31.8. 1914 Nazdar Company was formed

Nazdar Company was the first Czech national unit, formed on 31 August 1914 and was assigned as the 1st Company of Battalion C of the Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion. It had 250 men divided into four platoons and was commanded by French Captain Marie Léon Joseph Sallé. They trained

with old rifles, repeating rifles, a model from 1886. The oath was: 'In the name of liberty, equality and fraternity, and in the confidence of the Republic, we promise to fight for the rights of the Republic and of humanity to the last man and to the last drop of blood. "

The fate of Nazdar Company was recorded by Josef Antos, a Czech from Paris. "It is generally believed that the war will not last more than three months, at the most until Christmas. We would not like to sign for a longer period of time, so as not to have to serve out our time," Antoš wrote.

But German troops invaded Belgium on 4 August, their target being France and Paris. The Germans hoped to defeat France in six days. The concentration of German troops near the Belgian border had been reported by French pilots before, but the army command did not trust their reports. Great Britain declared war on Germany.

On 23 October, Battalion C with Nazdar Company left for Champagne. After a short period in reserve, the company took up a position in the trenches near the village of Verzenay near Reims. There the volunteers gained their first experience of trench warfare. "As fighting continued on both the eastern and western fronts, in early April 1915, before the Second Battle of Artois, the Czech unit was moved to the vicinity of Arras. The objectives of the joint attack of French and Czech soldiers on 8. Břetislav Ditrych writes in his book Against the Red Baron: Pilots and Air Aces of World War I.

After the usual artillery preparation, the members of Nazdar Company went on the offensive at the head of the entire 33rd Army Corps. Even the first casualties did not stop the company's progress and the soldiers accomplished their task without fail. But the casualties were considerable - out of 250 officers and men, 42 were killed and nearly 100 wounded. The Czech volunteers were mentioned in orders, and some received decorations. They took part as a platoon in the Somme River offensive in July 1916, for example.

"The remaining volunteers from the Nazdar Company were deployed to various units of the Foreign Legion regiments as experiencedJosef Kopta writes in his book The Third Company.

Sources: Břetislav Ditrych, Against the Red Baron: Pilots and Air Aces of World War I, Josef Kopta, The Third Company, http://rotanazdar.cz/