The Pastry Chef Soldier

Miloš Sum entered the turmoil of the Great War in the summer of 1915, serving in the ranks of the 13th Olomouc Landwehr Infantry Regiment. A year later, he was captured and became a Russian prisoner of war. As a trained confectioner, he was selected by Count Józef Potocki to work in the kitchen of his Antoniny residence, but in July 1917, Sum voluntarily joined the Czechoslovak legions. He was assigned to the new 7th Czechoslovak “Tatra” Rifle Regiment, with which he endured fierce battles against the Bolsheviks in 1918. However, his diary primarily chronicles the years 1919 and 1920, covering the period of guarding the Trans-Siberian Railway and his journey home via Canada.