, and describes how the legion benefited from superb leadership and their own single-minded commitment, to the point of being willing to return the tsar’s gold reserve and their other plunder to the Bolsheviks, as well as how massively the legion expanded its ranks as it crossed Siberia no less than three times.
McNamara also covers the political struggles of Masaryk, as well as Edvard Beneš and Milan Štefánik, and how the Legion factored into the plans of the Bolsheviks, Allies and Germans. The Allies came up with all sorts of fantastic ways to use the Legion for their constantly shifting “strategies” of intervention, but the Czechs just wanted to go home. Allied leaders often expected the Czechs to risk their lives for objectives they were unwilling to commit their own troops for. In the meantime the Legion's presence and the crisis it created would be a significant factor behind the Bolsheviks’ decision to kill the tsar and his family, the creation of the Soviet concentration-camp system, and the formation of the Red Army.
The narrative is well-written, captivating and enjoyable. At times, the reader may wish for more detail on the fighting as the Legion makes its way to the Pacific, the narrative can feel a bit repetitive at times, and the sections on the diplomatic aspects are just a little tedious.
A thorough, engrossing work.
August 21, 2021
The author details how the Czecho-Slovak legion took control of the Trans Siberian railway for most of its length following the Russian revolution, an amazing feat which secured western support for the creation of the new nation of Czechoslovakia on the break up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of WW1. If you don’t know much about WW1, particularly on the eastern front, this book will be a revelation.
Only a limited part of the book is about the Legion’s exploits, and a lot of it is concerned with the politics of the era. The Legion’s exploits were enthralling, the political background less so at times - sometimes the detail, for example how much was raised for the cause in various American cities, was information overload.
You will learn what a fragile hold the Communists had over Russia, relying very heavily on German backing to stay in power, which begs the fascinating question of what if the western Allies hadn't dithered so long about what to do. There was every prospect that the Communists could have been fairly easily overthrown, creating a very different outcome to world history.
If you enjoy reading about twentieth century history, I would recommend this well researched work.
Only a limited part of the book is about the Legion’s exploits, and a lot of it is concerned with the politics of the era. The Legion’s exploits were enthralling, the political background less so at times - sometimes the detail, for example how much was raised for the cause in various American cities, was information overload.
You will learn what a fragile hold the Communists had over Russia, relying very heavily on German backing to stay in power, which begs the fascinating question of what if the western Allies hadn't dithered so long about what to do. There was every prospect that the Communists could have been fairly easily overthrown, creating a very different outcome to world history.
If you enjoy reading about twentieth century history, I would recommend this well researched work.
June 21, 2017
Kevin J. McNamara's Dreams of a Great Small Nation fills an important void in Western historiography by chronicling the Czechoslovak Legion, usually shunted to the periphery of books on the Russian Revolution. McNamara discusses the Legion's service in WWI, improbable journey through Revolutionary Russia and their reluctance to become pawns of the Allies, who used them as an excuse to intervene in the Civil War despite the Czechs desiring only to go home. McNamara contrasts their plight with the Czechoslovak independence movement occurring outside of Europe, with Tomas Masaryk and friends using the First World War to rally nationalism among immigrants in America and the UK, win the attention of the Great Powers and ultimately take advantage of Austria's collapse - and the accidental formation of an army-in-waiting. A fascinating, multi-faceted story given full-blooded treatment.
October 9, 2021
The book is about the Czecho-Slovak Legion made up of 50,000 plus troops fighting during WWI. Many soldiers from Bohemia, Moravia, other Czech and Slovak lands were required by the Austro-Hungarian government to fight during WWI. When captured and held prisoner in Russian held lands on the eastern war front, some of these soldiers were offered the chance to fight for the other side. This appealed to them as they had been struggling under the Hapsburg rule for hundreds of year. Mixed in with all of this is the revolution happening simultaneously in Russia. The Legion ends up taking control of the Trans-Siberian Railroad and thus most of Siberia. As unbelievable as it sounds, the Legion hoped to cross Siberia, take ships from Vladivostock on the far eastern side of Russia and head back to Europe to fight in France. Also mixed in with the war is the effort by Thomas Masaryk and Eduard Benes who are working diplomatically to gather support for independence for the Czech and Slovak lands following the war. The book is incredibly detailed and possibly meant for academics, but I did manage to get through it. The WWI western front is what has been typically taught in U.S. history classes so many Americans don't know much of what happened on the eastern front and how the Legion played a major role in the outcome of what was then known as the Great War. The book is also timely in that nationalism was a huge part of the formation of many new nations following the Great War but it was a much different nationalism than what we know today. It was really pride in one's country and people but without the negativism of prejudice as we know nationalism currently. Kevin McNamara located countless documents and had them translated into English for the first time so as to write the book and make this story known to more of the western world.
