Radola Gajda
| Radola Gajda | |
|---|---|
Radola Gajda in the 1920s
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| Born |
14 February 1892 Kotor, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 15 April 1948 (aged 56) Prague, Czechoslovakia |
| Allegiance |
 Austria-Hungary Kingdom of Montenegro Russian Empire Czechoslovakia
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| Years of service | 1910-11; 1914-15 (Austro-Hungarian Army) 1915 - 1916 (Montenegrin Army) 1917-19; 1920-26 (Czechoslovak Army) 1919 (White Army) |
| Rank | Captain (Montenegro) Major General (Czechoslovakia) |
| Commands held | Siberian Army |
Radola Gajda, born as Rudolf Geidl (14 February 1892, Kotor, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary – 15 April 1948, Prague, Czechoslovakia) was a Czech/Serbian military commander and politician.
Geidl's father was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army based in Kotor. His mother was a poor Serbian noblewoman. Later, the family moved to Kyjov, Moravia, where Geidl studied at a secondary grammar school. In 1910 he went through one year of compulsory military service in Mostar. Afterwards Geidl left for the Balkans and likely took part in the Balkan Wars (1912–13). At the start of World War I he rejoined the Austro-Hungarian Army and served in Dalmatia and Sarajevo. In September 1915 he was taken prisoner in Višegrad, Bosnia.
Immediately after his capture, Geidl switched sides and was commissioned as a captain in the Montenegrin Army. Having some experience as an apothecary, he pretended to be a physician. Following the collapse of the Montenegrin Army in 1916, Gajda escaped into Russia where he joined a Serbian battalion as a physician.
At the end of 1916 the battalion was destroyed and Gajda joined the Czechoslovak Legions (30 January 1917) as a staff captain. Gajda proved himself as an able commander in the Battle of Zborov and quickly rose through the military hierarchy.
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