Original Czechoslovakia WWI Czechoslovak Legion 23rd Rifle Regiment Insignia Lot – 6 Items Original Items

Original Items: Only One Lot of 6 Available. Now this is a fantastic opportunity to add a lovely grouping of some rather rare insignia. The insignia once belonged to a member of the 23rd Rifle Regiment of the Czechoslovak Legion. This Rifle Regiment consisted mainly of Czechs and Americans.

The Czechoslovak Legion were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting on the side of the Entente powers during World War I. Their goal was to win the support of the Allied Powers for the independence of Lands of the Bohemian Crown from the Austrian Empire and of Slovak territories from the Kingdom of Hungary, which were then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. With the help of émigré intellectuals and politicians such as the Czech Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and the Slovak Milan Rastislav Štefánik, they grew into a force of over 100,000 strong.

In Russia, they took part in several victorious battles of the war, including the Zborov and Bakhmach against the Central Powers, and were heavily involved in the Russian Civil War fighting Bolsheviks, at times controlling the entire Trans-Siberian railway and several major cities in Siberia.

After three years of existence as a small unit in the Imperial Russian Army, the Legion in Russia was established in 1917, with other troops fighting in France since the beginning of the war as the “Nazdar” company, and similar units later emerging in Italy and Serbia. Originally an all-volunteer force, these formations were later strengthened by Czech and Slovak prisoners of war or deserters from the Austro-Hungarian Army. The majority of the legionaries were Czechs, with Slovaks making up 7% of the force in Russia, 3% in Italy and 16% in France.

The name Czechoslovak Legion preceded and anticipated the creation of Czechoslovakia. We have even found some scans of period digital photographs online of this unit, which are shown for illustrative purposes only.

The items in this lot consist of (2) 23rd Regiment collar tabs, “CS” Czech/Slovak Horizon Blue shoulder straps and (2) “CS” sleeve insignia bullion patches. The condition of all 6 items is quite nice, but there are moth nips present as well as staining and wear. One of the collar tabs is unfortunately missing a number “2” on it.

A lovely assortment that would make for a perfect display.