June 4, 2016
This book provides an outstanding backdrop to WWI, and the story of the collapse of two empires: Czarist Imperial Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Hapsburg regime. As the Czech and Slovak Legion soldiers travel to Siberia, escaping the brutal mistreatment of the Hapsburg officers, little did they realize that joining the Allies on the Western Front would help to realize their dream of an independent Czech-Slovak nation. Sparking a rebellion along the way and seizing control of the Trans Siberian Railway and part of the vast Siberian territory, the legionnaires were on their way to making historical change. The emerging epic of this group battling their way across Siberian Russia is captivating. Its rather amusing now, in this time, to imagine this small group of POWs and deserters was seen as a major threat to Soviet rule, in particular by Leon Trotsky, and which aided in bringing down the arrogant and racist Hapsburg empire. By July 1918, McNamara states that the Czech-Slovak legion appeared to be the strongest fighting force between Berlin and Tokyo. And it was this legion that for forced the Bolsheviks to come to grips with forming the Red Army in July 1918. The other fascinating fact is that it was during this time, the summer of 1918, that the Bolsheviks, Leon Trotsky took the first steps in establishing the labor camp system. Under Stalin it was vastly expanded and developed into the Gulag Archipelago. Trotsky is the key Bolshevik in the unfolding of this drama, Issuing a violent ultimatum so that fighting breaks out between the legionnaires and Soviets. What did the Soviets really fear? That Czech Slovak advances in Siberia could reveal the whereabouts of the Romanov family being held under house arrest nest Yekaterinburg in the Urals. As the Soviet thinking went, if the Romanovs fell into the hands of the Czechs, it could become a rallying point for an anti-German resurgent Russia, thereby undermining the Russian -German Brest Litovsk Treaty which provided critical support to the Soviets. The story of Masaryk and his critical role in this unfolding drama, his achievements in securing the success of the Czech and Slovak independent movement makes for a gripping read. What Masaryk accomplishes a world away, in the United States, in bringing attention to their plight provides a portrait of the rich and complex historical framework for the Czech Slovak movement. Masaryk drafted the Czech-Slovak Declaration of Independence, the US recognized the state of Czechoslovakia in September, and the end of the Great World War in November 1918. How a relatively small group of Slavs, and no soldier Sveiks in this crowd, played a critical and leading role in bringing down the Hapsburgs and changing the geographic map of Europe makes for fascinating reading and will forever change your perspective on the role of small, but great nations.
July 28, 2019
There are limited works available in English about the history of Bohemia and the Czech people – this alone makes the book an interesting read. In addition, the author does an excellent job weaving a narrative that covers the exploits of the Czech Legion in the context of the political activities of Masaryk, the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, and the decisions and the effects of those decisions by the Allied powers. It also provides interesting insights into the early formation of the new nation state of Czechoslovakia – not to mention the early formation of the Soviet Union.
I also appreciate the author’s ability to contextualize the narrative from the Czech perspective. The performance of the Czech Legion was extraordinary, but it often lacked the proper material support of the Allies – all while the Allies directed their deployments without understanding the internal affairs of a revolutionary Russia. While Wilson and the allies would eventually follow through and extract the Legion from Vladivostok, it came only after the Czech Legion was asked to continue to fight the Red Army in Russia after WWI ended and their Czech brothers/sisters were celebrating their new nation back home. In short, the Czech Legion was fighting for a free/independent Czechoslovakia – the Allies so them as an expendable force.
While Wilson would ultimately support Czech independence and reject the emperor’s hope that he could retain a federated Austrian Empire, my impressions of Wilson have been permanently altered. There is a difference between being deliberative vs. indecisive, and Wilson’s indecisiveness and lack of commitment came at a human cost to the Czechs.
