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| Battle of Bakhmach | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theEastern Front (World War I) | |||||||
 Memorial plaque of Battle of Bakhmach inOlomouc (Czech Republic). Statue of legionar in winter uniform was made byOtakar Španiel. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
Entente Powers:  Soviet Russia | Central Powers: Germany | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Ludvík KrejčíNikolai Krylenko | Johannes von Eben | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Parts of the 6th Hanácký Regiment, the 7th Tatranský Regiment and the 4th Prokop Holý Regiment | 224th Infantry Division, 91st Infantry Division | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 145 killed, 210 wounded, 41 missing | Around 300 killed, hundreds wounded | ||||||
Battle of Bakhmach (Bitva u Bachmače inCzech), was one of the last battles on theEastern Front inWorld War I between theEntente-backedCzechoslovak Legion,Soviet Russia and theCentral Powers occupyingUkraine after theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk. The battle lasted from March 8 to March 13, 1918, over the city ofBakhmach and was the last engagement in World War I for the Soviets. Following a Legion victory, the Germans negotiated a truce.
On 3 March 1918,Russia, controlled by theBolsheviks, signed theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, in which it gave up control over Ukraine.
On 8 March, German troops reached Bakhmach, an important rail hub, and in doing so threatened the Czechoslovak Legion with encirclement. The threat was especially grave since captured legionnaires were summarily executed as traitors ofAustria-Hungary because at the time Checkoslvakia was a part fo Austria. The6th "Hanácký" [cs] and7th "Tatranský" [cs] Rifle Regiments, together with the Assault battalion of Czechoslovak Army Corps of the Legion, set up defenses at the town against incoming German91st and224th Infantry [de] Divisions.
The battle was notable because the troops were not only fighting for Bakhmachrailway junction (victory ofStanislav Čeček), but also for thebridge over the riverDesna, which led to bloody battles at Doch. The climax of the fighting occurred on March 10. Thanks to the Legion victory, the Germans negotiated a truce, during which Czechoslovak armoured trains could freely pass through Bakhmach railway junction toChelyabinsk.
The Czechoslovak Legion (about 42,000 soldiers) during the truce set up for escape from Russia via theTrans-Siberian Railway. Armies of Germany and Austria-Hungary then started to occupy the land without much resistance.
The Bolsheviks considered the German action at Bakhmach a violation of the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and stood by the side of the Czechoslovak people at Bakhmach against the Germans, but it was of no significant help.[1]
Losses of the Legion were: 145 killed, 210 wounded, 41 missing. Estimate of German losses is around 300 dead and hundreds wounded.
Similarly toBattle of Zborov or the "Siberian anabasis", the battle of Bakhmach became one of the symbols of the Czechoslovak Legions and their fight for independence.
51°10′58″N32°49′38″E / 51.18278°N 32.82722°E /51.18278; 32.82722