The Czechoslovak National Council was founded in Paris in 1916, and headed by T. G. Masaryk (1850-1937) it became the highest authority of the Czechoslovak foreign resistance. During 1916 and 1917, it stood at the head of the volunteer military units made up of Czechs and Slovaks in Russia, France and Italy, who fought against the Central Powers. The military affairs of each branch of the Czechoslovak National Council in individual countries were managed by the Military Department. In 1919, the Military Department of a branch of the Czechoslovak National Council was based in Russia in a building assigned to it in Yekaterinburg (today's Sverdlovsk region). This oval wooden signboard with dimensions of 1000 x 700 mm and covered with hand-painted tin was attached to the building.