This book does present the reader with one challenge. The Russian Empire extended almost 6,000 miles and a significant amount of the story covers the Czech Legion’s activities in western Russia. While no fault of the author, it is often hard to grasp the distances and enormity of their travels with limited understanding of the geography and places he discusses. The author, who physically followed the Czech Legions travels for this book, does a good job explaining their movements/achievements – but having a map to periodically reference while reading this provides a much better understanding of the fantastic and enormity of the Czech Legion’s exploits.
I also appreciate the author’s ability to contextualize the narrative from the Czech perspective. The performance of the Czech Legion was extraordinary, but it often lacked the proper material support of the Allies – all while the Allies directed their deployments without understanding the internal affairs of a revolutionary Russia. While Wilson and the allies would eventually follow through and extract the Legion from Vladivostok, it came only after the Czech Legion was asked to continue to fight the Red Army in Russia after WWI ended and their Czech brothers/sisters were celebrating their new nation back home. In short, the Czech Legion was fighting for a free/independent Czechoslovakia – the Allies so them as an expendable force.
While Wilson would ultimately support Czech independence and reject the emperor’s hope that he could retain a federated Austrian Empire, my impressions of Wilson have been permanently altered. There is a difference between being deliberative vs. indecisive, and Wilson’s indecisiveness and lack of commitment came at a human cost to the Czechs.
This book does present the reader with one challenge. The Russian Empire extended almost 6,000 miles and a significant amount of the story covers the Czech Legion’s activities in western Russia. While no fault of the author, it is often hard to grasp the distances and enormity of their travels with limited understanding of the geography and places he discusses. The author, who physically followed the Czech Legions travels for this book, does a good job explaining their movements/achievements – but having a map to periodically reference while reading this provides a much better understanding of the fantastic and enormity of the Czech Legion’s exploits.
July 2, 2016
I was estatic when I discovered this book. I first learned of the Czech Legion studying Eastern European history in college. A legion of POW's who fought their way out of Western Russia, conquering and for a time controlling Siberia through their control of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, the main Siberian thoroughfare. Though for a long time, their story was relatively unknown, after college it was only really through Internet deep dives that I could find more information
Kevin Mcnamara's book is the first history of the legion in English (at least that I've run across) It relies on Czech source material to bring individual soldiers to life, and focuses also on the bigger picture of how the Legion helped contribute to the fall of Austria-Hungary and the establishment of the country of Czechoslovakia.
I highly recommend this book. It brings one of the great sweeping feats of modern warfare to vibrant life.
Kevin Mcnamara's book is the first history of the legion in English (at least that I've run across) It relies on Czech source material to bring individual soldiers to life, and focuses also on the bigger picture of how the Legion helped contribute to the fall of Austria-Hungary and the establishment of the country of Czechoslovakia.
I highly recommend this book. It brings one of the great sweeping feats of modern warfare to vibrant life.
February 19, 2019
This book was really not what I expected. Was looking for a book that was an account of the battles that the Czech and Slovak people had to go through to gain their independence, but this book was almost completely about the bureaucratic side of things and after awhile it just became kinda boring. I did enjoy learning how the country gained its independence but was looking for a little more excitement from this book.
June 16, 2016
Well worth the read for both the heroic story of the Czech Slovak legionaries, and to dispel a few myths about the allies 1918 intervention into Soviet Russia. A history I had been aware of, but I had never read the details, or had understood the scale, and vast numbers of POWs roaming about Russia and Siberia at the end of the war.
December 17, 2021
Outdated and weirdly American
This book tells the story of the Czech legion in the First World War/Russian Civil War, which is presented as an overlooked story although as far as the region is concerned this is probably a reasonably well-known event in the Anglophone world.
This book was written by an American and you will definitely notice it while reading; the US plays an important role in the story of Czechoslovak independence through the diaspora and the role of the Wilson administration, but America gets mentioned more often and discussed in more detail than the other concerned nations. I understand that the book is aiming at an American readership but there’s no need for it to constantly link back to the US.
