Soldiers of the Czechoslovakian Legion accompany President Masaryk’s entry into Prague on 21 December 1918, photo from Wiener Bilder of 29 December 1918

A special role in the creation of Czechoslovakia was played by the Czechoslovakian legions fighting at the side of the Entente armies. These legions consisted of voluntary units of émigré Czechs, but mostly of defectors and prisoners of war from the ranks of the Imperial-Royal Army.