Rudolf Viest

Rudolf Viest (24 September 1890, Revúca, Gömör és Kis-Hont County, Kingdom of Hungary, – 1945 ?, Flossenbürg concentration camp ?, Germany) was a Slovak military leader, member of the Czechoslovak government in exile, member of the Slovak National Council and the commander of the 1st Czechoslovak army during the Slovak National Uprising. He was the Slovak with the highest military function and the only Slovak general during the interwar period in the first Czechoslovak Republic.

His father Gustáv Viest was a craftsman, later he was an employee of the town office. His mother Jana (born Grnáčová) came from a family of tailors. He has two brothers (Ivan and Dušan) and two sisters (Oľga and Anna). He studied at local elementary Lutheran school and later at high school in Revúca. His older brother Ivan studied in Budapest. The whole family moved to Budapest in 1905 after the death of their father. Their household became a place where several nationally conscious people met in time of their studies. He studied building construction and worked briefly for a construction company in Budapest. In October 1911, he joined the army as a volunteer in the 7th infantry regiment in Graz. He finished his military service and became a cadet on September 1, 1912.

He joined the army again during the general mobilization on August 1, 1914. He started as a squad commander and continued as a company commander from November 1914. He was captured during the Russian offensive near Krakow on November 24, 1914. Because of his strong Slavic feeling, he joined the Serbian army on August 1, 1915, then he fought with Serbian volunteers regiment against Bulgarians. He was injured but after healing he returned to Serbian units. In February 1917, he requested to be assigned to Belgorod to form Czechoslovak legions. From June 1917, he served as a second lieutenant and organized the recruitment of volunteers. In 1919, he became commander of the Czechoslovak camp for Slovaks in Irkutsk. The new soviet government did not allow legionaries to return home by the shortest way and Viest with others had to fight his way home cross Siberia. He returned home through Japan, USA and Canada in 1920.

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