The other major perspective problem is a general willingness to accept the claims of the nationalists who are the book’s subject. The Habsburg Empire is portrayed in the opening chapters as the ‘prison of peoples’ that most scholarship now rejects, being described as deeply oppressive on pretty flimsy grounds. The democratic achievements it had made and the and the reasonably comfortable positions of the Czechs by the turn of the century are not given much attention. Despite that, the book also oddly ignores the one greatest piece of evidence that would support its interpretation- the Magyarisation policies pursued in Hungary which seriously damaged Slovak cultural movements and institutions- does not even get mentioned. This culminates in the final chapter’s brief discussion of the Czechoslovak republic (the book oddly insists on ‘Czecho-Slovakia’, on the basis that the state should have been called that- but it wasn’t), where the problems of Czech/Slovak nationalism and the fundamental difficulties are smoothed over in favour of an outdated narrative of Czechoslovakia as a uniquely stable and tolerant democracy. The author should at least be commended for rebutting the myths of large-scale Czech defections early in the war.
That acceptance of Czechoslovak nationalism is also tied to some weird political views. The final chapter talks about the pre-1918 era as the last innocent age for nationalism- a notion that makes some sense in that educated commentators still associated it ipso facto with democracy and justice- but he means that nationalism wasn’t yet ‘hostile and violent’, an absurd claim that is disproved by the violence that continued in Central Europe past the war’s formal end- and by the prevalence in Czech nationalism of anti-Semitic ideas, which the author in fact does briefly discuss earlier on. Occasionally some other questionable political views pop in; the author makes a pretty disgusting comparison of Ottoman invasions in the 16th century to modern migration of Muslims to Europe. And while readers are probably unlikely to be too upset about the book’s anti-Bolshevik stance, it goes on a lengthy tangent to praise the ‘genius’ Winston Churchill (a privilege not afforded to other British politicians more directly involved- or indeed the vital players Wickham Steed or Seton-Watson, the latter of whom is introduced incorrectly as Times correspondent) for wanting to destroy the Bolsheviks in the immediate wake of the war, even as much of the book is spent stressing the Allies’ inability to get meaningful resources into Russia and the anti-Bolshevik struggle.
So this book relies on old scholarship and old interpretations to support a pretty poorly-told narrative of the Czechoslovak legion, which ought to be told better and without some of this book’s weird perspectives.
This book tells the story of the Czech legion in the First World War/Russian Civil War, which is presented as an overlooked story although as far as the region is concerned this is probably a reasonably well-known event in the Anglophone world.
This book was written by an American and you will definitely notice it while reading; the US plays an important role in the story of Czechoslovak independence through the diaspora and the role of the Wilson administration, but America gets mentioned more often and discussed in more detail than the other concerned nations. I understand that the book is aiming at an American readership but there’s no need for it to constantly link back to the US.
The other major perspective problem is a general willingness to accept the claims of the nationalists who are the book’s subject. The Habsburg Empire is portrayed in the opening chapters as the ‘prison of peoples’ that most scholarship now rejects, being described as deeply oppressive on pretty flimsy grounds. The democratic achievements it had made and the and the reasonably comfortable positions of the Czechs by the turn of the century are not given much attention. Despite that, the book also oddly ignores the one greatest piece of evidence that would support its interpretation- the Magyarisation policies pursued in Hungary which seriously damaged Slovak cultural movements and institutions- does not even get mentioned. This culminates in the final chapter’s brief discussion of the Czechoslovak republic (the book oddly insists on ‘Czecho-Slovakia’, on the basis that the state should have been called that- but it wasn’t), where the problems of Czech/Slovak nationalism and the fundamental difficulties are smoothed over in favour of an outdated narrative of Czechoslovakia as a uniquely stable and tolerant democracy. The author should at least be commended for rebutting the myths of large-scale Czech defections early in the war.
That acceptance of Czechoslovak nationalism is also tied to some weird political views. The final chapter talks about the pre-1918 era as the last innocent age for nationalism- a notion that makes some sense in that educated commentators still associated it ipso facto with democracy and justice- but he means that nationalism wasn’t yet ‘hostile and violent’, an absurd claim that is disproved by the violence that continued in Central Europe past the war’s formal end- and by the prevalence in Czech nationalism of anti-Semitic ideas, which the author in fact does briefly discuss earlier on. Occasionally some other questionable political views pop in; the author makes a pretty disgusting comparison of Ottoman invasions in the 16th century to modern migration of Muslims to Europe. And while readers are probably unlikely to be too upset about the book’s anti-Bolshevik stance, it goes on a lengthy tangent to praise the ‘genius’ Winston Churchill (a privilege not afforded to other British politicians more directly involved- or indeed the vital players Wickham Steed or Seton-Watson, the latter of whom is introduced incorrectly as Times correspondent) for wanting to destroy the Bolsheviks in the immediate wake of the war, even as much of the book is spent stressing the Allies’ inability to get meaningful resources into Russia and the anti-Bolshevik struggle.
