Salt Lake Telegram | 1918-11-15 | Page 10 | Story of Million Army Deserters is Related

STORY OF MILLION ARMY DESERTERS IS RELATED ' Green Army" of Austrian Sweeps Down to Aid Italian Forcei. By Associate d Praaa. BAN FRAW'IH-i'O. Nov. 15. Tha atory of tha '-green army" comttajts, or deserters de-serters from tha Austrian army which poured down from tha LMka mountain In Jugo-Slavla and tha artathlane .and --" ,U- V'-'nn that fawa.nl i It hI inn offensive, whs told here today by I In. I Jury Laontlch, member of tha Jugo-Slav national council, who la visit i lngln t.!in Francisco. Hera Is his-story: The "green army," so called because of tho verdant setting- of the fastnesses In which they hid themselves while awaiting tha hour to atrike, le made up of l.OoO.OOO desartera from Austria's Jugo-Klav and rsecho-fflsv forres. They are well organised guerrilla, led by "tu-denfa "tu-denfa from I'rague and elwewhere. They I donned the H'paburg uniform, but answered an-swered tha call to battle the Ijttlns. tha Herba and their fellow Hlnve In t'kralnla and Rukowlna by deserting In hordes to the mountain. There they waited through the year of war, living primitively and ever watching watch-ing until they could aweep down upon the elaina of Croatia and Herbia. The revolt re-volt of a Croatian regiment at Flume a few week ago was the signal. They swarmed from their retreats and cut the commuiilraltone between Vienna, Berlin and Sophia. (n the one hand they Joined the Herbe, thruallng the Invader, and on tha other they Joined with their fellows, the Dalmatians In the Austrian fleet at I'oU, and turned over tht fleet lo the national council of Jugo-Hlavla. Then Bohemia and the rest of echo- Hf ... tV t .. .... -a.,- , i the Mt g vara and lha other ruling r la see of the diietl monarchy were left to their fate. When It has done Ita work tha "green army" expect to be the nucleua , of tha military establishment of Jugo- Hlavta and Caecho-Hlavla. while they are eiMrate peoples with eparata government, govern-ment, hava formed a close unity of in t ere st a. Dr. Leontlch. who was a former editor of a revolutionary paper In Prague, 10 here to recruit the nationals of hi" country coun-try and aecho-H1av.a for the work of tha two new nations. The Independence of hot h o these people haa been recognised recog-nised bv the t'nited Ulate anil much Of the work In formation of the new governments gov-ernments Is being dona In Washington.