Battle of Lake Baikal

The Battle of Lake Baikal was a naval battle undertaken by Czechoslovak forces during the Russian Civil War. Background In August 1918, the Czechoslovak Legion, under the leadership of Radola Gajda, fought the Red Army for control of the mountain passes around Lake Baikal which were well defended. Gajda was troubled by the fact that Baikal was completely under the control of the Red Army's ships, which threatened the Czechoslovak units with landing units to the legion's rear. While occupying various ports on the shores of the Baikal, the Czechoslovak legionaries managed to capture two enemy steamships, the Sibirjak and the Fedosia. These were later refitted with a pair of howitzers each. Battle On 15 August 1918, the Czechoslovak fleet sailed out of Listvyanka. By noon on 16 August, the ships were about 8 kilometres (5 mi) from the port in Mysovsk (now Babushkin...