So this book relies on old scholarship and old interpretations to support a pretty poorly-told narrative of the Czechoslovak legion, which ought to be told better and without some of this book’s weird perspectives.
July 9, 2020
The topic itself is one that it worth studying and relatively unknown to most readers in the West but I found this book a struggle to read. The story kept jumping back and forth in time which I found very annoying and it was only rarely given “on the ground” focus.
Even at the end of the book I was left a little unclear as to what territory the Czech Slovak Legion held or moved through and how they communicated with one another. I would have liked to have learnt more about how an ordinary soldier experienced the war. What did it feel like to be fighting in the middle of Siberia? How important were the rail tracks and trains and what was it like living, moving and fighting along these single track lines?
It would have benefitted from having the perspective of a few foot soldiers who found themselves miles from home, fighting first for the Austro Hungarian army, then as a POW, the fighting for the Russians and then fighting against the Bolsheviks and Austro Hungarian POWs that sympathised with their cause.
Even at the end of the book I was left a little unclear as to what territory the Czech Slovak Legion held or moved through and how they communicated with one another. I would have liked to have learnt more about how an ordinary soldier experienced the war. What did it feel like to be fighting in the middle of Siberia? How important were the rail tracks and trains and what was it like living, moving and fighting along these single track lines?
It would have benefitted from having the perspective of a few foot soldiers who found themselves miles from home, fighting first for the Austro Hungarian army, then as a POW, the fighting for the Russians and then fighting against the Bolsheviks and Austro Hungarian POWs that sympathised with their cause.
November 6, 2024
The introduction to this book was confusing and disjointed, which cost it a star in this review. Once you get past that, McNamara tells an amazing story about the founding of the nation of Czechoslovakia. The legion of Czech and Slovak soldiers captured in WWI by Russia and later released to fight the Austro-Hungarian empire that they wished to secede from is an incredible tale. This band of former POWs was amazing, even as Russian forces turned on them after the Bolshevik Revolution. All they wanted to do was to get back to Europe so they could join France in the fight against Austria-Hungary, and that journey saw them fight their way all across Siberia to try to connect with Allied ships that would take them the long way back to Europe. Along the way, they were used by the other Great Powers, abandoned at time, yet still persevered and almost brought down the new Russian government. Truly an amazing story.
February 7, 2021
An interesting topic that is easily lost in the chaos of the end of World War I and the Russian Revolution: How a large body of Czech and Slovak ex-POWs not only conquered and controlled a good chunk of the Russian interior, but also helped solidify the formation of a new nation: Czechoslovakia. McNamara has done tons of research, and even traced the route of this Czech/Slovak legion across Russia. Having said that, I would have liked to have read more first-person accounts from those involved on the ground, and a bit less about all the diplomatic wrangling that went on in France, Great Britain and the U.S. The details that make for first-rate history writing are not always in sight in this account. Still, an important story with surprising relevance to today's world, where nationalism is once again on the rise.
May 18, 2025
If you were not aware that the armies of Czechoslovakia controlled half of Russia through most of 1918, you would not be alone. This book tells one of the great lesser-known military stories of the 20th century, placing it within the larger adventures of Czechoslovakia's first President Tomas Masaryk. It left me very much wishing that there was a full biography of Masaryk in English somewhere.
The book does not shy away from the difficult questions of Czech nationalism - namely, how a "small nation" can avoid being bullied or overrun by its larger neighbors, given the clear importance of scale to national strength. The book wisely doesn't answer this question, since this is something we still struggle with today.
The book does not shy away from the difficult questions of Czech nationalism - namely, how a "small nation" can avoid being bullied or overrun by its larger neighbors, given the clear importance of scale to national strength. The book wisely doesn't answer this question, since this is something we still struggle with today.
