29/6/1918 Vladivostok falls to the Czechoslovak Legion #1918Live

Since hostilities broke out with Bolsheviks, the Czechoslovak Legion has been expanding along the Trans-Siberian Railway. Now finally Vladivostok falls into the Czechoslovaks’ hands, meaning that they control the railway all the way from Samara to the Pacific Ocean.

The original goal of the Czechoslovaks had been to leave Russia and travel to Western Europe, where they could rejoin the war against the Central Powers and help found an independent Czechoslovakia. Now that the railway line is in their hands they should be able to leave Russia unmolested. But Russia has distracted the Czechoslovaks. They have formed an alliance with the Komuch, the left-liberal government in Samara, and are now part of the struggle to overthrow the Bolsheviks. Perhaps there is some grand strategy at work here: if the Bolsheviks are overthrown then Russia might rejoin the war against Austria-Hungary and Germany. Or perhaps events have developed…