Upomínky na můj vojenský život - Vzpomínky legionáře Karla Prášila – Prášil Karel (2020)

Karel Prášil's memories begin with the outbreak of war and his conscription into the Austro-Hungarian army. This is followed by a description of the perils on the Eastern Front and his fall into Russian captivity. He reached the prisoner camp Tockoje via Dárnice near Kyiv, where the living conditions were horrific. In the winter of 1915/1916, nearly half of the prisoners died from the cold, hunger, and spreading diseases. Karel Prášil also fell ill, but thanks to his strong will, he recovered and joined the ranks of the Czechoslovak army in the summer of 1916. As a member of the 2nd Czechoslovak Infantry Regiment, he participated in reconnaissance missions in the Pinsk Marshes, the famous battle of Zborov, and during the Tarnopol retreat, he ended up completely exhausted in a hospital. He then moved through the 1st Reserve Regiment, with which he fought at Bachmač and against the Bolsheviks, to army logistics, where he connected the rest of his professional career. However, the author does not only describe combat actions. He devotes much more attention to the lives of soldiers, their everyday worries and joys, as well as Russian culture and history. Although his memories remain unfinished, they constitute an interesting contribution to the history of the legions and are illustrated with more than a hundred period photographs and documents.