May 12, 2020
In Dreams of a Great Small Nation Kevin McNamara recounts the role of a Czech-Slovak army in Siberia during the Russian Revolution that helped form the new nation of Czechoslovakia. The 50,000 strong army seized the entire Trans-Siberian railway from Lake Baikal to Vladivostok and strengthened the cause of independence leaders Tomas Masaryk and Edvard Benes in persuading Wilson, Lloyd George and Clemenceau that their sovereignty had been earned. The incident ironically propelled Trotsky to form the Red Army to counter the Czech-Slovak military threat and save the revolution. Hitler dismembered the only surviving democracy in Central Europe 20 years later.
September 21, 2020
Purchase Dreams of a Great Small Nation here for just $12!
Following a part of World War II that is not widely known, this is about the Czech people attempting to liberate from the Austro-Hungarian empire. A well-researched book about a fascinating and forgotten piece of history.
Elisa, Book Grocer
Following a part of World War II that is not widely known, this is about the Czech people attempting to liberate from the Austro-Hungarian empire. A well-researched book about a fascinating and forgotten piece of history.
Elisa, Book Grocer
July 19, 2019
Great book about a relatively unknown part of WW1, and the Russian Revolution. Goes into detail about the founding of Czechoslovakia, and the Legion's exploits. I knew the high points, but this covers the travels and battles, and the aftermath. A bittersweet story of the birth of a nation, while its army is thousands of miles away.
October 3, 2023
A decent book on a people's struggle to secure their independence after being drawn in an empire's fight. What I liked the most were the brief inspirational glimpses of heroic feats and stories of survival in a foreign land, driven by a common goal. Unfortunately there were too few of these and a bit too much of the politics for my taste.
June 26, 2024
This book was very well-written and researched. I was not aware of this army and the role it played in establishing Czecho-Slovakia. The book was readable but a little dense with facts. It might require a rereading to absorb what happened. Interesting and informative!
January 2, 2025
A decent but not great book, it tries to combine the stories of the Czech Legion with Czechoslovakia Independence, while of course they are connected the author doesn’t do a great job of it, an interesting topic not told in the best fashion.
January 10, 2021
Masterpiece
January 14, 2021
A well-told narrative about the foundation of Czechoslovakia and the exploits of the Czecho-Slovak Legion that helped make it possible.
January 13, 2025
An enlightening description of the beginning of the Czech and Slovak republics.
January 29, 2017
As the twentieth century began, the very concept of monarchies and their control of multi-ethnic empires was a long tradition but under great stress. Possibly the most complex of the three great European land empires of the early part of the twentieth century was the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. It was also the physical location of the primary event that sparked World War I.
While a great deal had been done to try to keep the ethnic minorities from feeling persecuted, the reality in Austria-Hungary was that the Germans dominated in the lands of Austria and the Hungarians in Hungarian territory. Therefore, there was some significant strain between the minorities such as the Czechs, Slovaks, Croats and Slovenes and the rulers. This is of course mentioned as an essential historical context.
Yet, when the First World War broke out, the ethnic minorities in Austria-Hungary generally fought well. At the start of the war the officer corps generally could speak the languages of the troops under them, but most of those officers were killed in the first year of the war. On the eastern front of the war after the first year, significant numbers of Czech and Slovak troops were captured and made POWs by the Russians, some of these troops were in effect deserters, having decided that they no longer wanted to fight and die for their empire.
These troops were fearful of reprisals by POWs of German and Hungarian heritage also in Russia and so the Czech and Slovaks banded together. As the Czarist state collapsed, they rapidly became a cohesive fighting force that was dedicated to the establishment of a nation that was to be called Czecho-Slovakia. However, at this point, they became a military and political football.
With the signing of the peace treaty between the emerging new Russian government and Germany, there was no eastern front for what was now the Czecho-Slovak legion. A plan emerged in the Allied camp to transport the roughly 50,000 men out of the chaotic situation of Russia after the revolution to fight the Germans on the western front. Yet, no one could figure out how to do that.
The one key historical point that emerges in this book is how ineptly the circumstances of the Czecho-Slovak legion was handled. At one time, they were the most powerful coherent military force in Russia, so they were feared by the Bolshevik leaders, yet transporting them out of the country was an enormous task in the chaotic situation. Furthermore, when armies of millions of men were fighting on the western front, an additional 50,000 would not have made a difference.
Truly neutral in the emerging Russian Civil War, the Czech-Slovak legion was often forced to do battle with the Bolshevik forces as well as several groups that were essentially freelancing. Yet, at the time they for all practical purposes controlled the Trans-Siberia railway, which meant that they controlled all of Siberia.
The exploits of the Czecho-Slovak Legion in Russia captured the imagination and attention of the people of the west, even though the Allied leaders truly did not know what to do with them. A relatively token American force of 7,000 troops was sent to Vladivostok to aid in evacuating the Czecho-Slovak Legion, but the Allied leadership found it necessary to seek help from Japan, an act that infuriated the Russian leadership.
While this book is accurate in describing the historical background of the genesis of the Czecho-Slovak legion, the subtitle is completely inaccurate. The legion did not “Destroy an Empire,” “Found a Republic” or “Remake the map of Europe.” It was the complete defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary that did that and the legion fired almost no shots in that particular battle. While the exploits of the legion are the raw materials of legends, the fact is that Czecho-Slovakia was created and existed well before the men of the legion once again set foot in it.
While a great deal had been done to try to keep the ethnic minorities from feeling persecuted, the reality in Austria-Hungary was that the Germans dominated in the lands of Austria and the Hungarians in Hungarian territory. Therefore, there was some significant strain between the minorities such as the Czechs, Slovaks, Croats and Slovenes and the rulers. This is of course mentioned as an essential historical context.
Yet, when the First World War broke out, the ethnic minorities in Austria-Hungary generally fought well. At the start of the war the officer corps generally could speak the languages of the troops under them, but most of those officers were killed in the first year of the war. On the eastern front of the war after the first year, significant numbers of Czech and Slovak troops were captured and made POWs by the Russians, some of these troops were in effect deserters, having decided that they no longer wanted to fight and die for their empire.
These troops were fearful of reprisals by POWs of German and Hungarian heritage also in Russia and so the Czech and Slovaks banded together. As the Czarist state collapsed, they rapidly became a cohesive fighting force that was dedicated to the establishment of a nation that was to be called Czecho-Slovakia. However, at this point, they became a military and political football.
With the signing of the peace treaty between the emerging new Russian government and Germany, there was no eastern front for what was now the Czecho-Slovak legion. A plan emerged in the Allied camp to transport the roughly 50,000 men out of the chaotic situation of Russia after the revolution to fight the Germans on the western front. Yet, no one could figure out how to do that.
The one key historical point that emerges in this book is how ineptly the circumstances of the Czecho-Slovak legion was handled. At one time, they were the most powerful coherent military force in Russia, so they were feared by the Bolshevik leaders, yet transporting them out of the country was an enormous task in the chaotic situation. Furthermore, when armies of millions of men were fighting on the western front, an additional 50,000 would not have made a difference.
Truly neutral in the emerging Russian Civil War, the Czech-Slovak legion was often forced to do battle with the Bolshevik forces as well as several groups that were essentially freelancing. Yet, at the time they for all practical purposes controlled the Trans-Siberia railway, which meant that they controlled all of Siberia.
The exploits of the Czecho-Slovak Legion in Russia captured the imagination and attention of the people of the west, even though the Allied leaders truly did not know what to do with them. A relatively token American force of 7,000 troops was sent to Vladivostok to aid in evacuating the Czecho-Slovak Legion, but the Allied leadership found it necessary to seek help from Japan, an act that infuriated the Russian leadership.
While this book is accurate in describing the historical background of the genesis of the Czecho-Slovak legion, the subtitle is completely inaccurate. The legion did not “Destroy an Empire,” “Found a Republic” or “Remake the map of Europe.” It was the complete defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary that did that and the legion fired almost no shots in that particular battle. While the exploits of the legion are the raw materials of legends, the fact is that Czecho-Slovakia was created and existed well before the men of the legion once again set foot in it.
July 7, 2024
World historical events are interwoven in a fine narrative style with day-to-day events on the ground all over the world and with Tomáš Masaryk popping in and out of all of them on travels that took him all around this panorama of history in the making. As far as I can see, this is an accurate depiction of a neglected episode of history told in a very readable way.
July 27, 2016
This is a good book. It covers a part of early the 20th I was unfamiliar with. It is a topic that is difficult to organize. Key events take place simultaneously in the USA, Europe, and Russia.
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